Eight years ago, she left without saying goodbye. Now the only man who can help her save her family's legacy is the one she broke.
Only This Time is an emotional small-town second-chance romance for readers who love quiet tension, unfinished love, forced proximity, and the aching beauty of coming home to the one place you thought you had outgrown.
When Sienna Hart returns to Alder Ridge, she tells herself it is only temporary. Her family's beloved event hall, the Lantern House, is weeks away from foreclosure, and reopening before the Summer Lights Festival may be the only way to save it. But the building needs more than paint and good intentions. It needs a contractor who knows every beam, every flaw, and every memory hidden inside its walls.
It needs Eli Mercer.
Eli has spent eight years building a life solid enough to survive the woman who left him behind. He has a house, steady work, loyal friends, and every reason to keep his distance. But when Sienna walks back into town, all the old hurt returns with her-and so does the pull neither of them ever managed to bury.
As they work side by side to restore the Lantern House, old wounds reopen, trust begins to rebuild, and the line between professional and personal grows dangerously thin. But Sienna still has a life waiting in Chicago, and Eli knows better than anyone what it costs to love someone who might leave again.
Perfect for readers who love:
second-chance romance
small-town settings
forced proximity
renovation / saving-the-family-legacy stories
slow-burn emotional tension
dual POV romance
he falls first / he never really stopped loving her
heartfelt, character-driven love stories
If you're looking for a romance about home, forgiveness, unfinished love, and the terrifying choice to stay when running would be easier, Only This Time is the kind of story you'll want to sink into.
