Falling for the man I was supposed to hate was never part of the plan.

Ethan Sterling was the last person I expected to see in Cedar Cove. Handsome, and far too smooth for a small-town girl like me, he seemed like he belonged in a glossy magazine, not in a mechanic's shop. But from the moment we met, sparks flew—unexpected, undeniable, and impossible to ignore. Beneath his infuriatingly cocky exterior, there was a softness, a vulnerability that I couldn't resist.

I had my life all mapped out. After a painful breakup, I was focused on rebuilding—no distractions needed. But Ethan? He was the kind of distraction that made my pulse race and my heart skip a beat. When I started to believe there could be something real between us, I uncovered the truth—Ethan was hiding a secret that could shatter everything.

How do you forgive someone who lied from the start? I tried to keep my distance, but Ethan made that impossible. Every time I pushed him away, he pulled me back in, and I found myself questioning everything I thought I knew. Was I just another chapter in his secret life, or could we be something more?

Cedar Cove was supposed to be a quiet, uncomplicated place to start over. But with Ethan in town, nothing was simple anymore. The closer I got to him, the more tangled my emotions became. Now, I'm caught between the life I planned and the love I never saw coming—and I'm not sure which one I'm willing to fight for.