Loose Threads

Emily Woods thought returning to Lovette, Texas would be her fresh start.

After a brutal breakup and a pink slip in San Francisco, inheriting her beloved Aunt Helen's needlework shop feels like a lifeline. Lovette was her childhood refuge-the place where cold, distant parents couldn't reach her, where summers meant freedom, laughter, and two best friends who made her feel like she belonged.

Then she crashes. Literally.

The face staring down at her on the side of the road? Ben Wagner. Her former best friend. The guy who kissed her breathless the morning she left for college-then ghosted her completely. She thought he'd left town, but now he's the sheriff. Still annoyingly handsome. Still acting like that kiss never happened.

Emily's got enough on her plate without dealing with him.

The shop is hemorrhaging money. Aunt Helen's three meddling best friends have opinions about everything. And Ben keeps showing up-at the shop, at the diner, at her front door-like he has every right to be part of her life again.

He doesn't.

Ben never thought Emily would come back. Not to stay.

She was always meant for bigger things than Lovette. That kiss? It ruined him. He walked away because staying close to her-knowing she'd leave-would've destroyed him. But now she's here. Stubborn. Determined. Still the only woman who's ever made him forget how to breathe.

Can Emily save the shop and forgive the past? It was a boy who broke her heart, but can she risk it all on the man?

Or will Ben's fear that she'll leave again cost them both the future they never dared to dream of?