Riding Out the Storm

There’s a legend surrounding the Storm family: one touch, and they’re bound to the love of their life—forever. But Maverick stopped believing in legends the day Ella Decker disappeared.

Once the girl who made his heart race, Ella vanished after a summer of stolen kisses, shared secrets, and first love. She left only a cold, cruel letter behind, one that broke him in ways he refuses to admit. Now he hides behind a bad boy persona, running the family vineyard with his brother, indulging in one-night stands, and laughing off small-town whispers. Love? That’s for fools.

Ella never meant to break Maverick’s heart. But under her father’s brutal rule—pain always won. Forced to choose survival over love, she walked away...and stayed gone.

Until now.

With her past buried behind a pen name and bestselling romance novels, Ella returns to Gracemont for one reason: to face the boy she once loved—and maybe, just maybe, rewrite the ending that was stolen from them. But Maverick is no longer the sweet, loyal boy who used to kiss her in the shadows. He’s the legend now. The one who doesn’t call. The one who doesn’t stay.

But legends are rooted in truth. Once they touch again, neither of them can deny it: the spark never died, and the storm never passed.