Madeline Stewart left Bluebell years ago for an exciting life in New York. But when the life she carefully built ends in financial ruin and public disgrace, she retreats to the charming lakeside town of her childhood with a suitcase, a shattered reputation, and a deep yearning for a fresh start.
There's just one problem: Trenton James is still there.
Trent serves as Bluebell's dependable mayor and a successful small-business owner--but he was once the boy who stole her heart during one unforgettable summer. He's built a good life and has no intention of reopening old wounds with a woman who already left him once.
But when a new development threatens his town, Madeline becomes the center of the controversy. Suddenly she's unemployable, and Trent reluctantly offers her a temporary position in his business. Keeping their guards up day after day proves to be a struggle, but time together begins to soften the hurt and remind them of the love they once shared.
With small-town whispers spreading, Madeline must find the courage to rebuild a life from the ruins of the old one--and discover whether coming home might lead to something more beautiful than anything she lost.
And Trent will have to decide if loving her again is worth the risk of watching her leave a second time.
Escape to Bluebell for a heartfelt second-chance romance brimming with lakeside charm, summertime nostalgia, and the delicious possibility that your first love just might be your forever love.
Denise Hunter is the internationally published, bestselling author of fifty books, three of which have been adapted into original Hallmark Channel movies. She has won the Holt Medallion Award, the Reader’s Choice Award, the Carol Award, and the Foreword Book of the Year Award and is also a RITA finalist. When Denise isn’t orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling with her family, drinking chai lattes, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana, where she and her husband raised three boys and are now enjoying an empty nest and five beautiful grandchildren.