He was the boy who asked me out… and then never showed up.
Now he’s the man building a patio outside my bookstore—and I can’t escape him.
Maverick was my high school almost. The one who flirted, who lingered, who made me believe in something more—until he stood me up and proved we were too different after all. I went on to build my quiet, predictable life in our small town. He left with a chip on his shoulder and came back with tattoos, muscles, and a reputation.
Now the town has hired him to build a garden patio right outside my shop, which means I have a front-row seat to the man he’s become.
Gruff. Broody. Distractingly handsome.
He insists we were never meant to work. That I deserve someone better. But every lingering glance, every brush of his hand, every heated argument that ends a little too close is proof that whatever we started back then was never finished.
The problem?
He still thinks he’s not good enough for me.
And I’m starting to wonder if the real risk isn’t loving Maverick again…
It’s convincing him he’s worth it.
A steamy small-town romance featuring a broody contractor, a sunshine bookstore owner, and a second chance that proves some dreams aren’t broken—they’re just waiting to be rebuilt.
🔥 Expect:
• A broody bad-boy hero with tattoos and regrets
• A good girl heroine who won’t settle
• Forced proximity while building her dream
• Lingering glances and unresolved history
• Walls coming down—literally and emotionally
• Heat, heart, and a love rebuilt from the ground up
Broken Dreams is book 4 in The Sterling Brothers Series but can be read as a standalone.
The Sterling Brothers
Book 1: Wildest Dreams
Book 2: Midnight Dreams
Book 3: Tempting Dreams
Book 4: Broken Dreams
Book 5: Sweet Dreams
Book 6: Forbidden Dreams
Lea Coll is a USA Today bestselling author who writes sweet and sexy happily ever afters. She worked as a trial attorney for over ten years. Now she stays home with her three children, plotting stories while fetching snacks and running them back and forth to activities. She enjoys the freedom of writing romance after years of legal writing.