First published 2019
Lexi Pendergraft walks into a bar near a community theater wearing a black wig and a borrowed confidence she hasn't felt in over a year. Behind the bar is Ben Masterson, who works there to cover tuition after losing his scholarship. Lexi is sure he doesn't know who she is. Ben is pretty sure he does. Lexi has reasons to keep her distance from men. A rape a year ago upended her life, and her last relationship made things worse. Now she channels her energy into two projects: a summer program for underprivileged middle schoolers and figuring out what her brother Reed is hiding. Reed's secret is wrecking his engagement to Caroline, and Lexi owes him. He gave up his own future so she could have something close to a normal college experience after their parents tried to take that from her. Ben is just trying to survive his final semester at Southern University. Three part-time jobs, mechanical engineering coursework, and no sleep. His job in the university math lab seemed like a break until he found out his boss is Reed Pendergraft. Getting involved with Reed's sister is the last thing Ben wants. But when circumstances force him to help her, he needs to know who she actually is.
Genres: fiction, romance, contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, contemporary-romance
Vibes: character-driven, emotional, healing-journey, intimate, introspective, tender
Tropes: forced-proximity, found-family, friends-to-lovers, second-chance-romance
Setting: Southern University, community theater
354 pages · Paperback · Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Content warnings: emotional-abuse, rape, sexual-assault