First published 2014
Shandi Pierce has her hands full at twenty-one. She's finishing college while raising Natty, her brilliant three-year-old son, and mediating between her Catholic mother and Jewish father who never stop fighting despite their long-ago divorce. Then a trip to a gas station mini-mart turns dangerous when an armed robber walks in. William Ashe, a towering stranger, steps between the gunman and Natty without hesitation. Shandi can't stop thinking about this man she sees as her personal Thor. William carries his own burdens as a geneticist who lost everything exactly one year ago in what he calls a tragic act of physics. He believes in science and choice rather than fate, but meeting Shandi and Natty feels like destiny. As their relationship deepens, both must confront secrets about faith, family, and the stories they tell themselves. Jackson weaves together themes of sacrifice and second chances in a story that examines how love arrives when people need it most, even when it looks nothing like what they expected.
Genres: fiction, romance, contemporary, contemporary-romance, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
352 pages · Paperback · William Morrow & Co