Textual Connections (Love in No - Becca Jackson

Mal

I thought I was good with my life in No Man's Land. Truth be told, I was, until I messaged Bear.

What started as an online debate about coffee vs wine, has become something so much more, it doesn't even matter that I don't know his real name and have never seen his face. My daughter doesn't agree.

She wants me to find someone "real" before she leaves for college, so when the neighbors hot brother rolls into town, she's less than subtle about my single status.

Bobby is a free spirit, man in every town, according to his sister, but that's not really him. He's fun, adventurous, kind, and he's a fantastic flirt, so when the similarities between Bear and Bobby start to align I can hardly believe my luck.

Can my online crush really be the guy next door?

Bear

I never wanted to come back to Normanland, traveling the world is everything to me, but the money has almost run out and I'm in desperate need of a sponsor that doesn't make me cringe.

My sister thinks I'm crazy for not wanting to settle down, and when I told her about chatting online with Mal she basically gave me the whole catfish creeper tv-special warning and begged me not to try to meet him for real.

Not that Mal would want to come to Normanland. I can't see what this small town has to offer anyone, that is until Michael takes it upon himself to show me the beauty of this town I'd chosen to forget.

Michael owns the local café, he's a fan of puns, is an amazing dad and loves travel, though he's never actually been anywhere. just like Mal.

I tell myself I must be crazy, because if Michael really is Mal, how long has he known? Was Meg right? Did I come back to Normanland just to get my heart broken, or could Mal really be the happy beginning I never knew I needed?