Starting Back - Stephanie Rose

Kristina

My accidental solo vacation takes a turn for the less-depressing after a drink that leads to a date with a brawny, bedroom-eyed firefighter. I'm 42, divorced, with two daughters at home. I thought romance was in my rearview mirror until the mysteriously intense Leo makes me feel like I'm the only woman in the Florida Keys.

I know better than to get attached. But between midnight kisses and dirty talk under starry skies, our connection feels so real. So right.

I can't give up my entire life for a fling. Not even for a man that reminds me I'm not defined by a failed marriage and a car pool calendar. And especially not one who has no interest in a family of his own, let alone a package deal like me.

Leo
We were supposed to be temporary. Just like everything else in my life. So why can't I get Kristina out of my head? I'm the master of no strings, no attachments. But our time together haunts me after she leaves.

I'm not cut out to make a life with a woman. A woman with two kids? Forget it.

At least, that's what I thought until fate brings us together again. It turns out the move I made to be closer to family brings me to Kristina's hometown—and right in her path.

I can't still explain the overpowering pull between us, but I'm sure of who she is.

Mine.

And I'm not letting her go this time.