PRAISE FOR MELISSA FOSTER
“With her wonderful characters and resonating emotions, Melissa Foster is a must-read author!”
—New York Times bestseller Julie Kenner
“Melissa Foster is synonymous with sexy, swoony, heartfelt romance!”
—New York Times bestseller Lauren Blakely
“You can always rely on Melissa Foster to deliver a story that’s fresh, emotional, and entertaining.”
—New York Times bestseller Brenda Novak
“Melissa Foster writes worlds that draw you in, with strong heroes and brave heroines surrounded by a community that makes you want to crawl right on through the page and live there.”
—New York Times bestseller Julia Kent
“When it comes to contemporary romances with realistic characters, an emotional love story, and smokin’-hot sex, author Melissa Foster always delivers!”
—The Romance Reviews
“Foster writes characters that are complex and loyal, and each new story brings further depth and development to a redefined concept of family.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Melissa Foster definitely knows how to spin a tale and keep you flipping the pages.”
—Book Loving Fairy
“You can never go wrong with the heroes that Melissa Foster creates. She hasn’t made one yet that I haven’t fallen in love with.”
—Natalie the Biblioholic
“Melissa is a very talented author that tells fabulous stories that captivate you and keep your attention from the first page to the last page. Definitely an author that you will want to keep on your go-to list.”
—Between the Coverz
“Melissa Foster writes the best contemporary romance I have ever read. She does it in bundles, tops it with great plots, hot guys, strong heroines, and sprinkles it with family dynamics—you got yourself an amazing read.”
—Reviews of a Book Maniac
“[Melissa Foster] has a way with words that endears a family in our hearts, and watching each sibling and friend go on to meet their true love is such a joy!”
—Thoughts of a Blonde
MORE BOOKS BY MELISSA FOSTER
LOVE IN BLOOM ROMANCE SERIES
SNOW SISTERS
Sisters in Love
Sisters in Bloom
Sisters in White
THE BRADENS
Lovers at Heart, Reimagined
Destined for Love
Friendship on Fire
Sea of Love
Bursting with Love
Hearts at Play
Taken by Love
Fated for Love
Romancing My Love
Flirting with Love
Dreaming of Love
Crashing into Love
Healed by Love
Surrender My Love
River of Love
Crushing on Love
Whisper of Love
Thrill of Love
THE BRADENS & MONTGOMERYS
Embracing Her Heart
Anything for Love
Trails of Love
Wild, Crazy Hearts
Making You Mine
Searching for Love
Hot for Love
Sweet, Sexy Heart
BRADEN NOVELLAS
Promise My Love
Our New Love
Daring Her Love
Story of Love
Love at Last
A Very Braden Christmas
THE REMINGTONS
Game of Love
Stroke of Love
Flames of Love
Slope of Love
Read, Write, Love
Touched by Love
SEASIDE SUMMERS
Seaside Dreams
Seaside Hearts
Seaside Sunsets
Seaside Secrets
Seaside Nights
Seaside Embrace
Seaside Lovers
Seaside Whispers
Seaside Serenade
BAYSIDE SUMMERS
Bayside Desires
Bayside Passions
Bayside Heat
Bayside Escape
Bayside Romance
Bayside Fantasies
THE STEELES AT SILVER ISLAND
Tempted by Love
My True Love
THE RYDERS
Seized by Love
Claimed by Love
Chased by Love
Rescued by Love
Swept into Love
SUGAR LAKE
The Real Thing
Only for You
Love Like Ours
Finding My Girl
HARMONY POINTE
Call Her Mine
This Is Love
She Loves Me
THE WHISKEYS: DARK KNIGHTS AT PEACEFUL HARBOR
Tru Blue
Truly, Madly, Whiskey
Driving Whiskey Wild
Wicked Whiskey Love
Mad About Moon
Taming My Whiskey
The Gritty Truth
In for a Penny
THE WICKEDS: DARK KNIGHTS AT BAYSIDE
A Little Bit Wicked
The Wicked Aftermath
BILLIONAIRES AFTER DARK SERIES
Wild Boys After Dark
Logan
Heath
Jackson
Cooper
Bad Boys After Dark
Mick
Dylan
Carson
Brett
HARBORSIDE NIGHTS SERIES
Catching Cassidy
Discovering Delilah
Tempting Tristan
STAND-ALONE NOVELS
Chasing Amanda (mystery/suspense)
Come Back to Me (mystery/suspense)
Have No Shame (historical fiction/romance)
Love, Lies & Mystery (three-book bundle)
Megan’s Way (literary fiction)
Traces of Kara (psychological thriller)
Where Petals Fall (suspense)
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2021 by Melissa Foster
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Montlake, Seattle
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781542027663
ISBN-10: 1542027667
Cover design by Letitia Hasser
Cover photography by Regina Wamba of MaeIDesign.com
For everyone who has suffered at the hands of others
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
A NOTE FROM MELISSA
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHAPTER ONE
THE WARM SUMMER sun beat down on Cait Weatherby’s shoulders as she came to Brighton Marsh at the end of her three-mile hike through the wildlife refuge on Silver Island. She dropped her backpack in the sand and gazed past the marshy inlet to the ocean in the distance, remembering when she was a little girl and had dreamed of walking into the sea and becoming a mermaid. She’d imagined basking in the freedom of the water and reveling in the beauty of the changing tides. She couldn’t even swim, but she’d always felt a kinship with the sea, coming and going under the cover of night, guided by the light of the moon. It had been a long time since she’d needed that camouflage, but the ghosts of her past still hovered, ever-present reminders of how quickly things could change.