Riley Callahan’s plans to reveal his secret feelings for his best friend are ruined when his life is drastically altered in Afghanistan.
Watching the love of his life falling for his brother was enough to send Riley straight to boot camp. But over a year later, he’s officially a marine, and Beau and Paige are no longer an item. When Riley’s tour in Afghanistan is up, he intends to confess his feelings to Paige and win his best friend’s heart once and for all.
But all that changes when an IED takes the life of a comrade and leaves Riley an amputee. Now he’s heading home, injured and troubled. His plans to win Paige are a distant dream. She deserves so much more than the man that’s left. All he can do now is put some healthy distance between them. But upon his return he discovers his family has arranged for him to stay with Paige.
Paige is a nurturer at heart and happy to take care of her best buddy. By all appearances he’s adjusting miraculously well to his disability. But as the days pass, Paige begins to see that the smiles and laughter are just a mask for the pain he’s hiding. He has nightmares and mood swings, and his unwavering independence keeps him from accepting help from anyone, including her. To make matters worse, her job is in serious jeopardy. The animal shelter that she’s poured her heart into has lost its funding, and she has three months to come up the money needed to save it.
As the weeks wear on with the two in such close proximity, Paige’s feelings for Riley begin to shift into unchartered territory. Why is she suddenly noticing his corded arm muscles and the way his lips curl at the corners? Will she be able to deny her feelings for another Callahan brother? And will Riley let his heart heal so he can let Paige in?
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Sexual Content - 1/5
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Violence - 0/5
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Language - 0/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 0/5
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Summary
"So much for all the plans You have for me, huh, God? Prosper, not harm? Hope and a future?"
Riley Callahan's future was literally blown away when his Marine unit encountered an Afghanistan IED. Returning home as an amputee, Riley is experiencing the bitterness of defeat as well as the daunting expectation of seeing his best friend and life-long love, Paige Warren. What he isn't expecting is Paige's offer to be his caretaker until his improved health can return him to a measure of independence. Riley is determined to let Paige go, to release her from his heart, so that she can experience the full, whole love of another. But, it just isn't happening.
Paige Warren is fully acquainted with loss. Having grown up in a family with a distant father and a callous mother, her friendship with Riley Callahan remained a constant, that is until he abruptly enlisted into the Marines without a word. Now he has returned home, only to stir feelings within Paige that do not remotely resemble friendship. And, then there is that "just a kiss."
Deliciously romantic, this book is not only a pleasure to read, but highlights how important it is to acknowledge one's identity as being a member of God's family, with a loving Father who never disappoints.