Bell continues her contemporary Tierney Bay series (after So Close) with a passionate second-chance romance. When Chiara Campbell’s first love, Jax Walker, ghosted her by leaving town immediately after they had sex for the first time her senior year of high school, Chiara was understandably devastated. In the decade since, she’s become a successful small-business owner and, recently, a surrogate big sister to Jax’s younger brother, Evan, who’s newly returned to Tierney Bay, Ore. When Jax learns that Evan used the college tuition money he provided to open a comic book store in Tierney Bay, he returns to the town he’s always avoided to confront his brother—but his anger turns to fear when he learns that Evan, who has Crohn’s disease, is hospitalized following emergency surgery. In a bid to save Evan’s floundering business while he’s recuperating, Chiara and Jax agree to work together. Their close proximity forces them to face their past, but Jax has never told anyone the real reason he left Tierney Bay and the heavy secret weighs on their rekindling romance. Jax and Chiara are both strong, loyal characters, and Bell does a good job showing how their intense young love lingers with them as adults. Great chemistry and tight familial bonds make for a heartwarming series entry. (Self-published)