Mia Montgomery is tired of men who think she’s a trophy to be won. The youngest of the Montgomery sisters has no shortage of men wanting to catch her eye. But they all come up…lacking. They either want her for her looks or her last name.
But not Noah Miller.
After getting the best friend of her best friend’s brother a job at the local greasy spoon after he gets laid off, she finds herself drawn to him. Noah hardly looks at her, and when he does, he’s surly about it. After a lifetime of being chased, he’s exactly the kind of man she wants. Underneath that gruff exterior is a man who isn’t going to treat her as though she is a prize to be won and shown off.
Noah won’t make his mortgage payment in another month. When the upbeat, bubbly best friend of his best friend’s sister is left to find a new apartment as that sister moves out, he invites her to share half his house and mortgage. The only problem is the kiss they shared in the freezer at work a couple of days ago and the fact that it’s all he can think about.
Someone like Mia Montgomery isn’t for a guy like him, but that doesn’t stop the attraction and pull he feels toward her. As the two of them grow close, he falls a little harder with each thing he learns about her.
When Noah is exactly the kind of man she’s looking for, how can Mia convince him that the only thing she wants from him is himself? When he feels like she’ll eventually leave him for someone better, how can he learn that Mia is the one who decides what she deserves, not him?
Tropes: grumpy/sunshine romance, best friends of siblings, coworkers, she needs a place to stay, he won’t make his mortgage, she likes to push his buttons
Available: Kindle – Kindle Unlimited – Paperback
Content Warnings
Parental Death – The MMC’s mother passed away from cancer five years ago. The death itself is historic and off-page. The MMC and his father often talk about how much they miss her throughout the story.
Abandonment – One of the secondary characters was abandoned by her parents when she was seventeen. The event is viewed through the eyes of the FMC, her best friend.
Terrible and Abusive Parents – Several sets of parents in this story are problematic. The Montgomerys mentally and emotionally abused the FMC’s sister when their plan for her to be with the son of another wealthy and powerful family in Cherry Grove didn’t work out. The Thompsons forced their son to end things with the FMC’s best friend, while threatening her well-being, and to date the eldest Montgomery daughter. The Martins abandoned the FMC’s best friend when she was seventeen after a lifetime of neglecting and abusing her and her brother.
Bullying – The circumstances between a secondary couple started when she bullied him in school. The bullying is historical and mostly off-page, with references to the events containing only a few details.
Abusive Relationship – One of the secondary characters left an abusive marriage. It is referenced historically.
BDSM/Kink – The MMC and FMC frequently dabble in BDSM and kink as they begin sleeping together—including but not limited to bondage, marking, rough sex, pinning of hands and wrists, spit play, orgasm denial, light degradation, and temperature play. Toward the end of the story, a scandal breaks involving the FMC’s sister, where a sex tape has been leaked. The video has bondage, degradation, and rough sex. The video was uploaded to the internet without consent, and the FMC only reads articles about it.
Depression/Grieving – Depression and grieving are discussed with regard to the MMC’s father over the loss of the MMC’s mother. The MMC struggles with losing his long-term girlfriend and his job, and with having bought a house outside his new, much lower income bracket. The FMC feels abandoned and lonely after her best friend moves out to live with her boyfriend.
Homophobia – The events between the FMC’s sister and the FMC’s coworker have a basis in her starting a rumor about him being involved with his male best friend, who was seeing the ex of the guy who broke her heart, are briefly mentioned. This rumor led to the coworker being kicked out by his parents in his senior year of high school.
Explicit Sex
Alcohol Consumption
