Always and Forever by Julia Jarrett

He’s my childhood best friend’s older brother, a man I haven’t seen in eighteen years.

But while I was gone, Ethan Monroe went from the boy I knew to the seriously hot mayor of our small town. I’m talking plaid-wearing, scruff-bearing, panty-melting gorgeous.

The thing is, I didn’t come back to Dogwood Cove to date. I’m only here to deal with my estranged father’s will and figure out what to do with the run-down beachfront resort he decided to leave me.

The resort needs a lot of work, and Ethan offers to help. He makes a tool belt look good and watching him lift heavy loads is making me wish we were more than just friends. And if the looks he gives me are any indication, that attraction goes both ways.

Except I’ve got trust issues that can’t be repaired with a hammer and nails, and my wounded heart is only just beginning to heal.
Coming back to Dogwood Cove is exactly what I didn’t know I needed. Risking my new life for a man, for love, feels wrong.

But what if Ethan is the reason moving back feels so right?