Broken Butterfly by Maxene Novak

Belle had been well on her way to global success as one of the most daring ballerinas of her time, when a catastrophic staging mistake crippled her. Unable to handle living amongst her one-time peers, Belle flees the city of Des Moines, pointing her car east with no destination. She drives until she runs out of gas for the second time, then, on a whim, decides to rebuild her life in the tiny town of Anderson, PA.

Her welcoming committee consists of Ruger, her young, playful landlord who has been in love with her from afar ever since she made headlines on national stages. Though reluctant to be in such close proximity to a fan, Belle decides to rent a room in his storybook-style cottage
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Still crippled from her accident, Belle is in need of a physical therapist. Being a small town, there is only one; and he has a deep and tangled history with Belle’s starstruck landlord. As depression at the loss of her career threatens to swallow her whole, Belle pushes beyond her limits in a desperate attempt to regain the strength and ability she feels she’s lost.

Ruger has been back in town for a couple of years after his sudden and ill-planned escape six years earlier. His past follows him wherever he goes, and he can’t seem to shake his obsession with his long-time ex boyfriend; the skilled and extremely hot Colt. Ancient hurts build walls between them, however, and the more impatient Ruger becomes, the thicker the walls become. Belle’s arrival at his rental kicks off a journey of self-discovery that had been a long time coming, and his painful restructuring of self mirrors her own journey toward healing. They bond quickly, though neither of them can decide whether real feelings or desperation are driving their attachment.

Colt has spent the six years since Ruger broke his heart bettering himself in every way. He put in the work, and became a better man for it. When Ruger breaks down one night, however, his self-control wanes. In addition to the sudden rekindling of the fire that he’d thought had gone out between them, Colt finds himself irresistibly drawn to Ruger’s new tenant… who also happens to be his newest client.

Ethical questions and overwhelming lust drive them to do things they never would have considered before. Will they tear each other apart? Or will they find a way to balance their dysfunction, and create the sort of mundane magic they all crave?