Resisting Fate by Melanie Shawn

Audrey Wells loved her life. From the time she was a kid watching Gilmore Girls, she’d dreamed of living in a small town and owning her own business. And she made her dreams come true. Eight years ago she moved to Hope Falls, a quintessential small town, where she opened a coffee shop with her sisters.

She loved her business. She loved her community. And she loved her best friend. Scratch that, she was in love with her best friend. For years she’d kept her feelings (and virginal status) to herself. But one accidental confession while Dining in the Dark could change everything. Or at least, she hoped it would.

Josh Bianchi survived his life. It’s what he’d done from the time he was a kid. He survived growing up with an absent mother and an alcoholic father. He survived seven years in the Army and a career-ending blast from an IED. He survived each day with back pain and each night with night terrors.

The one bright spot in his life was is his best friend. Her smile was a lighthouse in his sea of darkness. His feelings for her were more than love, more than attraction, more than anyone could ever understand. She saved him when no one knew he needed saving. She was a walking, breathing angel. His angel. He would never do anything to jeopardize his relationship with her. Or at least he thought he wouldn’t. One intimate confession made in the dark tempted him to cross the line and risk it all.

Author’s Note: Resisting Fate is a friends-to-lovers, forced proximity, virgin, small-town romance. These soulmates’ rocky road to HEA is paved with a wounded hero, sweet and steady heroine, rescue dog named Thor who is…wait for it…afraid of thunder, well-meaning (read: meddling) family members with behind-the-scenes plots and schemes, and an abundance of swoon-worthy awws, chuckle-inducing hahas, and ohs so hot you may need to fan yourself. Disclaimer: fan not included in purchase.