The Second Time is Sweeter by Natalie Tay

Love is a luxury that Sydney Collins, single mom extraordinaire, simply cannot afford. Between raising Max, finishing school, and trying to eke out a living at the local ice cream shop, she barely has time to clean the apartment, much less date. Carefully controlling her reality is the only way she can get by, but when her high school sweetheart Sam moves in upstairs, her world is sent for a spin.

Sam’s advances are more than tempting, but Sydney’s walls are there for a reason. The scars of her husband’s abuse run deeper than she wants to admit, but Sam’s patient friendship is exactly what she needs. It doesn’t take long for him to fill the space in her life she didn’t know was missing. But her traumas are persistent, and she can’t help wondering if she can ever move past her baggage. Would a romance with Sam be doomed to fail? Or could the second time be even sweeter than before?