In the cozy town of Birch Lake, tea shop owner Poppy Kitchener thought she’d left her mistakes, and her failed marriage, in the past. But when her ex-husband, Alistair Miller, turns up—as charming and irritatingly handsome as ever—those old feelings float to the surface. To top it off, he has a puzzling proposition: pretend they’re still married for his cousin’s wedding in exchange for a lucrative business deal with his family.
Easy enough, right? After all, this could be Poppy’s last chance to get closure, grow her business and use Alistair’s knowledge of microbrewing to help her finish that winning recipe for the tea competition.
But even after all this time, he still knows how to make her laugh. And he’s changed in ways that make Poppy wonder about the man he’s become… Can she trust this new Alistair with her heart, or will a second chance brew up disaster?
From showing up to glowing up, the characters in Afterglow Books are on the path to leading their best lives and finding sizzling romance along the way. Don’t miss any of these other fun titles…
It was all well and good that Alistair wanted to help her get a fair deal from his family, but it was also a lot sus. He’d literally never cared about her position in the family before this. Part of why her marriage hadn’t been the love match she’d believed it to be.
Grimacing while he nervously kneaded his own legs, Alistair took his time answering.
Over his shoulder, she noticed Sera and Liberty coming closer to them. The doubts that she’d been struggling to contain were assuaged by their presence. The warmth of that bond and friendship gave her strength.
“If you can’t answer me, then we’re done,” she said. Merle had been right about her needing closure, but she wasn’t getting back on the hamster wheel that had been her life with Alistair.
“I’m trying.”
“Good for you. Try harder. You and I don’t speak the same language.”
He inhaled deeply, making his chest flex, something she noted and tried to ignore. But Alistair had always been a physical guy, working out, and it was hard to ignore how ripped he was. One of the things that had originally drawn her eye to him was his body. He looked like a sexier version of Harry Styles, mixed with Timothée Chalamet, with a little old-school Chris Pine—Princess Diaries era. One look at him, and she’d fallen hard.
“Fine. I am on a leave of absence—”
“You need me to get you back in?” Disappointed in herself for believing for half a second that he might be here for some other reason. Of course it was about pleasing his father and reclaiming his place in the family company.
“No. NO. Let me start over. I don’t want to get back in. I am trying to right past wrongs. I should have read that contract before I told you to sign it. I want you to get what you deserve, not continue being screwed over by Lancaster-Spencer Tea Makers as you have been.”
If what he was saying was true… But how could she trust Alistair again? What did it say about her that she really wanted to? It had taken her five long years to start repairing that damage, and it was only the bond she had with Sera and Liberty that made the healing easier. “That’s nice,” she said.
“If you’re going to be like that, then don’t bother.”
“Like what?” she demanded, feeling her own anger building for the first time. Something she hadn’t allowed since she’d walked out of their flat in Kensington.
“Treating me like I deserve to be treated. If this isn’t the time and you’re not ready to let go of the past, well, I respect that. But my father is going to come for you, and he’s got good corporate solicitors that rarely lose.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” she said. But his honesty here was appreciated. “How would us pretending to be married help?”
“As my wife, you have some sway on the board. Mum and George will stand with us when we go up against Dad.”
“If I went, when would we leave and return? I can’t just jet off and leave my store,” she said.
“I thought we’d leave on Sunday—”
“In two days?”
He had the grace to look sheepish. “I was afraid if I gave you too much time to think, you’d say no.”
“Legend,” she said sarcastically.
He pushed his hand through his hair and looked down at the table before locking eyes with her. “I get it. I’m an ass, and I treated you poorly. I am sorry. You know that. I’ve apologized. I’m trying to at least get something good for you out of the mess that our marriage was.”
Her heart tugged. She couldn’t resist Ali when he was sincere, which wasn’t as often as she would have liked. But now…when the change in him flashed…
“I accepted your apology in that email. But I didn’t expect… Well I had no idea what it would be like seeing you in person again,” she said.
Damn Ali. At this moment, he embodied all the things she liked about him, owning his mistakes in a way that he’d only done when they were dating. She wouldn’t deny that hearing him say she deserved better than Lancaster-Spencer made her melt a little.
“Me either,” he admitted.
“I need some time to think.” But she already was leaning toward going with him. Did that make her the most pitiful woman on the planet? Luckily, she had “Bad Idea Right?” by Olivia Rodrigo on replay in her head.
Cutting herself a break, she was going to send him on his way. Chances were, she was going to the UK on Sunday for a week, which meant she needed to get more staff in. That didn’t mean that Alistair shouldn’t sweat a little. Things came too easily to him the first time…
“I’ll give you my answer tomorrow,” she said, standing.
Alistair gave her a tight nod and then turned to walk out of the shop.
She had to be careful she wasn’t all hello, love when she should be goodbye, lover. It was a delicate balance, and one only she could weigh and decide on.
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Sounds like a book I will enjoy reading.
ReplyDeleteThe excerpt sounds good. I would enjoy reading this one.
ReplyDelete