“Marry me.”

“What?” I stared back at him, unblinking.

He moved closer, taking my face in his hands. “I love you, Evie. I look into the future, and the only thing I see clearly is you. Marry me.”

What’s an eighteen-year-old girl who was madly in love with her nineteen-year-old boyfriend say?

Of course, I said yes.

Twenty-four hours later, I married Adam Gunner at a Vegas chapel to the sounds of “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. Not the best omen. I get that now.

Then, exactly one week later, I left him. I walked out, leaving behind my wedding ring, annulment papers, and my heart, and he never knew why.

I haven’t seen him since. Not in ten long years.

Now, he’s here, standing before me. Looking at me with nothing but hurt and hatred in his eyes, he wants answers.

Evie Taylor and Adam Gunnar had a once in a lifetime love. Deep and consuming, their romance included a year of dating and one week of marriage before Evie left her ring and annulment papers and disappeared without a trace. Adam picked up his life and continued on, but never got over the questions and hurt Evie’s disappearance left him with.

Ten years later, a chance encounter puts Adam and Evie face to face once more. Will Evie be able to explain what happened to make her run? And will Adam be able to forgive the woman he has never gotten over?

They are both holding secrets they don’t want to reveal. While I figured out her secret pretty early, I spent more time wondering what he may have been hiding for all those years. The tension between them was palpable, both from the secrets they kept and the chemistry between them.

I wish they would have been able to sit down and have a conversation. Granted, that would make for an awfully short book, but so many of their issues were compounded from years of silence and those secrets between them. I couldn’t help but shake my head at the way they handled several situations, both in the past and the present.

There was not a lot of happiness in their present day interactions. The mood was lightened with the idyllic flashback scenes, but knowing there was something that kept them apart for 10 years even dampened the brightness of those flashbacks. The present was filled with the hurt and confusion of the 10 year separation, but also with the reminder that they still had the chemistry that drew them together all those years before. While the resolution promised the happiness that I wished for them, it happened so quickly that most of the happy was left to my imagination rather than gifted in the story.

Overall, this was an entertaining take on a second chance love story. The side characters, both helpful and antagonistic, added to the entertainment and enjoyment factor of the book. The sweet aspects of the book are contrasted with deep heartache and those emotions transferred off the page seamlessly. 

ARC provided by author and tour host in exchange for an honest review.