
Stephen Hudson fell in love with the girl next door when he was six years old. She was his best friend and all his favorite firsts. She was his everything, and for as long as he can remember he has always put her first. So, when he wakes up one day at eighteen to a cold bed and a regretful note from the girl he’s loved for his whole life, he does the only thing he knows how. He puts her first and lets her go, even though it kills him. Dottie Lynn Hart has a love and hate relationship with LA. She’s been in the City of Angels for nearly a decade, and it’s starting to feel like the world has moved on without her. Her three best friends are hundreds of miles away in San Francisco, she has no family to speak of, and the appeal of her career as a social media influencer and model has lost its shimmer. Even though she’s spent nine years avoiding Fox Hole, Tennessee like the plague, when her pushiest friend asks her- again- to join her on a trip to their hometown for the holidays, Dottie is out of excuses. She could use the change of scenery and smog-free air, and she can’t seem to tamp down the niggling curiosity in her brain that wants to know what might happen if she looks into the eyes of the boy she left behind when she was younger one more time. ‘Tis the damn season, right?
Author

Emily Shacklette is an avid reader, Swiftie and cat lady. She loves romantic tension and spice that lasts for pages. She currently resides in the heart of beautiful San Francisco with her husband and Olive, Punky, and Chicken (her cat children). When she's not reading or writing, you can find her watching Community, riding her Peloton, or listening to Taylor Swift as loudly as the volume will go. Find her on Instagram (@authoremilyshack / @emilyshaack) YouTube (Emily Shack) and TikTok (@authoremilyshaack). authoremilyshack.com