Dove

The formula for love is pretty standard.

Girl meets boy. Boy meets girl. Sparks fly and they fall in love.

Except that boy was never supposed to be my stepbrother.

Dove

The only thing worse than losing my father was losing Josh.

He took a piece of my heart with him the night he left without so much as a goodbye. Now, three years later, he stood beside me at our parents’ funeral.

Sadness, confusion, and anger warred within me. I wished my anger was stronger—maybe then I wouldn’t still want him.

But I had always been weak for Joshua Hex, and I was starting to think he knew it. Ever since he came back, he’s been different.

I wanted to know why.

Why’d he leave in the first place? Why was he back now, helping around the farm as if he’d never left at all?

I couldn’t bring myself to ask those questions. I was scared. Scared they’d give too much away. Scared he’d find out how I really felt.

Because…

What was stopping him from leaving me again?

Josh

Leaving Dove had been the hardest thing I’d ever had to do.

But I couldn’t stay, not with these feelings for her swirling inside me. Strong, even after all these years.

I had sworn I’d never go back home, not after that night. But after our parents’ death, I couldn’t leave her on the farm by herself.

I just had to remember that Dove was off-limits.

But I could feel her eyes when they roamed over me. I could see the pretty flush on her cheeks when mine roamed back.

For the first time since I’d left, I let myself wonder…

What if she wanted this as much as I did?