Book excerpt: With Blu, a woman he's grown up with, telling the town she's going to be his wife, Shep Carter finds it difficult to pursue the woman he truly loves. They, too, grew up together, and somewhere during their adolescence, he fell head over heels in love with Louisa Ryland. He's tried his hardest not to act on his feelings because of his friendship with Blu, but he can't do it any longer. Louisa and Shep's friendship turned into love somewhere along the way, and she's been nursing a broken heart ever since. It's all she can do when her best friend, Blu, is also in love with him. Between the Pages, Louisa's bookstore, saved her as she accepted her broken heart and the fact that Shep would one day leave town. After all, that was all he talked about the summer before they left for college...yet he returned home and has made a life for himself in Blossom Creek. Their love has been contained for years, but this summer it’s about to explode into a passion neither can control yet hope never ends.