She ran from a man who used money to control her. He’s spent his whole life hiding the fortune that costs him everyone he loves.
Sloane Fitzgerald can squeeze a nickel until it cries. She has to. Second Chance Ranch Animal Rescue runs on a shoestring, sheer stubbornness, and her spreadsheets. What it doesn’t run on is charity — because Sloane knows what generous men expect in return. Her ex’es gifts always came with strings. He called her music a charming pastime and then made sure she never played again.
Daniel Reeves owns the bookshop on Main Street. He hosts music nights, remembers what everybody’s reading, and has just been claimed by a bonded rescue dog and cat who took one look at the quietest man in Haven Creek and declared him theirs.
He also inherited a fortune he never wanted. And he’s watched it cost him every single person he’s ever loved. So when the rescue needs saving, Daniel does what he always does. He gives quietly. Anonymously. And says nothing at all.
Winter comes, along with chai, late nights, and snow falling past the bookshop windows. A shy man who goes pink to his ears every time she laughs. An old upright piano and a woman who hasn’t touched the keys in six years, teaching him three notes at a time. A fund-raising auction to plan. Four best friends with far too many opinions and absolutely no subtlety. A barn full of animals nobody else will save.
And two guarded people falling slowly, carefully, completely for each other. Right up until Sloane finds out where the money came from.
She knows what buying love looks like. She knows exactly what it costs.
Now the man who’s spent his life giving in secret must risk being seen—and the woman who ran from wealth has to decide whether a secret kept out of love is still a lie.
Can two people who’ve spent their adult lives hiding and protecting themselves finally take the risk of being seen?
