Back Home to You
Maggie Wild
(Hope Valley, #2)
Publication date: June 30th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
She’s desperate to get her life straight. He’s struggling to stay true to his dreams. Together, can they whip up the recipe for happily ever after?
Harriet “Harry” Belmont feels like a total failure. Returning from San Francisco to England to care for her grandmother after being fired and discovering her boyfriend is married, she’s determined to turn a mess into something vaguely positive. But when her woeful cooking skills send her gran’s dinner up in smoke, the big-city refugee is stunned when the man who jumps to her rescue is a handsome old flame.
Jamie Forrest’s love of culinary creations has come back to bite him. Though the small-town chef loves the meal-kit business he built to help others, it’s become so successful he no longer has time to spend in the kitchen. But his stress multiplies exponentially when the woman he saves from a food-prep disaster turns out to be his gorgeous childhood sweetheart.
As Harry’s forgotten feelings resurface, she’s torn between helping him open his dream restaurant and fleeing back to the life she promised she’d never sacrifice for a man. And though Jamie realizes he never got over her, he’s terrified that if he lets her in, she’ll just break his heart again.
Can the reunited friends find a way to put love on the menu?
Back Home to You is the charming second book in the Hope Valley contemporary romance series. If you like feisty females, kindhearted men, and wry humor, then you’ll adore Maggie Wild’s sweet tale.
Read Back Home to You to order up affection today!
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“Dance?” Jamie said, holding out his hand.
Harry glanced at Nicki, who raised her eyebrow. “I’d take him up on the offer if I were you. You might not get a second chance.” She winked at Harry, raised her empty champagne glass, and headed for the bar.
Harry took Jamie’s hand. Her fingers prickled when she touched his, clicking on a memory she’d long since stored away: his touch. The feeling of taking the hand of someone special.
“What was Nicki talking your ear off about?” Jamie asked as he led her to the floor.
Harry smiled to herself. “Just life,” she said, and started to dance.
The band played every song from Harry’s youth. She and Jamie danced and sang words she didn’t know she remembered. Harry pulled out dance moves she hadn’t used for decades, and Jamie mirrored her like they’d been dancing that way forever. By the time the band slowed things down, Harry’s feet were on fire and her dress stuck to the moisture in the middle of her back. Jamie’s hair stuck up in damp spikes. At some point, he’d undone another button on his shirt.
“To all the lovers out there,” the singer said, her voice breathy. “We’re available for weddings.”
The crowd laughed and as the band played the opening notes of a familiar ballad, couples paired up, others left the floor, and people who’d been sitting on the sidelines suddenly found themselves pulled to their feet and led onto the dance floor. Harry made a show of looking tired. She ought to sit this one out. It was one thing to boogie the night away with Jamie, to laugh at one another’s moves, to have fun. But slow dances always meant something, and Harry didn’t want to send the wrong message. “Drink?” she asked.
Jamie took her hand and Harry was relieved he felt the same way and was leading her from the floor. But he didn’t. He held out his hands and took Harry’s. He smiled. That smile. And when he invited Harry into his arms, she went.
Jamie’s hands wrapped around her waist, and Harry’s body moved in time with his, and when she rested her head on his shoulder, her senses relaxed with the familiar scent of somewhere she belonged.
It felt like being home.
Maggie Wild lives in California Wine Country with her own Mr. Right and a small collection of furry friends. A native of Yorkshire, England, she returns "home" every day through her fictional worlds. When not writing her fun, contemporary romance stories, she loves to watch the birds in her garden and hike through the local redwoods. Learn more at MaggieWild.com.
