Genres: Contemporary Romance 
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from Enticing Journey in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
This is a swoon worthy second chance read with a dose of sexy and sweet! Meet Aubrey and Cole, high school sweethearts whose relationship ended abruptly close to their wedding….. Fast forward 10 years….
Aubrey is a character that is easy to like. She’s achieved professional success and it was easy to relate to her questioning the robustness of her personal life when she gets her wake-up call. Cole is equally easy to like; I appreciated the fact that he was dealing with his own case of the “what ifs” and didn’t hold Aubrey’s decisions against her too much. The welcome Aubrey received when she returned to her hometown and the instant re-connection between her and Cole was heartwarming and created hope for the future.
As much as I liked Aubrey, Cole, the small secondary cast, their interactions, and their story, I did feel like a small piece was missing. While I understood why Aubrey made the decision she did at 22 and some of what was behind it, I also felt a bit confused. As Aubrey would interact with the people from her hometown and explain, I couldn’t help but wonder “why?” As many times as she explained, the core motivation to take a left turn in her life wasn’t there.
Even with my confusion about Aubrey’s original motivations, this was still a book I truly enjoyed. I loved the sense that when the person is right, the timing will work itself out.
Bennett parked his truck and pulled out the key. “Yep. A lot of our high school buddies will be in there. They’ll be excited to see the famous movie director, Aubrey Reynolds.” He winked, and it gave me hope. If I could get him on my side, I had to believe I could convince Cole too. He reached over and opened my door. “If you don’t want to go in there with everyone, I’ll bring him out.”
Hands shaking, I nodded as my whole body started to tremble with nerves. “That sounds better. I don’t want to go in there just yet.”
Bennett sighed. “All right. I’ll bring him out.”
He got out of the truck and disappeared inside. Slowly, I exited the truck and walked toward the steps. My legs felt so heavy I doubted I could even climb up them. This was it. It was the moment I’d been dreading, yet looking forward to. I’d dreamed about the time I’d see Cole again, face to face. I already knew it wouldn’t be an easy meeting, especially considering how Bennett’s first encounter with me was.
Everything moved in slow motion as I waited for Cole to come outside. I stood at the bottom of the steps, feeling more vulnerable with each passing second. What if he saw me and then turned right back around? Getting him to hear me out wasn’t going to be easy.
“Oh my God, I can’t do this.” Heart racing out of control, I dashed to the side of the building. I peeked my head around the corner just as the door opened and Cole stepped out. I flattened myself against the wall so he couldn’t see me, and I was almost certain he’d hear me hyperventilating.
“What exactly did you want me to see?” Cole asked, laughing at Bennett. It was clear he’d had a couple of drinks already. “There’s nothing out here.” Hearing his voice brought up all sorts of emotions inside me. I’d missed him so much.
Bennett huffed, most likely thinking I ran off. “Never mind, brother. My mistake.”
Cole chuckled. “Come on, I’ll buy you a drink.”
I jumped out from beside the building, and Bennett stopped. “Wait,” I called out. Cole had his back to me, but he froze and turned around slowly. The second our eyes locked, nothing else existed. It was what I’d secretly hoped for. He might hate me, but there was no denying the bond we had. I felt the spark between us even now.
