From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis comes a new story in her Heartbreaker Bay series…

When the one you want …

Daisy doesn’t believe love is ever-lasting, so it’s ironic as hell that she parlayed a business degree into a wedding planning business. More ironic still is her latest job bringing her back into contact with the man who’d taught her that love can’t last.

Is the one you can’t have…

To say Diego has been taught the hard way to bury emotions is an understatement. But when he’s called home to help the brother he hasn’t seen or spoken to in years, that’s one thing. It’s another entirely to also come face to face with the first woman he ever loved. First and only…

Can love conquer all?

Daisy’s learned to depend only on herself, and Diego is and always has been an island of one. And yet when they’re together, even when they’re bickering, still wary and haunted by memories of what was … it’s magic. The question is, how to find their way back to each other…?

Book Type:

Contemporary Romance

Exclusive Excerpt: Twist of Fate

Some days required more self-care than others.

She’d just gotten comfy when a knock came at her door. Damn. Setting aside the carton of rocky road, she got up, leaned into the peephole and stilled. Oh shit.

Diego.

She stepped back and had a pep-talk with herself. Okay, remember…you are not the sweet, innocent little thing you once were. The one who fell head over heels for that crooked smile. You’re a grownup, a professional, and you don’t need no stinkin’ man—

He knocked again, and she jumped a little. What is he doing here? He’d made it clear earlier what she’d already known, that he hadn’t missed her, probably hadn’t given her a single thought in all these years.

It rankled that she couldn’t say the same, though it wasn’t from lack of trying. She’d done her best to get over him, but he’d been soul-deep. And that was hard to exhume.

His voice came again, surprisingly low, but she could hear him clearly enough. “Daisy, I know you’re in there. I can smell the wheels burning.”

Rolling her eyes at both of them, she opened the door to find him standing there, hands resting above him on the doorjamb, filling the space with that big, tough body that had once upon a time made hers sing the hallelujah chorus.

He lifted his head, his eyes meeting hers. “Yeah, trust me, I’m not thrilled either,” he said. “What was that crack about me putting you second?”

“Why do you care?”

Looking surprised, he opened his mouth but then shut it again with a small shake of his head as if he couldn’t process her question. Instead of answering, he brushed past her to enter.

“Gee,” she said dryly. “Come on in.”

He looked around the small but cozy apartment she loved because it was home in a way no other place had ever been. She could tell that he didn’t miss anything, including the fact that her TV was paused on Netflix, there was a gallon of ice cream sitting open on the coffee table with a wooden spoon sticking out of it, and a slightly embarrassingly large glass of wine sat nearby. He turned to face her.

Yes, she knew what he’d been up to. Her stalking skills were even better than her event planning skills, and she prided herself on being the best at that. He had an Instagram account that he was annoyingly stingy about posting on, but she’d managed to learn some things. Such as when she left for New York to take her scholarship, he’d stayed here in San Francisco, taking care of his dad after his debilitating stroke and running The Canvas Shop. After his dad’s death, Diego had left for San Diego, and as far as she could tell, he’d not been back since.

Until now.

“I care,” Diego said, startling her.

“Huh.” She nodded. “You’ve got a funny way of showing it.”

He stood still, watching her, his energy deceptively relaxed. Because he wasn’t. Relaxed. It’d been nearly a decade since she’d been wrapped around that gorgeous body, but she still knew it almost better than she knew her own.

“I thought we should talk,” he said.

“Okay, and here’s what I think,” she said carefully. “One, you’re the best man of your brother’s wedding. Two, I’m the wedding planner. Three, we’re doing this for Rocco. And none of those things are going to change, correct?”

He nodded curtly.

“So then, we have no choice,” she said. “We have to get through this. I suggest we make a pact.”

“A pact.”

“Yes,” she said.

His eyes darkened, and just like that, she was thrown back in time to the way they’d been. Young. Sweet. Ridiculously in love. And competitive as hell. They’d made a lot of pacts in those days. Actually, more like dares. Who could outrun the other to the pier and back. Who could get their homework done the fastest. Who could make better cinnamon and sugar toast… Each bet had come with a prize—winner’s choice, of course. And since neither ever had a cent to their name, the bounty had almost always been sexual.

She’d often counted on it.

The memories in his gaze had her swallowing hard. “The pact is we avoid each other whenever possible,” she said.

Now, he looked amused. “How do you suggest we do that when we’re going to be in the same room more often than not?”

“We both know there are ways to avoid someone even if they’re standing right next to you.”

This got her another long look from him, and she lifted her chin. “I suggest we start right now.”

When he didn’t respond to that, she picked up her glass of wine and drank it all. Liquid courage and all that. “I’m going to take your silence as agreement.” She set down the now-empty glass. “So, let’s call this happy reunion over and done so you can let me get back to my life.”