The bestselling author ofย The Simple Wildย andย Keep Her Safeย andย โmaster of steamy romanceโ (Kirkus Reviews) delivers a sizzling novel about an ambitious and high-powered executive who reconnects with her first love: the boy who broke her heart.ย
Life is a mixed bag for Piper Calloway.
On the one hand, sheโs a twenty-nine-year-old VP at her dadโs multibillion-dollar real estate development firm, and living the high single life with her two best friends in a swanky downtown penthouse. On the other hand, sheโs considered a pair of sexy legs in a male-dominated world and constantly has to prove her worth. Plus sheโs stuck seeing her narcissistic ex-fiancรฉโa fellow VPโon the other side of her glass office wall every day.
Things get exponentially more complicated for Piper when she runs into Kyle Millerโthe handsome new security guard at Calloway Group, and coincidentally the first love of her life.
The guy she hasnโt seen or heard from since they were summer camp counselors together. The guy from the wrong side of the tracks. The guy whoย apparentlyย doesnโt even remember her name.
Piper may be a high-powered businesswoman now, but she soon realizes that her schoolgirl crush is still alive and strong, and crippling her concentration. Whatโs more, despite Kyleโs distant attitude, sheโs convinced their reunion isnโt at all coincidental, and that his feelings for her still run deep. And sheโs determined to make him admit to them, no matter the consequences.
A high-powered executive collides with the boy who once broke her heart in K.A. Tuckerโs SAY YOU STILL LOVE ME.
Piper Calloway has led a privileged life, albeit under her fatherโs unrelentingly rigid dominion. And yet, sheโs followed in his footsteps, primed to take over his multibillion-dollar real-estate development firm. Sheโs not had it easy however, as she struggles to earn her title in a male-dominated business, surrounded by some intent on undermining her.
Piper is floored when one day she runs into her first loveโthe boy who broke her heart one summer. Kyle is now a security guard in her building, who seems to want nothing to do with her.
But soon, Piper uncovers thereโs so much more simmering beneath the surfaceโtruths left unsaid, feelings which remained. Piper is determined to figure out what happened with Kyle so long ago, and either close that part of her life and heart, or finally give it the chance she always hoped for.
I can always rely on K.A. Tucker to deliver uniquely compelling story lines, and this second-chance love story certainly took some unexpected, poignant twists. Penned in then and now format, we experience the summer-time romance between two teenagers, and the love that blossomedโand enduredโthroughout the years.
Piper and Kyle live in two different worlds. Piper grew up wealthy, sheltered, with parents who doted on her, while Kyle grew up in a family who set all the wrong examples, who made bad choices to make ends meet. Despite the odds, something real grew between them and you really felt that.
Admittedly, Iโm not a big fan of then and now timelines, as I always yearn for more โpresent timeโ moments, but in this case, you needed the former to divulge transgressions not initially known. And yet, the then chapters felt long to me. I wanted to delve more into who they were as adults, what their experiences had been, and further explore the natural tension that arises between two very different people who have spent thirteen years apart.
Unfortunately, this latest didnโt feel as tight, as deeply felt as some of Tuckerโs other books. The narrative imbues both romance and suspense, and perhaps the balance between them, plus the mix of then/now timelines, somehow detracted from how deeply we could explore any one path. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading it, and itโs a solid story from an author who consistently delivers.
I hold my free hand in the air to stop the onslaught of questions.
โIโm not even sure it was him. He was ahead of me and then he went out the doors, and when I tried to catch up, he was just gone.โ I couldnโt have been more than ten paces behind him, and yet he all but disappeared when I reached the sidewalk, my adrenaline racing through my veins.
I donโt tell Christa and Ashley that I spent the next hour wandering through the Pier Market, looking not at the tempting menus or the colorful wares, but for those familiar dark golden eyes.
โWow. Kyle Miller,โ Christa begins, exchanging a glance with Ashley.
โI know.โ
โAnd youโve never talked to him since that summer? Not even once?โ Christa already knows the answer to that, but she asks it anyway, as if to confirm the gravity of Kyleโs possible reappearance in my life.
โHow could I? He literally dropped off the face of the earth.โ His phone number went out of service a few days after he left Wawa. My emails to him went unanswered at first, and then they bounced back. Heโs nowhere on social media from what I can see, and Iโve looked more than once over the years.
Even now, thirteen years later, I can hear the twinge of frustration in my voice over how things ended between us.
How confusing.
How unfinished.
โWhat do you think he was doing there?โ Ashley asks.
โNo idea. He was in a tie, so maybe heโs working for one of the other companies? Or maybe he was just a visitor.โ I donโt know whatโs behind that door he exited.
โDo you think he knows itโs your familyโs building?โ Ashley asks.
โOh, come on,โ Christa, ever the cynic, scoffs. โIt says โCallowayโ across the front in giant, golden letters.โ
โThat doesnโt mean heโd make the connection,โ Ashley argues.
โDid you ever tell him who your father is?โ
I shake my head. โI donโt think so.โ
โSee? So how would he know?โ Ashleyโs big green eyes get that dreamy look in them. โWouldnโt that be something, though, if he does work there?โ
My stomach does a nervous flip. Itโs been thirteen years. Does Kyle Miller remember me? Does he still think about me as I do him? And if so, are those thoughts laced with fondness?
Indifference?
Or regret?
โThose were the days, huh?โ Ashley finally lets out a longing sigh. โRemember Eric? Man, that guy used to drive me nuts.โ
Christa snorts. โThatโs because he had a huge crush on you.โ
โCouldnโt have been that big. He never returned my emails, either.โ Ashley waves it off, but her face pinches. โI wonder how heโs doing.โ
Silence lingers through the kitchen as we all drift into our own thoughts.
โWhat will you say to Kyle if you see him again?โ Christa finally asks.
I shrug. โI donโt know. Hi?โ I swallow against the sudden swell of nerves.
And Why would you hurt me like that?