Love Unexpected

She's offering friendship. He wants more.

At forty-four, Viv Parker knows how to survive, but not how to move on. Four years after her husband's sudden death, she keeps her life orderly, her heart guarded, and romance firmly off the table. Her job as a med tech at an independent living center is safe and predictable…until Rick Sheldon walks in.

Rick visits his grandfather as often as he can. Meeting the beautiful, closed-off med tech isn't part of the plan, and neither is the pull he feels toward her. As an experienced backcountry pilot, he's used to handling difficult conditions, and Viv is a challenge he's not walking away from.

She turns him down twice. He keeps showing up.

His steady kindness chips at her defenses until she agrees to dinner with clear terms. Friendship only. Rick wants more, but he's patient enough to let her set the pace. When her car breaks down, when grief ambushes her, when she finally faces her late husband's belongings, Rick is there. Not pushing. Not leaving.

What grows between them is built on honesty, respect, and the quiet understanding of two people who've lived long enough to know what love costs. But opening her heart again means risking a loss Viv isn't sure she could survive twice.

This time, love comes unexpectedly, and Viv must decide if she's brave enough to let it in.