Love Me Gently (Deer Creek, #1)

A swoony first love, single dad, returning to hometown romance from bestselling author Stacey Lynn At eighteen years old, Katrina "Trina" Mills had dreams far larger than her small mountain town in North Carolina. She was bound and determined to become the next world-famous model, and was willing to risk leaving everything she knew, and everyone she loved, behind to get it. Turns out, her dreams took her on a path toward a nightmare. She might have achieved all the success and stardom she's always wanted but she'd sold her soul for them and was still paying the painful price. The regrets she has now are much larger than the zeros in her bank account. When a chance encounter occurs with her first love and high school boyfriend, now single father, Cole Paxton, she doesn't expect the disaster that happens next. Forced to confront her past, her present, and all the decisions she made in between, returning home may end up being the safe solace she needed all along. With the help of family, old friends, and an old flame who never gave up on her, Trina starts to believe she can heal and move on... Until her husband shows up in town and threatens to tear it all away.... *Trigger warnings: Implications and descriptions of both sexual and physical assault are included in Love Me Gently. In an effort to be as compassionate as possible, the instances are brief and minimal, but sensitive readers should take care.