The whole world might be in love with him. But all he’s ever loved is her.
Grant Turner’s name is synonymous with football. The fans and media can’t get enough of the player known as The Invincible Man, a nickname he earned while growing up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the country and the nickname he’s kept by being one of the best players in professional football today. No one can take him down. He’s unstoppable.
But even a suit of armor has its weak point, and Grant’s has always been Ryan Hale.
They were a couple of kids when they fell in love, and just when it looked like the happy ending neither expected was within reach, Ryan disappeared. No explanations. No good-byes.
Grant coped by throwing himself into the game for seven years, and he’s finally moved on. Or so he thinks.
When she walks back into his life, all of those feelings come crashing back, despite the warnings in his head that tell him she’ll leave him again. Grant can withstand the league’s toughest defensive line, but he’s always been weak where she’s concerned.
No man can take Grant Turner down.
But one woman certainly can.
One woman will.
Review by Lisa Kane
The scars of our past were carved all over our bodies. But I knew the future we'd create together would heal them all, even the ones that ran deep.
I loved this book, like seriously loved it! I am a sucker for a great second chance at romance-I loved when the couple are childhood friends and then something happens, they are separated and then thrown back in each other's lives.
The story is told entirely from Ryan Hale's POV. It's been years since she left her life behind- a childhood of living in the Clink. A name they used to describe an area so dangerous and run down that few enter it that don't live there. Her mother was a crack whore willing to put her daughter's life at risk if it means she could score another dose. That's how she met Grant Turner. He saved her when she was just a kid and he was a few years older. Saved her from being raped by one of the dead beats her mother let into their lives. Grant has the scars to show for saving her. But out of the blue, when Ryan was 17 and Grant was a senior in college, just one the verge of getting drafted into the NFL, she ran. She cut all ties and left Grant behind, never knowing why she left him.
Some scars weren't meant to heal. Some were meant to be felt for the rest of our lives. Some scars defined us too much to ever be erased.
The only thing that could bring Ryan back to her hometown is the funeral of Aunt May. This woman provided a safe haven for the kids who lived in the Clink. She gave them a safe place to come to and support and love. But Ryan knows that going back will mean facing Grant again.
We'd all paid a price for reaching adulthood. For some of us, the cost had been our innocence. For others, it was our soul. My price for being here today was both. And more.
Grant's reaction to seeing Ryan after seven long years is just what you think it will be-he is still full of anger and he won't let it dictate his life.
"I sure as shit wouldn't leave someone I used to love in the same condition." As he said it, his tone changed. It took on that sharp, removed pitch I'd heard for the first time earlier tonight.
The words "used to" hit me. Hard. Not because I hadn't accepted years ago that Grant used to love me, but because it was the first time I'd heard him say it. The first time he'd confirmed it.
It stung like a son of a bitch.
He is one of the highest paid players in the league, he is followed everywhere by the press and fans and his life right now could not be more different than it was when he lived in the Clink. He may act like he is over Ryan but once she is back in his life, he is so far from over her that I don't think he could ever convince himself otherwise.
I can't tell anymore about the story. There are a couple of major twists that would completely spoil the plot if I went any further. Grant could not be more adorable if he tried. He is genuinely a good guy and his love for Ryan has never wavered. In spite of her leaving him, especially when he finds out why-this guy is putty in her hands. Would I have left the same way Ryan did? Not sure-but I would have gotten in touch with him a lot sooner.
If I could do it all again, I wasn't sure if I'd make the same decision or a different one. Neither choice would have been an easy one.
But Ryan has her reasons and they are valid ones. Will Grant be able to forgive her? Will Grant finally have Ryan back or will he lose her again?
"You are half of my soul, Ryan Hale. The best part of it. Don't leave me ever again."
His head fell into the wall beside mine as I tightened around him.
"You are within me, so you can't expect me to live without you." 
Grant motioned for me to wait when I started to open my door, then he jogged around to open it himself. “This is a date. That means I drop you off in front, walk you up to the front door . . .”
Grant motioned for me to wait when I started to open my door, then he jogged around to open it himself. “This is a date. That means I drop you off in front, walk you up to the front door . . .”
He took my hand and helped me out, grinning all goofy-like when the hem of my dress slid up my legs as I crawled out.
“Give me a goodnight kiss?” I added as I let him take my hand.
He peered over at me, brow raised. “Or a good night something.”
Giving him a light shove, I tried not to pretend that a good night something sounded as appealing to me as it did to him. “I never should have told you it’s been seven years since my last time.”
“Yes, you definitely should have.”
“Why’s that?”
He grinned at the ground. “Because I can use that knowledge in my favor.”
“How does knowing that work in your favor?” I angled toward him as we climbed the stairs together.
After we’d stopped in front of the door, he turned and pulled me closer. “Because I know how bad you need it now.”
The skin on the back of my neck raised, my lips parting from the acceleration of my breath. “How do you know it’s not a case of the longer you go without it, the less you need it?”
“No,” he said at last, his head slowly shaking. “Not with something like that. Not with someone like you.” Grant moved closer, not stopping until his chest was pressing into mine, walking me backward until my back ran into the wall. “In fact, I bet you’ve gone so long, I could barely touch you and you’d fall apart in my arms. Am I right?”
My chest was brushing against his, my legs feeling weak from what was happening. Or what was about to happen. Or what I was imagining was about to happen.
“No,” I whispered, “you’re not right.”
His eyes called me out. “There’s only one way to know who’s right.” He kissed the outside of my neck before lightly sucking on my earlobe.
The moan he drew from me seemed to sweep across the entire estate. My hand clamped over my mouth, but he pried it away.
“No. I don’t want you stifling the sounds you make for me.” Holding my wrist, he slid my hand up the wall until my arm was fully extended above me. The stone was still warm from the sun, heat seeping into my skin. “Other hand,” he ordered before sinking his teeth into my lobe.
The sensation made me jolt against him, but all he did was press his body into mine harder until I felt trapped between two walls of stone. When I lifted my other hand for him, he gathered it up in his hand with my other wrist. The task of winding around both of my wrists was no challenge for hands the size of his.
Once he had me pinned, he rocked his hips into mine, practically lifting me up the wall. Another moan escaped from my mouth, but this one was more a cry of pleasure. He was right. He’d barely have to touch me.
His other hand moved from the bend of my hip to reach something above us.
“What are you doing?” I breathed, my ribs feeling as though they’d crack from the way my heart was pounding.
“Unscrewing this light bulb,” he said, right before the wash of light disappeared and darkness moved in around us. “And now, I’m going to take care of you.”
“Give me a goodnight kiss?” I added as I let him take my hand.
He peered over at me, brow raised. “Or a good night something.”
Giving him a light shove, I tried not to pretend that a good night something sounded as appealing to me as it did to him. “I never should have told you it’s been seven years since my last time.”
“Yes, you definitely should have.”
“Why’s that?”
He grinned at the ground. “Because I can use that knowledge in my favor.”
“How does knowing that work in your favor?” I angled toward him as we climbed the stairs together.
After we’d stopped in front of the door, he turned and pulled me closer. “Because I know how bad you need it now.”
The skin on the back of my neck raised, my lips parting from the acceleration of my breath. “How do you know it’s not a case of the longer you go without it, the less you need it?”
“No,” he said at last, his head slowly shaking. “Not with something like that. Not with someone like you.” Grant moved closer, not stopping until his chest was pressing into mine, walking me backward until my back ran into the wall. “In fact, I bet you’ve gone so long, I could barely touch you and you’d fall apart in my arms. Am I right?”
My chest was brushing against his, my legs feeling weak from what was happening. Or what was about to happen. Or what I was imagining was about to happen.
“No,” I whispered, “you’re not right.”
His eyes called me out. “There’s only one way to know who’s right.” He kissed the outside of my neck before lightly sucking on my earlobe.
The moan he drew from me seemed to sweep across the entire estate. My hand clamped over my mouth, but he pried it away.
“No. I don’t want you stifling the sounds you make for me.” Holding my wrist, he slid my hand up the wall until my arm was fully extended above me. The stone was still warm from the sun, heat seeping into my skin. “Other hand,” he ordered before sinking his teeth into my lobe.
The sensation made me jolt against him, but all he did was press his body into mine harder until I felt trapped between two walls of stone. When I lifted my other hand for him, he gathered it up in his hand with my other wrist. The task of winding around both of my wrists was no challenge for hands the size of his.
Once he had me pinned, he rocked his hips into mine, practically lifting me up the wall. Another moan escaped from my mouth, but this one was more a cry of pleasure. He was right. He’d barely have to touch me.
His other hand moved from the bend of my hip to reach something above us.
“What are you doing?” I breathed, my ribs feeling as though they’d crack from the way my heart was pounding.
“Unscrewing this light bulb,” he said, right before the wash of light disappeared and darkness moved in around us. “And now, I’m going to take care of you.”
Nicole Williams is the New York Times and USATODAY bestselling author of contemporary and young adult romance, including the Crash and Lost & Found series. Her books have been published by HarperTeen and Simon & Schuster in both domestic and foreign markets, while she continues to self-publish additional titles. She is working on a new YA series with Crown Books (a division of Random House) as well. She loves romance, from the sweet to the steamy, and writes stories about characters in search of their happily even after. She grew up surrounded by books and plans on writing until the day she dies, even if it’s just for her own personal enjoyment. She still buys paperbacks because she’s all nostalgic like that, but her kindle never goes neglected for too long. When not writing, she spends her time with her husband and daughter, and whatever time’s left over she’s forced to fit too many hobbies into too little time.
Nicole is represented by Jane Dystel, of Dystel and Goderich Literary Agency.
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