The Broken Hearts Bakery

Book excerpt: Sometimes the town that broke your heart is the only place that can heal you. When Gemma left her hometown of Haven Ridge, Colorado, she swore she’d never return. And she’s kept that promise, leaving old shadows behind and building her reputation as one of LA’s preeminent family law attorneys. But when her lifelong best friend begs Gemma to come stay with her teen stepdaughter while she’s on a business trip, she doesn’t have the heart to refuse. She’ll simply keep a low profile, do her honorary aunt duties for Taylor, and be gone before anyone notices. But Haven Ridge seems to have a mind of its own, and before she knows it, Gemma finds herself caught up with new friends and old rivalries. When Taylor is targeted by teen bullies, Gemma does the only thing she knows how to do: ply her honorary niece with baked goods and words of affirmation. Soon her temporary lodgings are ground zero for teenage girls seeking sugar and consolation for shockingly adult problems—which the girls soon dub the Broken Hearts Bakery. Complicating matters is an unexpected reunion with Gemma’s high school sweetheart, Stephen, who is determined to change her mind about him, the town, and the nature of love itself. Because as it turns out, her niece isn’t the only one nursing a broken heart.