With This Kiss (An Emerald Lake Novel)

by Bella Riley

Rebecca Campbell's life was supposed to be easy. She was set to marry Stu, her best friend, continue working at his family's beautiful, historic inn, and enjoy a happy life. But after catching her fiance in a compromising situation and having an honest heart-to-heart, they decide to split up and Stu disappears, leaving Rebecca to call off the wedding. With his family furious at her, her job in jeopardy, and her family thinking once again that she'll never get her life together, Rebecca holds her head up high...especially when Sean Murphy, Stu's brother, is around. It's clear he blames her for everything--the broken engagement and Stu's disappearance--and she refuses to break her promise to Stu and reveal the secrets she's keeping from his family.

As time passes and Sean and Rebecca work together to keep the inn up and running, they develop an uneasy truce that soon blossoms into an irresistible desire. But Stu's secret looms over them, threatening their fragile love. Can they put the past behind them and to build a future together?

• ISBN10: 0446584223
• ISBN13: 9780446584227
• Publish Date: 6 April 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 6 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Forever
• Format: Paperback (A-Format (178x111 mm))
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cocktails and Books]

Rebecca Campbell has always found herself drawn to those tall, dark and broody males who wound up breaking her heart. So to save herself from further heartbreak, she agrees to marry her best friend Stu. But when their engagement ends with Rebecca agreeing to keep his secret she wonders if she'll ever find the man right for her.

Sean Murphy has avoided the small Adirondack town he grew up in because he couldn't face the lies and broken trust within his family. But when he returns for his little brother's wedding, he's in for a shock to find out that not only has the wedding been called off but that he has an instant attraction to the woman who runs the Inn.

Rebecca and Sean seem like a very unlikely couple when they first meet at the beginning of the story, but that changes as you see what a calming effect Rebecca has with Sean. While she may lack a filter and blurt out what she's thinking, she helps Sean learn to deal with the emotions that he's shut off but is having trouble controlling now that he's back home. For Rebecca, Sean helps her confidence and proves to her that she does deserve to be loved and cherished.

It was an interesting twist with the drama revolving around Sean and Stu's parents and I enjoyed how Belle Riley demonstrated a lie and broken confidence can do to an entire family.

I enjoyed the quaint little town of Emerald Lake, which brought back fond memories of summers of my youth growing up in Western New York. The essence of the town and how it can change someone's life leaped off the page as Rebecca tried to make a decision about where her life should go. Makes me wish Emerald Lake were real and I could go and visit it's magic.