Some things are worth the wait.
Stella Calloway just isn’t sure nine years qualifies as waiting… or quietly breaking her own heart.
She’s loved Finn Hartley for as long as she can remember.
At eighteen, she thought she was finally old enough for him.
Old enough to be seen.
Old enough to matter.
He chose someone else.
So Stella did what she’s always done, she moved on. Built a life that was steady. Sensible. Safe.
Until it wasn’t.
Now, freshly out of a relationship that ended with all the emotion of a business meeting, she returns to Sable Cove looking for distance, clarity… and a summer that doesn’t ask too much of her.
Instead, she gets Finn.
Her brother’s best friend.
The almost that never quite happened.
The one person she never really let go of.
Finn has spent years keeping his distance. Not because he didn’t want her but because wanting her was never the problem.
Caleb was.
Her brother. His best friend.
The one man who made it clear that crossing that line would cost more than either of them could afford.
Because if it all falls apart, Caleb doesn’t just lose one of them.
He loses both.
And Finn has never been the man who risks the people he loves.
But time has a way of changing things.
Because Stella isn’t eighteen anymore.
And Finn isn’t pretending he doesn’t want her.
What begins on the beach—slow, inevitable, impossible to stop—turns into something deeper than either of them planned. Something real. Something neither of them is ready to lose.
But real life doesn’t pause for perfect timing.
Distance stretches between them.
Old loyalties don’t disappear.
And Caleb?
He hasn’t changed his mind.
This time, loving each other isn’t the risk.
Losing everything else might be.
Because some love stories don’t happen when they’re supposed to.
Some take years.
Some take distance.
Some take everything falling apart first.
And some?
Happen anyway.
Wanted You Anyway is a slow-burn, brother’s best friend, friends-to-lovers romance set in a small coastal town,
where history runs deep, timing never quite lines up…
and some connections refuse to be ignored.
This is a story for the woman who’s ever felt overlooked.
The one who wondered if she’d ever be chosen,
not almost, not someday… but fully.
Because some love doesn’t fade.
It waits.
And when it comes back?
It chooses you anyway.
From USA Today Bestselling Author Kathleen Kelly — who writes women that refuse to be overlooked
Stella Calloway just isn’t sure nine years qualifies as waiting… or quietly breaking her own heart.
She’s loved Finn Hartley for as long as she can remember.
At eighteen, she thought she was finally old enough for him.
Old enough to be seen.
Old enough to matter.
He chose someone else.
So Stella did what she’s always done, she moved on. Built a life that was steady. Sensible. Safe.
Until it wasn’t.
Now, freshly out of a relationship that ended with all the emotion of a business meeting, she returns to Sable Cove looking for distance, clarity… and a summer that doesn’t ask too much of her.
Instead, she gets Finn.
Her brother’s best friend.
The almost that never quite happened.
The one person she never really let go of.
Finn has spent years keeping his distance. Not because he didn’t want her but because wanting her was never the problem.
Caleb was.
Her brother. His best friend.
The one man who made it clear that crossing that line would cost more than either of them could afford.
Because if it all falls apart, Caleb doesn’t just lose one of them.
He loses both.
And Finn has never been the man who risks the people he loves.
But time has a way of changing things.
Because Stella isn’t eighteen anymore.
And Finn isn’t pretending he doesn’t want her.
What begins on the beach—slow, inevitable, impossible to stop—turns into something deeper than either of them planned. Something real. Something neither of them is ready to lose.
But real life doesn’t pause for perfect timing.
Distance stretches between them.
Old loyalties don’t disappear.
And Caleb?
He hasn’t changed his mind.
This time, loving each other isn’t the risk.
Losing everything else might be.
Because some love stories don’t happen when they’re supposed to.
Some take years.
Some take distance.
Some take everything falling apart first.
And some?
Happen anyway.
Wanted You Anyway is a slow-burn, brother’s best friend, friends-to-lovers romance set in a small coastal town,
where history runs deep, timing never quite lines up…
and some connections refuse to be ignored.
This is a story for the woman who’s ever felt overlooked.
The one who wondered if she’d ever be chosen,
not almost, not someday… but fully.
Because some love doesn’t fade.
It waits.
And when it comes back?
It chooses you anyway.
From USA Today Bestselling Author Kathleen Kelly — who writes women that refuse to be overlooked