BRIANNA
I'''ve spent years learning how to disappear.
New city. New name. No social media. No attachments. Just me, my five-year-old daughter, and the rules that keep us safe.
Then I take a job at Shane O’Rourke’s gym. He’s gruff, infuriatingly observant, and far too comfortable telling me what to do. He notices the exits I memorize, the emergency contact I leave blank, and every time my eyes drift toward the door. Worst of all, he notices me.
I know better than to trust a powerful man who promises protection. I’ve already learned how easily safety can become a cage. But Shane is different in all the ways that matter.
When I tell him no, he listens. When I need space, he gives it. And when I finally choose him, I discover there’s a terrifying difference between being controlled…and trusting someone enough to let him take care of me.
For the first time in years, I stop planning how to run.
I should’ve known my past would choose that moment to find me.
SHANE
Brianna Hale walks into my gym carrying secrets she has no intention of sharing.
Fine.
She doesn'''t owe me her past. But the second she tells me she wants a future with me, the rules change. Bree thinks I’m territorial, bossy, and overprotective.
She’s fucking right.
Because I don’t do casual, and I sure as hell don’t do halfway. Not with her. Not with the little girl who somehow takes over my office, my family, and every part of my life I didn’t know was empty. They’re mine to protect. And when the past she’s been running from finally comes looking for my girls, it’s going to discover something Brianna is only beginning to understand. She doesn’t run alone anymore.
And anyone who wants to take my family from me?
They’re going to have to go through me first.
TROPES
☘️ Irish Mafia Romance
☘️ Grumpy Boss × Single Mom
☘️ Possessive / Protective Hero
☘️ He Falls for Her Daughter Too
☘️ Found Family
☘️ Touch Her and Die
☘️ Forced Proximity
☘️ Woman on the Run
☘️ ‘Who Did This to You?’
☘️ He Falls First & Hard
I'''ve spent years learning how to disappear.
New city. New name. No social media. No attachments. Just me, my five-year-old daughter, and the rules that keep us safe.
Then I take a job at Shane O’Rourke’s gym. He’s gruff, infuriatingly observant, and far too comfortable telling me what to do. He notices the exits I memorize, the emergency contact I leave blank, and every time my eyes drift toward the door. Worst of all, he notices me.
I know better than to trust a powerful man who promises protection. I’ve already learned how easily safety can become a cage. But Shane is different in all the ways that matter.
When I tell him no, he listens. When I need space, he gives it. And when I finally choose him, I discover there’s a terrifying difference between being controlled…and trusting someone enough to let him take care of me.
For the first time in years, I stop planning how to run.
I should’ve known my past would choose that moment to find me.
SHANE
Brianna Hale walks into my gym carrying secrets she has no intention of sharing.
Fine.
She doesn'''t owe me her past. But the second she tells me she wants a future with me, the rules change. Bree thinks I’m territorial, bossy, and overprotective.
She’s fucking right.
Because I don’t do casual, and I sure as hell don’t do halfway. Not with her. Not with the little girl who somehow takes over my office, my family, and every part of my life I didn’t know was empty. They’re mine to protect. And when the past she’s been running from finally comes looking for my girls, it’s going to discover something Brianna is only beginning to understand. She doesn’t run alone anymore.
And anyone who wants to take my family from me?
They’re going to have to go through me first.
TROPES
☘️ Irish Mafia Romance
☘️ Grumpy Boss × Single Mom
☘️ Possessive / Protective Hero
☘️ He Falls for Her Daughter Too
☘️ Found Family
☘️ Touch Her and Die
☘️ Forced Proximity
☘️ Woman on the Run
☘️ ‘Who Did This to You?’
☘️ He Falls First & Hard