Five years ago, Julia Bell left Benton Hill without a goodbye.
She walked away from her family, her small-town life, and the two boys who once meant everything to her. Now a frantic phone call brings her home for the first time since graduation… straight into a nightmare she never saw coming.
Her younger sister is engaged to Julia’s ex-boyfriend. The wedding is days away, and the entire town still remembers the girl who ran.
Including Ben Miller.
Ben was always the good guy. Julia’s best friend. The one who quietly loved her while she chased someone else. Losing her once nearly broke him and letting her back into his life might be an even bigger mistake.
But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore the feelings they left behind. Because coming home means facing the past, and sometimes the person you were meant to love was beside you all along.
Did He Mean Forever is an emotional small-town contemporary romance featuring:
• Best friends to lovers
• Second chances
• Small-town drama
• The good guy gets the girl
• He falls first and never gets over her
The Benton Hill Love Stories series are standalone, interconnected stories that can be read in any order.
She walked away from her family, her small-town life, and the two boys who once meant everything to her. Now a frantic phone call brings her home for the first time since graduation… straight into a nightmare she never saw coming.
Her younger sister is engaged to Julia’s ex-boyfriend. The wedding is days away, and the entire town still remembers the girl who ran.
Including Ben Miller.
Ben was always the good guy. Julia’s best friend. The one who quietly loved her while she chased someone else. Losing her once nearly broke him and letting her back into his life might be an even bigger mistake.
But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore the feelings they left behind. Because coming home means facing the past, and sometimes the person you were meant to love was beside you all along.
Did He Mean Forever is an emotional small-town contemporary romance featuring:
• Best friends to lovers
• Second chances
• Small-town drama
• The good guy gets the girl
• He falls first and never gets over her
The Benton Hill Love Stories series are standalone, interconnected stories that can be read in any order.
- Did He Mean Forever (Book 1)
Someone New, Someone True (Book 2) - coming Summer 2026
Author's note: Did He Mean Forever was previously published by me under the title 'Bittersweet Junction'. There have been significant changes to the POV and some character arcs from the prior edition.
Genre: Romance
Used availability for Ivy Sinclair's Did He Mean Forever