NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER After her marriage ends, one woman s struggle to pick up the pieces finally leads to a new beginning but is the past truly behind her? In this poignant novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber explores the powerful intersections of love and family.

This deeply emotional tale proves it s never too late for love. Publishers Weekly (starred review)

It s been nearly six years since Julia Jones had her heart broken. After her husband became involved with another woman, she did everything she could to save their marriage, to no avail. The couple s two daughters continue to stand by Julia in the wake of their father s behavior and they ve had a tough time getting along with the other woman who s become their stepmother. Distraught after selling the family home, Julia moves into a condominium complex that offers the warmth and charm of a fresh start. Now, having settled into her new community and sold her successful interior design business, she s embraced a fulfilling new life, one that doesn t seem to need a man in it. Her beloved father s trusty saying is ringing truer than ever: *It s better this way.
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But when Julia meets a handsome new resident in the building s exercise room, she can t help but be drawn to him. Heath Wilson is a welcome change from the men she s encountered on the occasional mostly disastrous dates her sister has eagerly planned for her over the years. As she and Heath, a divorcé himself, begin to grow close, their friendship blossoms into an unexpected love. However, they soon realize that combining families proves to be a challenge, even though their four children are adults.

When a dramatic revelation threatens the happiness they ve found, Julia and Heath must reconcile their love for their children with their love for each other. If they can t, their bright future together may be nothing but a dream.

“Macomber has a firm grasp on issues that will resonate with readers of domestic fiction. Well-drawn characters and plotting—coupled with strong romantic subplots and striking coincidences—will keep readers rooting for forgiveness, hope and true love to conquer all.”—Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines

“Macomber keeps her well-shaded, believable characters at the heart of this seamlessly plotted novel as she probes the nuances of familial relationships and the agelessness of romance. This deeply emotional tale proves it’s never too late for love.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Autorentext

Debbie Macomber

Klappentext

After divorce shatters her family, one woman's struggle to pick up the pieces finally leads to a new beginning--but is the past truly behind her? #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber explores the powerful intersections of love and family in this poignant novel.

It's been nearly six years since Julia Jones had her heart broken. After her husband became involved with another woman, she did everything she could to save their marriage, to no avail. Their two daughters continue to stand by Julia in the wake of their father's behavior--and they've had a tough time getting along with the "other woman" who became their stepmother. Distraught after selling the family home, Julia moved into a condominium complex that offers the warmth and charm of a fresh start. Now, having settled into her new community and sold her successful interior design business, she's embraced a fulfilling new life, one that doesn't seem to need a man in it. Her beloved father's trusty saying is ringing truer than ever: It's better this way.

But when Julia meets a handsome new resident in the building's exercise room, she can't help but be drawn to him. Heath Johnson is a welcome change from the men she's encountered on the occasional--mostly disastrous--dates her sister has eagerly planned for her over the years. As she and Heath, a divorcé himself, begin to grow close, their friendship blossoms into a love neither of them had expected. However, they soon realize that combining families, even with four adult children, presents inevitable challenges.

When a dramatic revelation threatens the happiness they've found, Julia and Heath must reconcile their love for their children with their love for each other. If they can't, their bright future together may be nothing but a dream.

Leseprobe
Chapter 1

Nearly six years later

Julia woke, glanced at the clock on her nightstand, and wondered how long it would take for her to sleep past six. Old habits die hard, even though she no longer had any need to set her alarm. For more years than she could remember, she had risen at six every morning. Her business, West Coast Interiors, had been sold, and she was easing into retirement, working part-time as a consultant.

The decision to sell had been a weighty one and followed on the heels of her mother s passing. As Julia neared sixty, she felt she had plenty of good years left. Then an offer had come through that was far and above her expectations. Julia didn t feel like she could turn it down. She wasn t ready to give up her work entirely, which was why she d made continuing as a consultant part of the agreement. The buyers had asked her to stay on, as well. She could work as much or as little as she wanted. After finishing this latest project, she d decided to take a few days off and test what semiretirement felt like.

This certainly wasn t how she d once anticipated retirement. There d been a time when she d hoped to travel the world with her husband. Julia longed to explore Europe and Asia. As of now, traveling alone held little appeal. Perhaps one day.

As she knew it would, her dream home had sold less than a week after it had been listed. So many changes had come into her life. After her divorce was final, she d rented an apartment before making a decision on her new home. She knew she wanted to remain living in Seattle, and possibly in the downtown area itself.

The city was her home and there had been enough upheaval in her life without facilitating another major life change. Her girls were close, as was her sister and her family. She waited a year to start looking, and then the search had taken on a life of its own.

For three long years, Julia was on an endless quest to find a place she felt she could call home. The Heritage was an older brick condo building, built in the 1960s, that was filled with warmth and character. So many of the newer high-rise buildings were steel structures, with little to no personality or charm. Set in the heart of the city, it was close enough for her to walk down to Pike Place Market for fresh produce and seafood. The 5th Avenue theater was nearby, as was plenty of shopping. As a bonus, there was a coffee shop next door, as well as several restaurants on the block.

The instant she stepped into The Heritage and viewed the large fountain in the center lobby, Julia sensed this was the place for her. The building, with only twelve floors, rarely had a vacancy. Julia was patient, and in time a unit became available. She d lived here a little over two years now and loved the community of friends she d made. Because it was an older building, The Heritage didn t have many of the amenities of the newer condos that attracted the techies from Amazon and Microsoft. This move was a new beginning for her. A fresh start, and she had settled in comfortably.

Tying the sash on her silk robe, she wandered into the kitchen and brewed a cup of coffee. Lazy mornings generally happened only on Sundays, when she attended the late service at church. She needed to create a new schedule for herself or, on second thought, no schedule at all.

She d just taken her first sip of coffee when her phone rang. It was her sister, Amanda.

Hey, you re up early, Juli…