Something to Remember
Childhood sweethearts forced to part in high school meet again as attorneys representing opposing parties. Can they rekindle their lost love despite secrets and ethical standards?
Mary didn't expect her world to change when she entered the courtroom to represent her new client. But that was before Ian Powers, her childhood sweetheart, walked into the courtroom like a powerful man who thought he owned the place. His gentle smile was the same, and the twinkle in his eyes made Mary want to hug him, but she sensed that he was now a player with a heart of stone. Gone was his shaggy hair, his torn jeans and untucked tee shirt. In their place was a slick urban haircut, an expensive suit, and a sophisticated manner that warned of an underlying arrogance that could push a girl away. Far. Away. And yet Mary was drawn to step into his inner circle to rekindle their love. Soulmates from the first time he pulled her pigtails in grade school until the last time he kissed her before their forced breakup, she felt compelled to learn about his life since their sad parting. Was he still the same boy that Mary once loved with all her heart? What secrets was he now hiding, and why couldn't he trust her with them?
Ian had learned from an early age that life could hurt, and the strong only survived by not getting sucked into emotional strife. Get in, get out, and don't stick around. That was his motto. But now he had Mary back in his life and he desperately wanted to draw her into his innermost circle. He had dreamed about getting her back for years. But how could he bring her into his life when his life had become more complicated than she would ever expect?
Can these two love sick attorneys rebuild a life together despite the secrets from Ian's past that he's bringing into their future and the challenges of Mary's life that seem insurmountable?
- Something to Remember is the first book in the Second Chance series.
- Something to Cherish is the second book.
- Something to Navigate is the third book.
Something to Remember
Book 1 in the Second Chance Series
Mary and Ian knew, even as young children growing up during the Vietnam era, that they were soulmates for life. From the time he first started pulling her pigtails in grade school to get her attention, to the last time they kissed and danced in the dark on the eve of their forced break-up, Ian and Mary were made for each other. But life doesn't always allow soulmates to stay together. When they were forced to part in high school, they thought it would be forever. And the years they spent apart from each other felt endless. So, when they unexpectedly meet again as adults, they are thrilled to have a second chance at love.
But life is more complicated for both of them now, and some complications make a second chance, seem impossible. Now as attorneys, Ian and Mary find themselves representing opposing parties in a civil lawsuit, while alternatively recalling with fond nostalgia, a turbulent but care-free past that sets the stage for a rekindled love affair. "It sounds like you spent our gap years fully embracing the whole, rock and roll, free-love lifestyle like there wasn't a reason not to," Mary sadly points out to him after listening to his tale about the years he'd spent apart from her. But does his disappointing past have to matter to her today? Was it even relevant to their future? Mary wasn't so sure. There was so much goodness that she could still see in Ian today. And they both desperately wanted a future together. They had earned it. They deserved it.
"For me," Ian wistfully responds to her painful observation, "It feels like our last night together could have happened the other night and all we need to do is pick up the conversation from where it was interrupted years ago, as if it all happened yesterday… and just carry on. In which case, I should apologize for barfing all over the place that last night, and then completely falling apart on you."
His recollection of their last night together created such a contrast to the competent and confident attorney who sat across from Mary today. That was partly what made Ian so wonderful; there were so many layers to him that Mary wanted to unpack.