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Romance / Contemporary Fiction

billionaire / romance / love / dreams / happilyeverafter

: Isla never thought her life would be all about cheese... Yet that's where she found herself as she navigates her impending divorce: thirty-five, and working in a cheese shop.

Urging herself to move forward, Isla dives into the deep end and chases her dream when an unexpected offer comes her way - an art curator position for the prestigious Manning Art Gallery owned by sexy billionaire Nathan Manning. Along with her best friends, Lianne and Frankie, she begins to put her life back together. As she tries to break free of the shackles from her past, she struggles with truly letting go. Despite many opportunities, she finds that putting pen to paper is more painful than she would've guessed. Then, when her ex-husband, Don, begins showing up in her life again, she finds herself torn between the comfort of the past, and the excitement of the future. Things come to a head when Don comes to her and offers her the one thing she'd been waiting to hear.

Filled with colorful characters, and set with the fast-paced backdrop of New York City, Isla begins to learn that in securing her dream job, she would find herself in a new world filled with grandiosity, glamour, and a love deeper than she'd ever known before.

: Isla Watts' life is in shambles after discovering that her husband wants a divorce because she can't give him what he wants, but the woman he had an affair with could. In her struggle to overcome what she believes is a personal failure, Isla finds herself hiding away from life. Her only outlet in the outside world is working with her two best friends at a cheese shop.

Frankie, the cheese shop owner, and friend is a fun-loving character who calls it as he sees it. Due to his fear of commitment, he runs through boyfriends but always has Isla's back. Frankie is that friend Isla can call if she needs a shoulder to cry on or drinks after work to drown her sorrows.

In enters Lianne, a witty, never on time to work friend that Frankie employs in his cheese shop with Isla. Lianne is a fierce protector and trusted confidante when it comes to Isla. She is just the perfect amount of crazy to push Isla beyond her comfort zone and is always up for whatever life has to offer.

Isla is no stranger to the art world; with her marriage over, she walked the streets of New York City and decided to go inside an art gallery. Little did she know that the handsome womanizing eligible billionaire bachelor, Nathan Manning, was the owner.

Nathan sees Isla's potential when she comments on a painting arrangement, and he offers Isla her dream job, curator of Manning Art Gallery. Easy decision, right? Not for Isla. She battles herself with letting go of the past and desiring something different for her future.

Things between Isla and Nathan heat up, and she fights against it. Between her trust issues, unsigned divorce papers, and her ex-husband popping up unexpectedly, Isla finds it hard to move on.

I found myself in turmoil. Do I want Nathan to give up and forget about the emotional rollercoaster that is Isla, or to continue to go after what he wants regardless of her trust issues?

I know my answer, but you'll have to read it for yourself to find yours.

While I sometimes found myself irritated with Isla for her choices, the author was creative with her character and made me feel for her. It is hard for some who have not dealt with Isla's hardship not to judge so quickly. The author kept her character real and very likable.

Nathan was a fascinating character; the author had me torn with him. They made him genuine. He did not hide or try to make excuses for how other people thought of him. Reading Nathan was fun as the author kept him on his toes with Isla's trust issues.

Add this story to your reading list. It has everything that you'd want in a romance, love lost, drama, protective friends, and a happily ever after. The question is, what is a happily ever after?

: I enjoyed reading (binging) your story. Your ability to make your characters come to life in your reader's eye is a skill that I admire. Thank you for sharing your talent.

: This well-deserved story made The Wattys 2021 shortlist. Imeredithwrites writing is versatile; they have written several stories, including poems and a Christmas short story, which are well worth reading. Go check out her profile.