The Last in Love

Ardent Springs, Book 5

by Terri Osburn

Abby Williams lost her husband—and the future she envisioned—to a roadside bomb in a foreign land, so a kitchen fire is no big deal. When the local firemen show up to put out the blaze, the army widow finds herself attracted to one hot volunteer firefighter…until she realizes it’s Justin Donovan, a man five years her junior.

Justin has long carried a torch for Abby. But after she got married ten years ago, he put her out of his mind, left Ardent Springs for Chicago, and got a job as a real estate developer. Now he’s back—for reasons he’d rather not share—and he wants to prove to Abby that age is nothing but a number. Will Abby’s reluctance and Justin’s secrets extinguish any attempts at romance? Or will the sparks between them ignite a second chance at love?

Abby is having a little bit of a life crisis.  She’s feeling a little lost after the death of her husband and while she’s happy for her friends it is hard to see them happy with their lives when she’s … well, not.  Accidentally setting fire to her kitchen introduces her to a very sexy fireman – unfortunately he was someone she babysat for as a teen.  While she may be attracted to him, it’s hard for her to see past their age different.  But that definitely isn’t going to slow him down!

Justin’s pursuit of Abby is a ton of fun and, while I really liked the two of them together, but the man really needs to learn that keeping secrets is going to bite you in the butt every time  🙂  Osburn makes sure that you understand why he feels like he needs to do the things he does, but as an observer you know that he is going to crash and burn.  It’s a fun journey, though, and they manage to figure things out quickly enough.

With a deft hand at delivering realistic situations involving characters you are drawn to, Osburn is one of the best at small-town contemporary romances.

(Part of a series but easily stands on its own.)