After years in a hectic city hospital, Emma Lawson comes home to care for her ailing mother exhausted, unsure, and determined to keep her heart shut. What she doesn’t expect is Luke Carson, the boy who once lived next door, still rooted in the same place. Now a paramedic, he carries a steady strength that draws her in when she least wants it.
Small-town life feels foreign at first, but Luke’s quiet gestures fixing the porch, bringing over meals, sharing unhurried silences start to ease more than Emma’s weariness. With each moment, she rediscovers not just belonging, but the possibility of something deeper.
When a tempting job offer from the city resurfaces, Emma must confront the question she’s avoided: does real healing come from moving on, or staying put?
Can the neighbor she once knew be the man she dares to trust again?
***
Part of the sweet romance series “Forever by Your Side,” where every friendship blossoms into a timeless love story.
Forever by Your Side is a series where friendship quietly grows into something lasting. Each standalone story follows two people who’ve shared years together neighbors, classmates, childhood companions only to realize their bond runs deeper than they ever named. Set in close-knit towns filled with trust and belonging, the romances shine a light on everyday heroes: teachers, nurses, firefighters, soldiers. With tender moments, steady courage, and endings filled with hope, these wholesome tales remind us that love often begins with the person who’s been beside us all along.
Sometimes forever starts with a best friend.
