The Road Not Taken

One ring, three exes, and two secretly pining friends on an epic winter road trip—what could go wrong?

Ruby doesn’t do relationships. After her grandmother’s first cancer diagnosis, it was clear how much love could cost. Keep it light, keep it fun, then move on. No muss. No fuss and no one gets hurt.

But when she finds a ring in her box of breakup mementos with a note that says marry me, she starts to question if maybe one of her exes had deeper feelings for her than she thought.

Not wanting to ambush them at the holidays with a text out of the blue, she decides to go see them in person and pretend to “run” into them. Then ask about the ring. The only problem, she doesn’t drive.

Kyle, her close friend, co-worker, and all-around good guy, offers to drive his truck, as long as they swing by his sister’s and are back in Fortune Falls by Christmas.

As they navigate one roadblock after another—a winter solstice festival blocking the roads, snow closing the pass, and hotels with only one bed—the two get closer both physically and emotionally. Kyle is upfront that he wants to be more than friends: he has for years. While Ruby has strong feelings for Kyle, and their chemistry is undeniable, she’s not sure she can overcome her fear of losing someone close to her again. Can she open her heart to let love in?

Tropes:
Friends to lovers
He falls first
Roadtrip
Small town
Forced proximity
Cinnamon Roll MMC

The third book in a series of interconnected standalone novels set on the Oregon coast in the small town of Fortune Falls.