Heartland Romance Bundle (3 in 1) - Small Town Stories (eBook, ePUB)

OFF SCRIPT My life used to feel like a movie, planned out scene by scene. I am Mia Stewart, by the way. I was the main character, always doing what was expected. Then I ended up in Maple Ridge, Vermont. This pretty little town, with its hills and postcard views, wasn‘t part of the original plan. It was a side trip, a fresh start. And suddenly, my life went... Off Script. After my relationship imploded, I just wanted to disappear. Going to my mom‘s old cottage seemed the only option. The idea was simple: hide away, paint, and try to piece myself back together. No changes. No surprises. Just... isolate. Then Jake showed up. Jake Harper, my incredibly kind (and undeniably attractive) next-door neighbor. He wasn‘t just nice; there‘s a quiet strength to him, a groundedness that‘s both comforting and unnerving. He wasn‘t in the original plan. Love? After the wreckage of my last relationship? The thought felt absurd. But Jake... he has this disarming way of looking at me. He‘s good, down-to-earth, and his presence is a constant, gentle hum in the background of my solitude. And the way he smiles... it‘s like he‘s letting me in on some secret, a secret that makes me feel seen, truly seen, for the first time in years. THE SWEET ESCAPE I‘m Eliza, a painfully shy baker who pours everything into my creations at The Sweet Escape, the small-town bakery I inherited from my grandmother. I‘m happy in my quiet world, surrounded by sugar and flour, far away from the spotlight. Romance? That‘s something I only read about in my well-worn novels. Then Ben walks in. A charismatic architect from the big city, he‘s looking for an escape from the pressures of his high-profile life. He stumbles upon my bakery, and to my surprise, he keeps coming backnot just for the pastries but for something more. He sees me in a way no one else ever has. As Ben and I grow closer, he gently pushes me out of my comfort zone, while I remind him of the simple joys he‘s been missing. But my insecurities and enemies threaten to get in the way, and when his strong personality comes knocking, I start to wonder if our Sweet Escape was only ever temporary. THE PERFECT MESS I‘m Clara Moreau, Professional Ballerina, or at least, I used to be. That title used to be my anthem, my triumph. Now? After one wrong step in Berlin, during Swan Lake, those words just feel like a cruel echo. My world blurred right in front of the audience. Broken doll is probably more accurate now for me. Now I‘m stuck in Havenwood. Population: way too small for my big-city tastes and even smaller for my ballerina dreams. They call it peaceful, a retreat. Yeah, right. Peace feels like a cruel joke when my ankle throbs with every damn snowflake. Then there‘s Leo Bellini. He owns the local bookstore, keeps to himself. Heard he turned into a total recluse after his own heart got stomped on - like he‘s living in his own heartbreak romance novel. This whole detour, this tiny loft above Leo‘s bookstore... none of it was planned, none of it wanted. Yet, surrounded by the quiet and the snow and stories in every corner, it looks the start of something new.