The Summer We Surrendered by Victoria Denault

It will always be him. Even if it can never be him.

Declan
Abbott Barlowe has always been my kryptonite.
No one has ever made me feel the things I feel when I’m with him – good and bad.
Since we were kids he’s been perfect. Good at everything from standing up to his zealot parents, to winning Stanley Cups, to instinctively knowing exactly where, and how, I want to be touched.
But it turns out I’m better at one thing – coming out.
So it doesn’t matter that he just got traded, and he’s back in town permanently. I didn’t leave my wife, and toss my entire family into the Ocean Pines gossip mill so that I could end up in a secret relationship.
Even if he’s still the only man I’ve ever dreamed about.

Abbott
My sister loves to tell me I have a knack for making the impossible possible. She might be right because even after a rocky year, when Maine got a pro team, they named me their captain.
If I can manifest my dream job, maybe I can also manifest my way back into Declan Hawkins’ life.
He cut me off years ago and, scared and overwhelmed, I let him. I’ve been drowning in guilt ever since.
They say if you love something, set it free. Well, we set each other free.
So why do I keep finding myself on his doorstep when it’s too hot to sleep? And why isn’t he telling me to leave?
He deserves so much more than me… and I hope he sees it before I break both our hearts.