Book picks similar to
WHY NOT GOODBYE? by Arika Maxwell


second-chance
contemporary
abuse
second-chance-romance

Kiss Me Like You Mean It


J.R. Rogue - 2018
    His kiss is mine. “The first time he saw me I was shattered glass, and he was a shadow. If I had stayed, he would have just faded away.”It’s strange how easy it is to tell our stories to a stranger’s eyes. The truth about Connor Stratford and I had always been a sad tale. Over ten years of chasing, tears, lies, vows, and leaving. Two people who never loved each other at the same time, but couldn’t let each other go.Now here I was telling our story over drinks midday in an airport bar with my old diary clutched in my hand. Telling some version of our story, anyway.I left him once with no goodbye. Now I was returning home to give him what he needed to move on.“It’s important. It’s what you’re thinking.”I knew what his message meant, sent in the middle of the night after I woke from a fever dream. He was finally ready, and so was I. I just needed to finally give him the kiss he begged for. The one that meant goodbye.

The Player Next Door


K.A. Tucker - 2020
    With a teaching job secured and an adorable fixer-upper to call home, things in her life are finally looking up.That is, until she finds out that Shane Beckett lives next door.Shane Beckett, the handsome and charismatic high school star quarterback who smashed her heart. The lying, cheating player who was supposed to be long gone, living the pro football dream and fooling women into thinking he's Prince Charming. Shane Beckett, who is as attractive as ever and flashing his dimples at her as if he has done no wrong.Scarlet makes it abundantly clear that old wounds have not been forgotten. Neighbors they may be, but friends they most certainly are not. She won't allow herself to fall for the single father and firefighter again, no matter how many apologies he offers, how many times he rushes to her aid, or how hard he makes her heart pound.But as she spends more time with him, she begins to fear that maybe she's wrong. Maybe Shane has changed.And maybe this time she's the one playing herself—out of a chance at true happiness.

The Return of Brody McBride


Jennifer Ryan - 2014
    . . and he's in for the surprise of his life.Former bad boy, now-decorated Army Ranger Brody McBride is home and on a mission: Find the woman he never should have left behind and right the wrong he did eight years ago.When the man she loved broke her heart and skipped town, Rain Evans picked up the pieces. But along with heartbreak, Brody left her something infinitely better than she could have imagined: two beautiful daughters. One she gave birth to, and the other she rescued from the woman who helped destroy her relationship with Brody.Brody is shocked to discover he's a father, and he's more determined than ever to win back Rain and protect his girls. Can they rekindle the love they once shared and become the family they were always meant to be? Or will a danger from their past return and ruin everything?

You'll Think of Me


Lucia Franco - 2014
    He has his future mapped out, but his plans with Olivia are suddenly derailed when she makes a decision that blindsides him, changing the path they both envisioned.As Luke struggles to keep everything in check during a difficult time in his life, he must put his trust in the one person who broke it to begin with. The last time they saw each other, Olivia busted his heart wide open, turning him into the man he is today.When Olivia returns to her roots, just like Luke said she would, he is shocked for more reasons than one. Nine years have passed since they've seen each other, and when their roads collide unexpectedly, Luke can only push his worry and misgivings away for so long.Things are different now—they are strangers—and the rope that once bound Olivia's heart to South Fork, Georgia is pulling her back in, forcing her to remember how it used to be all those years ago.

Compass


Mary B. Moore - 2018
    I sent him letters, but each time they were returned back to me. I had no choice but to raise my son alone and move on with life.I love being a mother, but every day I miss the other half of my soul. HunterFour years ago, I joined the Marines. What I did for my country changed me. I saw my buddies, men that I’d fought alongside return home and set up their lives. Seeing them settling down, I took a risk and returned home to the woman that I’d left behind.War changes a man. A majority of our military come home scarred inside and struggle to return to the civilian world. Learning from my friends in Piersville, I’ve established an MC called Valiant. Our training and military contacts will help assist the government with tackling the ongoing issues of human, drug, and arms trafficking along North and South America. Those responsible are like the mythical Hydra – cut off one head and two replace it. I’m willing to fight that war, but more importantly, I’m going to fight the battle to get Piper back and become a father to my son.

Submerged


Lacey Black - 2016
    That’s all it was supposed to be. Blake Thomas’ entire career as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation has led up to this one job: submerging himself in a lifestyle of fast cars and even faster women. He’s deep undercover, building a case to bring down an intricate criminal ring of car thieves in Las Vegas, with no time to think about the one woman he can’t seem to forget. He never imagined his past would become tangled with his present, threatening to be his downfall. Two years ago, Carly Mathewson planned for a one-night stand with a perfect stranger. What she didn't count on was being reminded of him every time she looked into the emerald eyes of the daughter they unexpectedly created. Since that night, she's devoted herself to keeping her life simple. But when her past refuses to stay buried, she's determined to do everything she can to keep it from jeopardizing what she's worked so hard to achieve. Suddenly, everything and everyone Carly has known aren't quite what they seemed. Every present has a past. Before they can secure a future together, Blake and Carly are forced to admit that their lives are linked by so much more than just that one night. Without warning, they’re bound together for life.

Touchdown Baby


Rose Harris - 2015
    When a paternity scandal threatens to ruin his image, he turns to the one woman who knows the real man behind the quarterback façade. **** Jace Johnson is the NFL’s Golden Boy. The first-round draft pick quarterback with an arm that will get him in the Hall of Fame. Everyone loves the humble, pretty boy. So when paternity papers are handed to him, the reality of his impending fall from grace makes him run to the one person who knows the real man. Ava Banks is a working, single mother putting herself through college. Although the nine-to-five as a legal secretary is putting food on the table, it’s not the life-long dream job, but when she made the decision to raise her daughter alone, she knew she’d have to push herself for Ashlyn. What option did she have? A one-night stand with her best friend’s brother left her with an angel who deserves the world, not a father who would resent her. Or would he? The last time Jace slept under Ava’s roof, he didn’t do much sleeping. Memories of that night haunt him, but Ava has a child now, and that means she’s off-limits. He needs her help for his own paternity issues. Will his situation cause Ava to refuse to help him or teach him that the love of a child is the Hail Mary pass everyone wants before the touchdown?

Hendrix


Kelsey Clayton - 2020
    I'm Colby Hendrix.Football Legend.Notorious Playboy.Sarcasm Extraordinaire.I had everything you could ever want.The career some would die for.The friends that always have my back.And an unmatched level of charm.I never planned on settling down.There wasn't ever a reason to.Or at least that's what I thought,Until she came barreling back into my life.With long brown hair and hazel eyes,She has the ability to disarm me with a single look.And the little girl attached to her side?She's the shock I never knew I wanted.The biggest mistake of my life.The only woman I've ever loved.If she were to say the words,I might just give up everything for her.

Make Me an Offer


C. Morgan - 2019
    I don’t have time for anything but my bustling shop. Fate didn’t ask me though, and attraction turns into some much, much richer.This woman is mine from the moment she walks in. Deal or no deal, I’m playing for keeps.

What I really Need


A.E. Vuocolo - 2019
    One dance, a few drinks and a night of passion ends with Mila sneaking out of a hotel, high heels in hand, and what she believes will only ever be a great memory.Grant promised Mila one night she wouldn’t forget. When he wakes up to an empty bed, and feelings he can’t process, Grant realizes Mila is the unforgettable one.Four years later, Grant is trying to make a name on a new team and then comes face to face with Mila. What does he do now that he is staring at the women that never left his mind and the secret she kept from him.

Riddick


Kathy Coopmans - 2016
    She told me Heaven would knock on my door one day. That I would be swept away from the hell I lived in. She was right about one thing and so wrong about the other. Heaven came in the form of an angel just like she said. Beautiful. Perfect. An angel. And then. My life became hell. She disappeared. Vanished. I left. Went to war. Killed. All for her. Every face was the man who took her. Every dream filled with her. For twelve years I existed in hell. Breathed in the fires from down below. Until her, the woman on the beach outside of my home. Captivating. Enchanting. Mesmerizing. It couldn't be my Cora, my angel, my heaven on earth. She was dead. Wasn't she?

Broken


A.E. Murphy - 2014
    He is hers and she is his. Life can't get much better and their love can't get any stronger. That is until mistakes are made and their world comes crumbling down. She's left alone with no money, no home and a growing person invading her stomach. How will she survive? Forced to leave culinary school, the job she needs and the home they made together. Gwen finds a knight in the most unlikely source. Caleb's brother Nathan. A complex man with a phobia she doesn't understand and mannerisms that aren't of this day and age, will she be able to melt his seemingly frozen heart and become his friend? Or will he forever push her away and wallow in his loneliness and self loathing?

Picking up the Pieces


Jessica Prince - 2013
    It’s taken years, but Emmy is finally starting to pick up the pieces of her broken life. Until the man who destroyed her heart returns, bringing with him the pain of the past. Running from Emmy was the only way Lucas Allen knew he could protect her from the demons he carried with him. After spending one perfect night together, Luke took off, certain he couldn’t possibly give Emmy everything she deserved. Eight long years later, he’s returned to Cloverleaf to try and make up for his mistakes. He can only hope it isn’t too late. Loving Luke has always been easy. It’s forgiving him that seems impossible. Now it’s up to Emmy to decide whether to give him a second chance or let him go for good.

Tattered


Devney Perry - 2018
    It’s somewhere just above the trash can her mother dumped her in as a newborn but below the class where much comes easy. With her tattered shoes and bargain-bin clothes, her life has never been full of glamour. So when a rich and charismatic man takes interest, she doesn’t fool herself into thinking their encounter is anything more than a one-night stand. Months later, she’s kicking herself for not getting his phone number. Or his last name. She’s given up hope of seeing him ever again.Until one day, years later, Logan Kendrick waltzes into her life once more and turns everything she’s built upside down. This time around, she won’t make the same mistake. She’s going to fight to keep him in her life—not for herself.But for their daughter.

Mine


Natasha Knight - 2020
    She was never supposed to walk into my club.  But she did.  I shouldn’t have looked twice at her.  But I did.  The criminal underworld is no place for a girl like her.  One night with Katerina isn’t enough, but men like me can’t afford to be weak.  So, I tell her to leave me behind.  She does, but not before she sees something she shouldn’t.  When she goes into hiding, it’s my duty to hunt her down.  I have a job to do, and she needs to disappear for good.  But four years later, Kat isn’t alone anymore.  And the little boy right beside her looks just like me.