Third Degree Yearn — Laney Hatcher

When I was just a girl, I gave my heart to the housekeeper's son. He took it with him when he left and I never got it back.

I've loved Julian Moore for as long as I can remember. But my plans for a future were stolen before we ever got the chance.

Playmates at four. Constant companions at nine. And the undisputed love of my young life by sixteen. We were best friends through it all. But when Julian got sent away, my stubborn heart never got the message. Over time and distance, I wrote hundreds of letters and spilled all my deepest secrets. But the boy I'd once loved left me far behind. My letters went unanswered, and I never got over the pain.

Seven years later, Julian is back with a few secrets of his own.

When a surprise encounter forces my former friend back into my life, I realize just how much has changed since we've been apart. And how my feelings haven't. We're not sixteen anymore, and for the first time, Julian sees me as something more than a friend. Yet he can't envision a future for a proper lady and the housekeeper's son.

There's a fine line between the past and the present. These old wounds are hard to ignore, and I find myself desperate to avoid being left behind again. Julian may not see himself the way I do, but I must decide if the boy I yearned for all those years ago can be the man I'll love forever.

Will our future be the love story we write ourselves or will destiny stand in our way again?


Book #3 in the Bartholomew series follows the steamy second-chance romance between two former best friends. Third Degree Yearn is a full-length historical romance filled with charm and wit, swoony correspondence, and a guaranteed happily ever after.