Dallas MacGregor's movie career is in much better shape than her marriage to Emilio Baird. Even while the divorce proceedings are in full swing, Emilio and his transgressions are making headlines and getting millions of hits on You-Tube. His latest tape causes Dallas to pack up her seven-year-old son and head to the sleepy town of St. Dennis -- and her Great-Aunt Berry. Years ago, after the death of Dallas's father, Aunt Berry graciously took in 11-year-old Dallas and her younger brother, Wade, providing them an escape every summer of freedom and love. As Dallas becomes familiar with the town again, she comes face-to- face with the one she left behind, Grant Wiley, best friend and summer love. Dallas and Grant have different lives now, but fate may have its own idea what the future holds.
Grant Wiley has moved back to St. Dennis to take over the local veterinarian office after his divorce and opens an animal shelter, while sharing as much time with his teenage daughter as he can. Grant's sister and daughter are unable to contain themselves after running into Dallas MacGregor in town. His heart immediately beats a little faster, his hands start to sweat and his mind goes completely blank. Grant manages to avoid Dallas, using a busy practice schedule as his excuse, until Dallas' son comes looking for a dog to call his own. Of course, who else will they turn to but to Grant, who has plenty of animals to choose from. Hearing about Dallas, watching her on the silver screen and thinking about her regularly is nothing compared to seeing her in the flesh. All of the old feelings come rushing to the surface, leaving him no choice but to brace for the future.
Mariah Stewart's Chesapeake Diaries series is absolutely priceless with its small-town charm and characters you will fall in love with. Aunt Berry is a hoot! I loved it!
Dallas MacGregor is living the Hollywood dream. At thirtysomething, she’s an award-winning actress beloved by the public and bound for even bigger success. But when her soon-to-be-ex-husband, producer Emilio Baird, is caught in a sex scandal, Dallas’s charmed life turns tabloid nightmare. Determined to shield her young son, Cody, from the ugly uproar, Dallas seeks refuge in sleepy St. Dennis, Maryland—the Chesapeake Bay town where her happiest childhood days were spent. Reunited with her boisterous great-aunt, Dallas wants nothing more than to leave her Hollywood days behind. And when she crosses paths with local veterinarian Grant Wyler, her high school summer love, she finds he’s everything she remembers, and more—and that the spark is still there. But Dallas’s promising new life takes a troubling turn when the unimaginable happens and she finds herself living a mother’s worst nightmare—and Emilio storms into St. Dennis to save the day, along with his damaged career. Trapped in the unwanted glare of the limelight once again, Dallas discovers that it’s coolheaded Grant who is willing to risk everything to protect her and her son, and to secure the future they were always meant to share.
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