In Her Reigns

SLOAN Kendyl Holloway left me in her penthouse hotel suite two years ago without so much as a goodbye after our one night stand. No explanation. No phone call. Not even a note. And baby, I should’ve known better than to let one woman make me feel that foolish. So I buried the hurt, put my head down, and continued to build my finest floral design house. I made myself a promise: no more women getting close enough to hurt me. Then my Aunt Maeve died and left me her historic homestead and crumbling conservatory in Savannah. And wouldn’t you know it? The woman who left me owns the land right next door. Kendyl is still fine as sin, stubborn as a mule, and twice as protective of that eighty acres she calls home. She also happens to control the water rights my greenhouse desperately needs. With a ruthless developer breathing down both our necks, we strike a deal: her water and labor for my infrastructure. Simple enough. Except working beside Kendyl beneath the Georgia sun has old feelings rising faster than kudzu and I refuse to get burned by the same woman twice. KENDYL Leaving Sloan Mercer in that hotel room was the hardest thing I ever did, but at three in the morning, my phone rang. The eastern barn was on fire and my daddy was fighting for his life in the ICU. By sunrise, the life I knew was already gone. Daddy didn’t make it, Last Chance Acres was drowning in debt, and I was left holding together a farm that seemed determined to fall apart right along with me. So I did what I thought I had to do. I let her go. Two years later, she comes strolling onto my property in designer shoes, looking every bit as fine as the woman I never stopped thinking about. Now Piedmont Agricultural Holdings wants my land, and Sloan’s botanical venture might be the only thing standing between Last Chance Acres and the auction block. Which means I have no choice but to work with the woman whose heart I broke. She thought I walked away because I didn’t care and that night between us meant nothing. Lord knows she couldn't be more wrong. Sloan has been under my skin since the first time she looked at me like she could see every secret I was trying to hide. Now that she’s within arms reach, I’m not walking away. Not from her and not from this land and I’m not letting anybody take either one from me.