New and Improved TRUSTING LOVE -- Out now!!

​TRUSTING LOVE was an amazing tale of the bad girl's redemption. Tess almost came between other couples, first as the ex-wife of one man and then as the almost side piece to another. She was the girl you loved to hate. But her story wasn't over.  Author Julie Navickas took Tess's story and added depth and emotion. Now the new and revised TRUSTING LOVE is a gripping roller coaster. If you haven't read TRUSTING LOVE yet, this is your reminder to get it today!!

BUY LINKS:
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNQSBJ43
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/trusting-love-11
BN https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trusting-love-julie-navickas/1144389581
Apple https://books.apple.com/us/book/trusting-love/id6472675900
 
Blurb:
This new first-person rewrite brings you closer than ever to Tess and Ryan—more intimate, more vulnerable, and tangled in secrets neither of them is ready to confront. You’ll feel every spark of attraction, every hard-won moment of trust, and every devastating turn as Tess risks losing the one man who makes her believe in love again.
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Some hearts recognize each other—even when they’re both still broken.

When Ryan Prescott sets foot inside the struggling Rosewood Register, he immediately senses that the newspaper isn’t the only thing falling apart. Beneath Tess Browning’s bold personality and flirtatious confidence lies a woman as wounded by love as he is. Her pain calls to something inside him, and from the moment they meet, staying away from her is no longer an option.

Between stolen moments in the hardware store and quiet afternoons beside a trout pond, their undeniable attraction deepens into something neither of them expected. Together, they begin building a relationship from the wreckage of their pasts—one teasing exchange, lingering touch, and fragile confession at a time.

But Tess is hiding more than a broken heart.

During a weekend camping trip, one careless slip exposes a crack in the carefully constructed story she’s told Ryan. Suddenly, the woman he’s falling for is also the woman who could shatter the trust he has fought so hard to rebuild.

As Ryan searches for the truth, Tess must decide whether to confess the secret that could cost her everything—or continue hiding from the past until it destroys their future.

TRUSTING LOVE is an emotional, passionate romance about two damaged hearts, one devastating secret, and the terrifying risk of trusting someone enough to love them.

~2nd place recipient of a BOOKFEST AWARD in contemporary romance~
 

Excerpt
I stare at the top of the tent for another second, trying to make sense of how completely my life shifted in a matter of weeks. One minute Tess and I were looking at hand tools and paint swatches together, and now I can’t picture waking up without her tucked against my side.

I don’t know how something this important crashed into my life so quickly, but lying here with Tess tangled against me, I can’t bring myself to regret a single second of it.

But when I glance down, my chest tightens. Because I catch the shine of tears gathering in her eyes. “Hey.” I push up onto one elbow, brushing my fingers gently along her cheek. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

She shakes her head, but her fingers slide along my jaw like she needs to touch me to steady herself. “This happened really fast, didn’t it?” she whispers.

And I almost laugh. Because yeah. That’s one way to put it. I catch her hand and press a kiss into her palm. “Yeah,” I admit softly. “It did.”

“One minute we’re strolling through a hardware store,” she says with a watery laugh, “and the next we’re sleeping together beneath the stars.”

My stomach knots. Because when she says it out loud like that, it should sound reckless. Too fast. Maybe even stupid. But instead, all I can think about is every smile she’s given me. Every sarcastic comment. Every accidental touch. Every single moment she bulldozed through my defenses without even trying. Because nothing about this feels temporary to me. No matter how fast it all happened.

“It may have happened fast,” I tell her, brushing my thumb beneath her eye, “but that doesn’t make it any less real for me.”

A tear slips free, rolling down her cheek before disappearing into the blankets between us. “It’s real for me, too, Ryan,” she whispers. “Maybe too real.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask softly.

Tess lets out a quiet laugh, but there’s no real humor in it. “Like… when does the other shoe drop?” She shrugs. “When does the honeymoon end? When does the bubble burst?”

My heart aches at her words. Because I know that feeling. I know exactly what it’s like to wait for happiness to disappear the second you finally let yourself trust it.

You really have been hurt just as badly as I have, haven’t you?

I sit up slowly and reach toward the corner of the tent where her sandals sit abandoned beside the blankets.

“What are you doing?” she asks with a sniffle.

I grab one of her impractical shoes and press it dramatically against my chest. “I promise I won’t drop it.” Then I grab the second sandal and place it carefully in her hands before guiding it against her chest, too. “If you won’t.”

Her laugh breaks through the heaviness between us, soft and watery and beautiful enough to completely wreck me. And God, I’d do just about anything to keep hearing that sound.

A blonde curl falls across her face, and I reach out to tuck it behind her ear. And the second my fingers brush her skin, inspiration sparks warm down my spine. Maybe because the truth is, I don’t want this weekend to end. I don’t want real life back yet. So, I open my mouth. “How about another adventure this morning?” I ask.

She raises a brow. “Clothes on or off?”

A grin pulls at my mouth before I lean down and press a kiss against her forehead. “That,” I say, “will be entirely your choice.”

​NEW AND IMPROVED FINDING LOVE AND CHASING LOVE COMING SOON!!