ABOUT THE BOOK

I hated him almost the first moment I saw him.

But then I started to love him while I still hated him, which made things… complicated.

I’m Tish Ransome, front woman of The Marauders. College student by day, rock goddess by night. I swear like a pirate—literally—and write songs about passion and betrayal. But when it comes to real heartbreak?

I’ve never had the pleasure. Never let anyone close enough.

Until Sebastian Jeffries walks into my studio. Him and that guitar.

Quiet. Intense. Infuriating. I don’t want him in my band. I definitely don’t want him under my skin. But the way he plays my songs—it’s like he’s unraveling lines I haven’t even written yet.

We argue. We clash. We wage war for control. And somewhere between the sullen silences and soaring melodies, something starts to shift.

This isn’t just a creative spark—it’s a slow burn I never saw coming.

But Sebastian has secrets. And when his past crashes into our present, I’ll have to decide what matters more: protect what I’ve built… or risk everything for the music—and the boy—I never meant to fall for.

Dancing helps me forget. Forget the pain, the shame of what I’ve done.

Forget I am fleeing for my life and the life of the one person I would give up everything – even my past – to protect.

Leaving was never part of the plan. Now I’m not sure I can ever go back.

I’ve been hiding in plain sight, a veiled performer in a traveling dance troupe where secrets are currency and trust is dangerous. We move from town to town, stage to stage, performing for strangers who never look too closely. I’ve learned to exist—one choreographed smile, one controlled breath at a time.

And I try to forget the part of me that still longs to be found.

Then I see him.
Jordan Ransome.
The older boy-next-door I used to adore from afar.

Just seeing him stirs up a longing for home so fierce, it threatens to tear away the mask I’ve worn for so long—and reveal everything I’ve endured to survive.

I want to tell him everything. But I’m not the girl he used to know—and I’m terrified of what the truth will cost me.

I wasn’t running away. Not really.

I just wanted a break—from school, from the whispers, from the guy who shattered me, then carried on like he’d done nothing wrong.

I came to Italy to clear my head.

Instead, I ended up with a sprained ankle, a stolen passport, and two strangers who threw everything I thought I wanted into question.

Doctor Cosimo Lazzaro—with his liquid amber eyes and chiseled good looks—comes to my rescue and offers me a safe place to land while I figure out how to get home. He’s generous, attentive… and blurs the line between kindness and something more, something I’m not sure I’m ready for.

Then there’s Paulo Durante. Quiet. Guarded. Infuriating. But also the only person who doesn’t treat me like I’m breakable. He doesn’t offer easy answers—but he shows up, again and again, when I need someone who won’t let me pretend I’m fine.

I didn’t come here to fall in love.

But the longer I stay, the harder it is to ignore the pull toward the one person who makes me feel like I can finally stop running.

He never did like me.

And I never really cared.

The only reason we had to get along was because of my husband. His best friend.

Until now.