Begin Again by Crystal Walton
A 2017 Readers' Favorite Gold Award Winner & Kindle Book Review Award Semi-finalist. Escape to the beach and enjoy a laugh-out-loud clean romance.
What happens when a free-spirited artist from big-city New York collides with an uptight business owner from small-town Ocracoke? Fireworks. The kind neither saw coming.
A single call is all it takes to drive artist Ti Russo into what she does best. Run. But hey, lying low in a beach town for a while isn’t so bad. Thanks to the distraction of playing consultant to a guy she’s determined to crack, she can almost forget about the past stalking her back home. But she never counted on the real danger being a picket-fenced life she has no business falling for.
Focus and self-preservation have gotten single dad Drew Anderson through the last nine years. With the threat of his shop’s foreclosure jeopardizing his daughter’s health care, the last thing he needs is a distracting hippie chick swooping in to shake up what he’s fought to protect. Including himself. The bank’s deadline adds enough pressure without re-risking feelings better left buried.
But as sparks flare and secrets escalate, the race against time propels Ti and Drew into a choice neither’s ready to make: Find the faith to surrender their past or forfeit their only chance to begin again.
Download Begin Again and escape into a sparks-flying, opposites-attract contemporary clean romance full of small-town charm, broken characters, and deep undertones of grace that’ll win your heart.
For fans of Gilmore Girls, you’ll love Drew and Ti’s sparring relationship, along with Begin Again’s small-town setting, quirky characters, and family bonds.
A 2017 Readers' Favorite Gold Award Winner & Kindle Book Review Award Semi-finalist.
"Love, Love, Loved spunky Ti and the banter between her and Drew. I didn't want to stop reading. Great character development and the characters are engaging and interesting." - Amazon Review
"This book was well written, the characters were relatable and refreshing and the plot flowed quickly...Grab this book and her others and be prepared to be wowed! You will quickly discover that you have found a hidden gem of an author!" - Nerd Girl Official
"The prose is excellent and her narrative voice so powerful and clear that it will have readers hooked throughout the entire ride. This is a character-driven story that will have you entertained, reminding you of some of the finest emotions you have experienced." - Readers' Favorite
Inside, conversations coming from a small den to the right competed with laughter and music trailing in from a sliding door leading to a pool. Drew took one look at both options and headed into the kitchen instead. Other than the faint sound of a girl singing nearby, only the churn of the ice maker filled the quiet room.
He leaned against the counter, closed his eyes, and massaged his temples.
“You shouldn’t try so hard.” From behind a cute pair of glasses, blue eyes met his. A blonde in an off-the-shoulder, white cotton dress and an unabashed gaze stood in front of him.
Where’d she come from? Drew glanced behind him. To what, the wall? Of course she was talking to him.
When his vocal cords caught up, he cleared his throat. “Excuse me?”
A lot of good unclogging his voice did. If it got any more pubescent, he’d take that windpipe right out and knock some sense into himself with it.
She reached for his hand and lowered it from his throbbing temple. “De-stressing. You’re trying too hard.”
Drew stared at her warm fingers against his. “I’m sorry, and you are?”
“Ti Russo.” A series of bracelets jingled down her arm. “Pleasure.”
He’d never met a girl who went by an initial.
Looking down, she ran the back of her bare foot along her calf. Waiting.
Now would be the appropriate moment for southern hospitality. Or at a minimum, basic manners in returning the introduction. Yet Drew just stood there like a washed-up piece of seaweed languishing under a sunrise he couldn’t look away from.
She was probably a few years younger than him. Twenty-eight at best. But her eyes carried the experiences of someone twice her age, along with an artistic flair he knew better than to entertain.
“Thanks, but I’m fine.” He strode to the opposite counter.
“If you really want to work on something, you might try honing your lying skills.”
Drew turned, jaw slack. If the girl’s accent wasn’t enough confirmation she was from the Big Apple, her lack of a filter just eliminated any doubt. Unbidden, thoughts of New York triggered memories that’d been festering beneath the surface all day. He tamped them back down where they belonged.
Ti dipped her head in front of his, brow raised as if waiting for him to divulge his inner thoughts. Like that was happening.
“Don’t you have a hot yoga class to go to or something?” He scanned the kitchen for a drink. Or maybe a pail of ice to dump over his head.
“What do you know about hot yoga?"
Way to open himself up for that one.
A 2017 Readers' Favorite Gold Award Winner & Kindle Book Review Award Semi-finalist.
"Love, Love, Loved spunky Ti and the banter between her and Drew. I didn't want to stop reading. Great character development and the characters are engaging and interesting." - Amazon Review
"This book was well written, the characters were relatable and refreshing and the plot flowed quickly...Grab this book and her others and be prepared to be wowed! You will quickly discover that you have found a hidden gem of an author!" - Nerd Girl Official
"The prose is excellent and her narrative voice so powerful and clear that it will have readers hooked throughout the entire ride. This is a character-driven story that will have you entertained, reminding you of some of the finest emotions you have experienced." - Readers' Favorite
Inside, conversations coming from a small den to the right competed with laughter and music trailing in from a sliding door leading to a pool. Drew took one look at both options and headed into the kitchen instead. Other than the faint sound of a girl singing nearby, only the churn of the ice maker filled the quiet room.
He leaned against the counter, closed his eyes, and massaged his temples.
“You shouldn’t try so hard.” From behind a cute pair of glasses, blue eyes met his. A blonde in an off-the-shoulder, white cotton dress and an unabashed gaze stood in front of him.
Where’d she come from? Drew glanced behind him. To what, the wall? Of course she was talking to him.
When his vocal cords caught up, he cleared his throat. “Excuse me?”
A lot of good unclogging his voice did. If it got any more pubescent, he’d take that windpipe right out and knock some sense into himself with it.
She reached for his hand and lowered it from his throbbing temple. “De-stressing. You’re trying too hard.”
Drew stared at her warm fingers against his. “I’m sorry, and you are?”
“Ti Russo.” A series of bracelets jingled down her arm. “Pleasure.”
He’d never met a girl who went by an initial.
Looking down, she ran the back of her bare foot along her calf. Waiting.
Now would be the appropriate moment for southern hospitality. Or at a minimum, basic manners in returning the introduction. Yet Drew just stood there like a washed-up piece of seaweed languishing under a sunrise he couldn’t look away from.
She was probably a few years younger than him. Twenty-eight at best. But her eyes carried the experiences of someone twice her age, along with an artistic flair he knew better than to entertain.
“Thanks, but I’m fine.” He strode to the opposite counter.
“If you really want to work on something, you might try honing your lying skills.”
Drew turned, jaw slack. If the girl’s accent wasn’t enough confirmation she was from the Big Apple, her lack of a filter just eliminated any doubt. Unbidden, thoughts of New York triggered memories that’d been festering beneath the surface all day. He tamped them back down where they belonged.
Ti dipped her head in front of his, brow raised as if waiting for him to divulge his inner thoughts. Like that was happening.
“Don’t you have a hot yoga class to go to or something?” He scanned the kitchen for a drink. Or maybe a pail of ice to dump over his head.
“What do you know about hot yoga?"
Way to open himself up for that one.
Author Crystal Walton
Crystal received her bachelor of arts from Messiah College in PA, married her exact opposite in upstate NY, and earned her master of arts from Regent University in VA, where she currently resides with her husband, David and son, Ryder.
She writes modern clean romances with humor, broken characters, and emotional plots full of grace and hope. Her popular Home In You series includes Write Me Home, a 2017 RONE Award finalist, and Begin Again, a 2017 Readers' Favorite Gold Award winner. When her hands aren't full with her very active, little blue-eyed hero, she's delving into the wonder of words, supporting her Starbucks habit, or laughing over movie quotes with her husband.
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