New York Times bestselling author Chelsea M. Cameron is back with the opposites-attract, sweet-and-sexy small-town romance you’ve been waiting for.

Iris Turner hightailed it out of Salty Cove, Maine, without so much as a backward glance. Which is why finding herself back in her hometown—in her childhood bedroom, no less—has the normally upbeat Iris feeling a bit down and out. Her spirits get a much-needed lift, though, at the sight of the sexy girl next door.

No one knows why Jude Wicks is back in Salty Cove, and that’s just how she likes it. Jude never imagined she’d be once again living in her parents’ house, never mind hauling lobster like a local. But the solitude is just what she needs—until Iris tempts her to open up.

A no-strings summer fling seems like the perfect distraction for both women. Jude rides a motorcycle, kisses hard and gives Iris the perfect distraction from her tangled mess of a life. But come September, Iris is still determined to get out of this zero-stoplight town.

That is, unless Jude can give her a reason to stay…

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Release Date: May 26th

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Iris Turner isn’t too happy that she has to move back to her small Maine hometown to live in her childhood bedroom and work at her old high school job, but it’s her only option. Things start looking up when she sees that Jude Wicks is living next door. She also bailed on Salty Cove years before, but she’s back, and Iris doesn’t have a whole lot else to do but try and find out why. This is one of their first interactions, and Iris is still completely unsure of and intimidated by Jude, but that doesn’t stop her from trying.

“I’m taking Dolly to the beach,” I said, not mentioning Jude.

“You should invite Jude,” my mom called from the kitchen.

“See you later,” I called back as if I hadn’t heard her.

I put Dolly in the car and knocked on Jude’s door.

It was a cool evening so she’d put on a pair of gray sweatpants and a black shirt. Cruel. It was cruel how good she looked.

“You ready?” I asked.

She did look a little more refreshed than she had earlier. “Yeah,” she said.

 Our only interactions so far had been in either of our houses and at The Lobster Pot. Being in the car with her was going to be something else entirely. We’d be sharing the same air in a confined space. Dolly was our chaperone, but she wasn’t much of one because she was too busy sticking her head out the window.

I backed out of the driveway so slowly that she probably thought it was the first time I’d driven a car. I got out on the road and didn’t know what to say. The beach was only a seven-minute drive, but seven minutes could feel like forever if someone didn’t say something.

“Do you go to the beach a lot?” Jude asked. I glanced over and she was twisting her fingers together in her lap. I wondered if she was nervous too.

“Yeah, I used to, all the time. Mom would pick me up from school and we’d go, and just about every day I’d go during the summer. I need to get back to going while I’m here. The beaches near Boston are crowded and expensive and not nearly as nice. I can’t remember the last time I swam in the ocean.” That water was brutally cold, but as a kid, I hadn’t minded as much. Now it would probably take me a lot to get all the way in.

“Me neither,” Jude said. “I know how to swim, of course, but I’m on the water every day, never in it.” I turned my head and saw she had a smile on her face so I laughed.

“We should challenge each other. I think I’d be much more likely to stick to something if I had a buddy.”

I cringed at calling Jude a buddy.

“I think we could try that,” she said. “I don’t think it’s warm enough tonight, though. And I didn’t bring anything to swim in.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to suggest skinny-dipping, but I was able to hold it back. Too close, though. Too close. I was going to have to be more careful that I didn’t let something like that slip.

“Next time,” I managed to say. I waited for Jude to object, but she didn’t. Well, that was something. We would have a future swimming excursion. At this point, we’d only hung out at one of our houses, so this was progress.

Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories featuring beloved romance tropes, where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters.

A new Carina Adores title is available each month:

• The Hideaway Inn by Philip William Stover (available May 26, 2020)
• Just Like That by Cole McCade (available June 30, 2020)
• Hairpin Curves by Elia Winters (available July 28, 2020)
• Better Than People by Roan Parrish (available August 25, 2020)
• Full Moon in Leo by Brooklyn Ray (available September 29, 2020)
• If You Can’t Stand the Heat by KD Fisher (available October 27, 2020)
• Just Like Us by Cole McCade (available November 24, 2020)

Chelsea M. Cameron is a New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling author from Maine who now lives and works in Boston. She’s a red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader, and world’s worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, tweeting, and playing fetch with her cat, Sassenach. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is. Visit her at www.chelseamcameron.com.

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Genre: Contemporary Genre: Romance Orientation: Bisexual Orientation: Lesbian Pairing: F/F Publisher: Carina Press Tag: Friends with Benefits / No Strings Tag: Guest Post Tag: Insta-Love / Insta-Lust Tag: Small Town Carina Adores Chelsea M. Cameron The Girl Next Door