Stranded for the Fourth (Holiday Hearts MM #8)

One washed-out road. One suffocating summer heatwave. And only one bed.

Avery Mercer lives his life by color-coded spreadsheets and strict deadlines. But when a violent July 4th storm destroys his travel plans—and his car’s radiator—he finds himself completely stranded in a remote lake town with a dead phone, a ruined itinerary, and a looming family crisis.

Hayes Briggs prefers the quiet. The rugged, taciturn boat mechanic runs his shop single-handedly and keeps his walls high to protect his heart from temporary summer tourists. He doesn’t have the patience for a high-strung city professional, but he can’t leave Avery out in the deluge.

Trapped together in a tiny, humid loft above the marine workshop during a total power blackout, the rigid boundaries they draw begin to blur.Through awkward shared breakfasts, suffocatingly close boat repairs, and vulnerable late-night lake swims, an agonizing physical awareness grows between them.Hayes promises to stay on his side of the mattress—but as the holiday fireworks flare over the water, the restraint keeping them apart threatens to snap completely.