Leaving normal

With the ink dry on her divorce papers, Natalie Goodwin feels her life is finally running the way she wants it. Her new flower shop is set for its grand opening, her daughter is enjoying her first semester at college, the house is clean and the bills are paid.

She admits she is a teeny bit lonely, but recent dating experiences have convinced her that Mr. Right does not live in Boise, Idaho. Then she meets the man who lives right across the street: firefighter Tony Cruz, nine years her junior. The age gap unsettles her, and the romance builds slowly over months rather than in a rush.

Stef Ann Holm writes an adult contemporary romance about starting over and about whether a hard-won independence has to be traded away for love.