WESWhen I was a kid, my dad was the gardener for the richest man in town. His daughter, Lily Barnes, told me she could never like a guy like me. Then she kissed me and told me it would never happen again. When it happened again, she told me she could never love me because she was going to leave this place, and I would never leave my dad. We were never quite friends, not exactly enemies, and we … exactly enemies, and we could never quite stop secretly kissing each other.
She never said goodbye before running off to try to make it as an actress. That was her dream, and I wanted her to chase it. Okay, maybe I hated her for it, just a little.
Now she’s back, with no money and even more sass.
A lot has changed around here … except for my hidden feelings about Lily Barnes.
LILY
So, it turns out I’m a terrible actress and now I’m back!
When my father offers me a job at his company, I actually think he’s finally decided I’m worthy of one day taking over the family business. Imagine my surprise when I find out that the gardener’s son is the one who’s being groomed to take over, and I’ve been assigned to work for him.
Wes Carver has always been rich in confidence and abs, but now he’s rich in everything, including disdain for yours truly.
If he thinks I’m not built to work, he’s wrong.
If he thinks he can boss me around just because he’s my boss, he’s delusional.
If he thinks I’m still the girl who could never love him … I may be a better actress than anyone thought.
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“Because you fucking left town without saying good-bye, and I hated you for it.”
Lily met the love of her life at the age of fourteen. But she soon learned to flee her emotions to protect herself. So, even fascinated by Wes, her attitudes and posture border insolence and petulance. But Wes is not affected by her. If Lily thinks she would hurt him because he was the gardener’s son, she was wrong. He responds in the same tone, always with sharp answers and a certain air of disdain. And with each growing in their own circle and living their life, they still end up attracted to each other. Until a kiss happens.
But Wes knows that Lily would never face and would not even recognize such a feeling. Her goal has always been to leave home and live on her own, to live her own experiences. Preventing her from spread her wings would be impossible. And so she does. Lily leaves without even saying goodbye.
Five years later, Lily’s life is not as she imagined. Her dream of being an actress did not work out very well and to make matters worse she is out of money. Returning home is the only solution. And so, she finds herself asking for a job for the last person she would think to ask for help: her father. But if she thought she would have a prominent position in her family’s company, she is mistaken. Her new job is to be an assistant…. of her greatest enemy.
Wes struggled to achieve a good professional and financial situation. The gardener’s son is now Lily’s father’s right-hand man. The game turned. Now she’s the one who works for him. And with her return, the past buried so deep, returns with several questions open.
The book is a novel about first love and second chance. Lily needed to live the experiences that she thought she wanted so she could accept that what she needed was in front of her all the time. She had to venture, to make mistakes, tot succeed, to live …. to finally find herself and accept her future.
Wes always knew he loved her. And always knew he had to let her go. And while she was far away, he became the man he finds worthy of her. His love is unconditional. And that’s his highest quality.
With interesting and well-developed characters and a plot that despite the novel focuses more on their feelings and journeys, it is impossible not to be moved by the story of Lily and Wes.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest Review *
Wes and Lily grew up as rich boy, poor gardener’s daughter but the attraction was always there. Lily left to pursue her dreams of acting. Wes is now grown up and richer than ever. Lily is back in town to work for her father. The two clash as usual but the attraction is still there waiting to turn into an inferno. Will the couple ever be able to come to terms with their differences? An intriguing read that kept me reading into the night.
I received a copy of this book and am leaving a review.
Lily and Wes had an adversarial relationship when they were teens. He was the gardener’s son and she the princess. She was sassy. He was amazingly unruffled. But both were hiding feelings for each other that they never got to consummate aside from the kisses they exchanged in secret. And then she took off to become an actress and left poor Wes and everyone behind. In her absence, Wes has really made something of himself, unbeknownst to Lily. 5 years laters, she’s back, broke and determined to gain her father’s respect by working the assistant job her father gave her at his company. There’s just one little glitch…
I loved Wes and Lily together! How they went from sorta enemies to lovers, hiding their obvious (to everyone else) attraction. The chemistry, the passion – HOT! And even better, their relationship was just so sweet and obviously full of love that had been there all along.
ARC via Ardent Prose PR.
This is an incredible and beautiful love story!! It’s great story telling, captivating plot and nicely developed and written. Wes and Lily’s story is wonderfully told. It has a whole spectrum of emotions with romance, angst and twists. Their story is a slow build but worth every minute to get there. This was absolutely a pleasure to read!
This was my first Kayley Loring and I loved it. Between Lily’s mixed up emotions that kept her running, and Wes’ twisted up emotions that kept him mixed up, they both were quite fascinating with their back and forth at each other. Once they figured out those emotions with each other, they were beyond entertaining and quite joyful together. I truly loved their story
Fun, entertaining, enjoyable and refreshing, with a delicious side of sexy. Even thow this author is new to me which I’m surprised I’ve not read before, I could not stop reading this story. Really grabbed my attention and just didn’t let go at all. Can’t wait to see what this author writes next and any other books I’ve missed out on. Happy reading!!
This is the first time in reading this author with the characters when I read the snipit that called to me. Lily and Wes will do more than entertain you in this one. They will take you on a ride that will have you holding onto your seat at times with the egos and steam that sometimes boil over. The qualities they both have shape them into characters that can entertain you while something grows between them. Humor and passion will ride big with us on that wave. It is also a bit of a second chance that is the icing on the cake. Other characters in this make for a well rounded read that you delight in from start to finish.
“To the First Love that we all deserve” is the dedication in this book…and I really think is says it all. This is only my 2nd book by Kayley Loring, but I have already become a huge fan. I absolutely loved this book, these two *sigh*…so good. Lily is 14 and Wes is 16 when they meet, his dad works for her dad, and their is instant chemistry for these two. Lily tries so hard to not get attached to Wes right from the beginning, but as we all know, chemistry always wins out. Lily leaves home when she’s 18, leaving everything and everyone behind, including Wes. She’s gone for 5 years, I know, I know, I normally don’t like time apart and I don’t here either….but I just loved the book so much…so…I got over it pretty quick. Fast forward the 5 years and she’s finally returning to work at her dads company…and for Wes. I think we all know how that worked out *winks*, like I said their chemistry.
I loved this storyline, such a great story without all the cliche drama there could have been. I appreciated this for sure. Also a shout out to the secondary characters, especially Kate…she was so funny. This was a slow and sexy burn. This book had a bit of everything, it was funny, sweet, sexy, emotional and an all around great read. Safe read, even when they were apart, neither were with others. And yes, to answer your question, they are both virgins…you are welcome. When they were in high school they did each go to a dance with dates separately, but kept leaving their dates for each other, this didn’t bother me, but it may for some of my safety readers. Such sweet and sexy soulmates. Wes was so swoony, I am calling double dibs. I know, I know, I read in the acknowledgments where Neda called dibs, but this is where I act like I didn’t read it…out of sight, out of mind? If I didn’t see it, it didn’t happen? Works for me, he is totally worth everything. There are 2 epilogues, thank you for that and an hea. I wanted to thank Kayley Loring and Neda for letting me read this wonderful book. So damn good.
Wes and Lily met as children, her the CEO’s daughter and him the gardner’s son. Both without their mothers, completely different lives, never truly friends, yet there was something always pulling them together. Secret kisses, secret meetings, but nothing more. Lily ran away without saying goodbye. What happens when she returns 5 years later?
I’ve got so much love for Wes and Lily. I loved so much about this story that I don’t even know where to begin with this review. This story is a SLOW SLOW SLOW burn but the wait is 1000% percent worth it. Wes and Lily’s road is a rocky one. There is so much pain between the two of them, so much that was left unsaid that they both need to hear. Even after years apart their chemistry never faded, if anything now that they are working together its only gotten stronger.
On a more personal note, I LOVED that this story took place in Southern Oregon. It is a completely beautiful area and such a perfect background for this amazing love story. As someone who grew up in Oregon and lived in Southern Oregon for some time it felt like coming home.
I was completely in love with this story from the very beginning. It was full of romance, angst, and so many emotions. Kayley completely captured my heart with this story and this is one I know that I will read over and over again.
This is the story of Wes Carver and Lily Barnes. They met as young teens. Lily lived in this wonderful house where Wes’ dad was a the gardener. Lily always said she would never fall for him, but she kissed him anyway. And kept kissing him. And then she says she could never like him because he was never leaving and she was hitting the road as soon as possible to pursue her dreams of becoming an actress. One day she does take off, leaving him a simple note and her cat for him to take care of…
5 years pass and Lily is back in town. Her dreams shattered, with no money, and she accepts her dad’d offer to work in the company business, at least until she reaches the age in which she can access her trust fund. Her new job? Wes’ assistant. He went to college and now works for her dad in his real estate business.
Unbeknownst to each other, whatever they had in the past was too strong for either of them to forget. And being together rekindles all the flames. Can puppy love turn into the real thing?
This story is so so sweet! It has a lot of romance novel tropes (first love, second chance romance, workplace romance, forced proximity, virgins) but it’s never trope-y. It’s also very low angst when it comes to Wes and Lily. They both deal with things happening to them, but they help each other as a couple and it’s adorable to see that, even without any hope of getting back together, they never wanted anything else – like they were just waiting for the universe to put them back together even if against all hope.
This is one of Kayley Loring’s first books, so you may be surprised that she hadn’t yet turned up the funny factor we all love to eleven, but the romance is all there and it’s swoony!
It can be sometimes daunting when you go back to a favorite author’s early works, but Kayley hasn’t disappointed me!
The audiobook is narrated by Mackenzie Cartwright and Teddy Hamilton, and they both bring out all their talent. Loved it!
Possible triggers: difficult relationship with a parent, loss of a parent, abandonment by a parent
“On some level, I guess I always trusted that he wouldn’t let me go, no matter where I went. No matter how either of us tries to push each other away, it’s the pull that defines us.”
When you check the backlog of an author you love, you may get the feeling that this is not the author you fell in love with, because the older books are not so good. Or maybe you fall in love with the older work and you find the most recent one pales in comparison.
Maybe you remain in love. Yeah, that’s me, and Kayley Loring’s writing.
Also, I’m proclaiming Kayley my epilogue queen.
“I would give up everything for him. I tried giving him up for everything else, and it just wasn’t worth it.”
I loved Wes. I usually love Kayley’s heroes, and this one really is the perfect package of bossy, annoying, sweet, protective, and definitely hot. Plus, he’s into classic rock. I mean… Rolling Stones and ‘Beast of Burden’. Gimme a break. It’s just not fair.
“As soon as I met her, I knew that for better or worse, that beautiful thorn in my side would be the love of my life. Even if she didn’t know it. Even when she wasn’t around.”
I really liked Lily, and I liked that she had the guts to leave it all behind to pursue her dreams. OK, they might not have come true the way she wanted them to, but she tried. She may have made some questionable choices, but her heart was in the right place. Or maybe she left that behind, too.
”It wasn’t my first kiss, but it was the first kiss that mattered. It wasn’t the last time we’d kiss, and it wasn’t the last time we’d swear it would be the last time.”
Wes and Lily met when they were teens. He was the caretaker’s son, and 2 years older than her. Is it possible to fall in love when you’re a teen? Yes, it is. Is it possible that person is the one for you and no one can ever measure up? Yep, that too.
Do you leave that person behind to chase your dreams? You may, I suppose. But what happens when you come back, 5 years later, and realize nothing’s really changed?
“I want you. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything. I meant what I said last night—if you even remember. I know who you are, even when you don’t.”
Lily’s coming back to town to work at her dad’s real estate company, and her boss is Wes. Yes, Wes went to college, and made a life for himself in their small town. He seems like so much more than what he used to be, but he’s still the same person deep down.
Wes wanted to be more for her. He had this weird idea that he needed to be worthy of her somehow, and so he’s working on it. He didn’t expect her back so soon, and he still feels he’s undeserving. He’s so freaking wrong.
“I’m gonna give you the bluest balls, boss man. I almost feel bad for you,” she says in a sing-song voice.
I don’t doubt it. And I have no doubt that it will be worth it.”
It’s clear to see their chemistry never went away. And 5 years apart is a lot of pent-up lust and want, so when they let go… let’s just say they make up for it. And their banter, and them together at work? She makes him suffer, and I love it.
I also loved the flashback scenes to when they were teens. It gives an insight to what they were really about. Their friends are hilarious, and Lily’s broken-and-in-need-of-work relationship with her dad only adds to a really great story.
Their letters to each other? It’s just not fair. Why am I feeling so single again?
Also, people, botanical p*rn. I never knew this was a thing, but Wes makes it work.
”Know that I’m missing you even right now when you’re just one room away from me.”
Back For More is a mix of first love, second chance, and office romance. It’s a low-angst, happy-feeling, romantic book about the one who may have gotten away, but was never really gone.
Sometimes you just can’t fight fate and you end up back for more in the end
Back for More is the first book I have read by Kayley Loring so I was not sure what to expect. I was very nicely rewarded with this story of Lily Barnes and Wes Carver. Their story is filled with youth, angst, love, denial, fighting against destiny and of course romance and emotion. The characters have a great banter and chemistry along with a shared tragedy in both their lives, similar but not exactly the same.
I found this book to be very enjoyable. There were a few things that I thought could have gone a bit deeper in the story-line but this did not detract from the overall feel of the story-line and characters.
I received a copy of this book for my honest review. My opinions are all my own.