3GirlsMom

I don't need a man. I've figured that out pretty quickly after a string of bad dates. Every one a disappointment. Either they want to use me, or I don't want to use them. Either way, I'm over it. But then my landlord shows up exactly when I need a man. And a drink. And maybe a second. So we make a deal. No sex for ten dates, which sounds easy. Despite the biceps bulging through his shirt. Despite the tattoos I desperately want to lick - I mean, know more about. Despite the hunger in his eyes when he looks at me.

Boomerangers [boo-muh-rang-ers] - noun, informal: an adult who moves back home to live with a parent after a period of independence. Spencer: I love sex. I love the power, the intimacy, the euphoria it brings. Too bad I'm not having any... You'd think as New Orleans's most renowned sex therapist that I'd be swimming in single men. In a way, I am...except for the fact that one is in diapers and the other two are drowning in preteen hormones. As a single mother of three, my days are devoted to my clients and my kids, and my nights are spent with Fabio, my vibrator.

Nothing good ever comes from drinking a box of wine alone. So when I decided to entertain my drunken self by setting up some hand-me-down podcasting equipment and reading the steamy parts from romance novels, I never thought anyone would actually listen. The fact that I admitted my huge crush on my sexy next door neighbor made the whole thing even more mortifying. But sometimes life surprises you, and that’s how my podcast, Heidi’s Discount Erotica, was born. Now I, Heidi Larsen, a sweet former kindergarten teacher in Waconia, Minnesota, lead a scandalous double life.

The first time I met Ian Kemp in the sparkling blue waters of St. Thomas, I was six years old, and we shared a summer beneath the stars. The second time I met Ian Kemp, he was a shell of the boy I once knew. Turbulent and infuriating, he refused my friendship at every turn. Like me, he was a casualty of life’s cruelty, but we were planets apart. We’d both sought refuge on the island, hoping to find our anchor. Instead, we found each other and managed to reclaim our stars...until we both got swept away.

I fell in love with Liam only to be left shattered into a million pieces. Again. The idea of being without him cripples me but the reality is, he's gone. He doesn't understand, and I can't make him. If only he'd see the conviction behind my words - then Liam would still be here.