Broken and humiliated by her husband leaving her unexpectedly, Sophia Meadows muddles through —writing computer programs and rarely leaving the house. That is, until an old friend from university shows up on her door with an offer she can’t refuse: a chance to get away and heal in the Scottish Highlands of Inverness by flat-sitting. Yet once she arrives, she discovers the offer is not what she bargained for: A police surveillance team is watching her every move and a mysterious man is after the contents of a safe hidden in a wall. After a break-in at the apartment, her path collides with DI Marcus Armstrong, the man in charge of the surveillance. Sophia is swept into an investigation of fraud involving her university friend and a sudden attraction with the DI who finds himself drawn to her even though she’s a suspect in his case. With evidence piling up against her and her friend and attraction between her and Marcus growing stronger, Sophia is forced to find a way to clear her name. In a tangled web of secrets, can she and the DI learn to trust each other in time to stop a criminal and save a life?
Broken and humiliated by her husband leaving her unexpectedly, Sophia Meadows muddles through —writing computer programs and rarely leaving the house. That is, until an old friend from university shows up on her door with an offer she can’t refuse: a chance to get away and heal in the Scottish Highlands of Inverness by flat-sitting. Yet once she arrives, she discovers the offer is not what she bargained for: A police surveillance team is watching her every move and a mysterious man is after the contents of a safe hidden in a wall. After a break-in at the apartment, her path collides with DI Marcus Armstrong, the man in charge of the surveillance. Sophia is swept into an investigation of fraud involving her university friend and a sudden attraction with the DI who finds himself drawn to her even though she’s a suspect in his case. With evidence piling up against her and her friend and attraction between her and Marcus growing stronger, Sophia is forced to find a way to clear her name. In a tangled web of secrets, can she and the DI learn to trust each other in time to stop a criminal and save a life?
In my defining moment, each of my senses became aware of the smallest, most infinite detail. The distant cry of a wild, eager fox. The soft, rippling sound of crystal water stirring within the loch. The sweet scent of a pine tree moving lazily in the wind. The freshly fallen leaves dancing around our feet. The acrid, metallic taste in my mouth as I forced away its dryness. His warm breath on my neck, stirring the tendrils of my hair and sending a tremor through my body. I had let my eyes drift closed to savour it all for one sweet second. My hand moved carefully behind me, so he could reach for it. As I felt his calloused palm cover mine, I squeezed hard, knowing without any words he would understand what I needed. We spoke a silent language, our bodies moving of their own accord. Then, knowing all too well what would confront them, my eyes reluctantly opened. Yet still, the shock of meeting those eyes staring hard and dangerously at me caused me to stiffen and bite down hard on the inside of my cheek.
Eyes that had once looked at me with affection were now that of a feverish stranger, hell-bent on getting what was so desperately sought, regardless of what happened to me. Had I ever really known the person behind them? As we stood there, suspended, each waiting for the other to make the next crucial move, I knew it was my choice now as to how this tale would end. Would I go back to the woman I had once been, full of self-doubt, low, hollow, and giving in to the inevitable? Or would I rise up and fight back, show my new strength and courage to protect the man I loved fiercely? Had it really only been five weeks since I’d made a different choice to take up a seemingly kind offer to stay at a friend’s flat? Had it been so short a time from when Aneella had smoothed her way back into my life after ten years of utter silence? When she became determined to have her way over my life, once again…
Sophia’s husband left her unexpectedly after ten years of marriage, leaving her sad and finding it difficult to trust.
Marcus is a detective inspector who lost his wife to illness years in prior and whose job trains him to suspect people, not trust them.
When Sophia’s friend shows up and asks her to flat-sit for her somewhere new and beautiful, Sophia cannot find a reason to object. She walks into the luxurious flat not knowing that she had unintentionally fallen into a web of secrets, fraud, lies, and the attention of the attractive DI.
Sophia soon learns that the people in her life are not who they have always pretended to be, and that those close to her might not have cared for her the way she had cared for them, but that does not stop her heart from caring for someone new.
While the twists are a bit predictable and some issues could have been solved sooner if certain characters had not been so secretive and so trusting of characters that are clearly suspicious, the story is very well-written.
Those We Trust – as per its title – tackles the issue of trust as Sophia finds herself having to trust someone she had just met despite those she had known for so long betraying her and as Marcus finds himself trusting a suspect with evidence piling up against her.
The romance between Sophia and Marcus is both quick and a slow burn at the same time. The chemistry between the two lead characters is palpable and easy to root for from the very beginning. They take their time getting to now each other and revealing themselves to the reader, all whilst not wasting a single moment of the book.
The plot contains secrets, high stakes, exes, jealous love interests, risks, and a life-or-death situation; all perfect elements for a memorable love story.
The story does not only focus on finding love in another, but on moving on and loving one’s self enough to permit love and other blessings to come through, and the message is delivered in a very elegant manner.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sweet romances and happy resolutions.