What does it take to shift deep-seated betrayal?

Adele Fergus switched back to her maiden name with plans to never look back-never think about her naïve, short-lived marriage to James Montague. But that was before he turned up on her Wanaka doorstep with her missing diamonds, a crazy backstory, and persistent requests for visitation with his ex-stepdaughter. Adele's hell-bent on keeping James at arms-length, but it's not easy with old attractions still running hot. What's more, she's beginning to suspect she may have left him on false information.

Is it worth risking everything to start again?

Divorce was never in James' game-plan, so when his ex-wife's jewellery comes to light, he's drawn back to her-welcome or not-and he isn't leaving until he has all the answers. The more the exes re-learn to trust each other, the more they come to realise someone was intent on dragging them apart from the very beginning. Someone close.

Winner of both the Daphne Clair de Jong First Kiss and RWNZ Great Beginnings competition, LAKE TAIMANA is a contemporary love story set in the stunning Lakes District in southern New Zealand. The third novel by emerging Kiwi writer, Stephanie Ruth, LAKE TAIMANA can be read as a standalone, or in conjunction with two other linked love stories in the OTAGO WATERS series, and is intended for readers who enjoy their feel-good romance on the steamy side.

Reader discretion advised. Though this story ends with an HEA, it also includes references to a historical miscarriage, depression, and suicide. Sign on to Stephanie Ruth's newsletter to receive bonus short stories and cut scenes set in the same world, with the characters you love.