Compass Series

After leaving the city life behind to escape my loveless marriage, I moved to small-town Havenbarrow for a fresh start. What I didn’t expect was to find myself drawn to the town’s black sheep. They called him troubled, cold, a man with a dark past. What everyone seemed to miss about Jax was the splashes of light in his eyes, the random acts of kindness he performed when no one was watching, and the way he made me smile and laugh.

I once met a man on a cold Halloween night. He dressed as a superhero, and I dressed in red. For one night, I was his break from reality, and he was the temporary fix for my broken heart. Two years later, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to become a senior editor at one of the biggest magazine companies in the world. The only catch? Nail an exclusive interview with New York’s finest bachelor: Connor Roe. To the rest of the world, he was becoming one of the wealthiest men in New York City. To me, he was simply my once-upon-a-time superhero.

I’d never met my father, but on the day he died, he left me a letter. He said he'd leave all of his millions to me if I completed the tasks on his list. The first task at hand? Move into the same household as Stella Lane, my new step-sister. Stella was cold. I was ice, too. Stella was lonely. I craved being alone. Stella didn't speak unless she had something to say. Each month, a new letter arrived with a new task. Each month, the tasks grew darker as more secrets of my past were revealed.

I’d been in love with Aiden Walters since I was a little girl. We’d grown up as neighbors in small town Wisconsin. I knew him inside and out, and he knew every single piece of me. I was there when his career took off, and I was almost certain I’d always be a part of his life. It wasn’t until a scandal broke out that I was forced to end things with Aiden. He didn’t take it very well. The boy I once loved began to hate me. He went off to California, leaving his entire past behind—including me.