Hi my loves,
You know I’ve always had a soft spot for second-chance romance.
Forever Flames took me all the way back to that sweet, spark-filled beginning when everything felt possible and forever meant forever.
Before it all fell apart…Stevie and Padraig were in it.
Deep. Full of passion, mischief, and the kind of heady connection making you ache for your own first love.
I had so much fun writing this phase of their story. Late-night jam sessions, whispered dreams, and the type of coming-of-age love you think will last forever.
If you’ve ever been in love at the wrong time…
If you’ve ever known someone was yours before you could say it out loud…
Forever Flames is for you.
Here’s a little excerpt to entice you:
“Don’t be an ass.” Padraig laces up his boots. “Let’s go. You might actually enjoy yourself.”
“Doubt it,” Liam drones, sliding on a black beanie.
I take point, leading them down the narrow stairwell of the dorm. The party’s ten blocks off-campus, in a rickety rental. It probably used to be a frat house before it got excommunicated.
Padraig grips my hand as we approach the house. “Thanks for arranging this.”
“No worries. Rumor has it, the lead guitarist once opened for Modest Mouse,” I offer helpfully.
It’s enough to get Liam’s interest, even if he pretends otherwise.
The porch sags under the weight of us. Inside it’s like a dive bar—sticky floors, thrift-store couches shoved against the walls, strands of dying Christmas lights casting everything in a weirdly colorful haze. Bass pulses through the floorboards like a second heartbeat.
Padraig grins and slings his arm casually around my back. His fingers brush my waist. “You sure this isn’t a rave?”
“Wrong kind of bassline.” I lean up for a kiss.
He cups my face and plants one on me in the middle of a room full of strangers. I melt against his chest, content and happy.
Even in a new environment, I’m always comfortable when I’m with the two people I’m closest to in the world. Bailey once asked me how I ever chose Padraig over Liam. Which is funny to me. Obviously, I love them both deeply. Liam burns hot and fast. Even as a kid, he was sharp edges and swagger. Dangerous. Unpredictable.
Padraig, on the other hand, has always been mine. Quieter. Steadier. Persistent. Safe. Our friendship morphed slowly from childhood playmates to best friends.
“For someone who didn’t want to come, he’s diving right in.” Padraig gestures to Liam, who’s in front of the makeshift stage where a girl with ink-black hair is yowling into a mic.
Her voice is scratchy in a way people mistake for edgy. It works, though. The guitarist’s decent. Drummer’s loud and showy, all biceps. Padraig and I hover at the edge of the room. He analyzes the band with the same hyper-focused intensity he uses to ace his exams—or figure out song structures.
“They’re decent.” Padraig rubs his chin.
I nod. “They’ve got a look.”
“A lot of style over substance.” He scrunches up his nose. “I’m not a fan of the arrogance.”
“They’re tight. And confident enough to fill a room like this,” I counter.
“Okay, fair.” Padraig nods, soaking it in.
Liam looks like he wants to be on stage more than he wants to breathe. He takes it all in, scanning the room like it’s a battlefield. Sizing up the soundboard. Calculating what he’d do different.
He wants this. To have his own moment.
Padraig leans down, his breath warm against my ear. “I love to see him inspired. It makes me happy.”
He’d never say it, but I feel it. Something’s cracked open in him too. Pure enthusiasm. Radiating off him like static. He’s not watching, he’s wanting.
Maybe I was wrong earlier. This could be his calling.
God, I’m glad I dragged them here.
“Glad we came?”
He nods. “Yeah. Feels like the start.”
He’s right.
It is.
This is the beginning of everything.
❤️ Kaylene
