When the Dust Settles

Book Three of the "When We Were Rivals" Series

Maya Langley has done the impossible-she's stopped running.

After a decade defined by escape, heartbreak, and regret, Maya chooses to stay in Brookhaven, the small town she once fled. With the echoes of her past still lingering in quiet corners, she begins building a new life with Drew Callahan, the boy she once loved and the man who waited for her return.

Together, they restore not just buildings but trust, laying the foundation for something enduring. As Maya opens Second Light Studio, an art space inspired by her own healing, she finds herself becoming part of the town she once resented-and slowly reclaiming pieces of herself she thought were lost.

But peace doesn't come without echoes. A letter from an old threat forces Maya to reckon with the shadows still trailing behind her. Forgiveness, long avoided, begins to take root. Friendships mend. Rivals soften. And love becomes less a rescue and more a choice, made over and over.

In the series' poignant and deeply romantic conclusion, Maya and Drew learn that rebuilding isn't about restoring what was-it's about honoring what remains and creating something stronger. From wedding vows beneath a maple tree to bare-foot mornings filled with soft laughter, When the Dust Settles is a love letter to second chances, quiet resilience, and the kind of forever that's built from the ashes.