They say everything happens for a reason - that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. For the longest time, I didn’t think that was true. I had stumbled around in the dark for so many years that I didn’t think I would ever find my way out. But when I finally did, it came in the most unexpected way.

Miles Hollins had been my brother’s best friend for as long as I could remember. We didn’t like each other much growing up. Or rather, we couldn’t stand each other. But after 10 years of being gone, a lot had changed.

He wasn’t the same boy I remembered. I wasn’t the same girl, either. So much had happened.

I moved away and got married.

Miles joined the military.

We both returned home broken in our own way.

I struggled to find my place in my new life. Miles struggled just to get through the day. But together, we slowly began to heal. I quieted his demons, and he gave me a sense of belonging. For a while, that was enough.

But this is real life, and in real life, nothing stays perfect forever. In real life, not every story ends with a happily ever after. Sometimes, the scars we carry are just too deep.

I promised him I would fight.

He promised me I would lose.

I’ll do everything in my power to prove him wrong. Because, it’s when you find the one thing you can’t live without that you truly find yourself.

All That We Are is a stand-alone contemporary romance.