At First Smile

by Melissa Whitney

Disability advocate Pen Meadows is on a mission; grab a breakfast sandwich, find her gate, and listen to her smutty audiobook. Only, the sexy, tall man in front of her at Tim Hortons may prove a worthwhile distraction. His soft Irish lilt and mix of gruff sweetness make Rowan Iverson unlike any man she’s ever met. After a brief meet/cute, and even briefer goodbye, the social media influencer ends up seated beside Rowan on a cross-country flight.

Rowan Iverson desperately wants to get back to Los Angeles without calling further attention to himself. A potentially career-ending incident at hockey’s biggest game could transform the NHL’s top defenseman into its most hated player. The last thing he wants is for his mess to trip up Pen. A mid-flight detour forces him to realize that his goal to resist her bright smile may be a game he’s already lost.

Back in the reality of their jobs and lives in Los Angeles, Pen learns that the man she’d spent one incredible night with isn’t who she thought. He’s a player and Pen doesn’t play games, especially when her heart is at stake. Can Rowan prove to Pen that he is who he wants to be…just hers?

Publication Date: October 1, 2024

With a name like Melissa Whitney she had two choices become a Real Housewife or a romance novelist. Lucky for us Andy Cohen hasn't called yet, so she chose to be a writer. Melissa hails from Western New York but lives in Southern California with her husband and their rescue pugs.

When she's not reading a good book, brewing a cup of tea or hunting for a delicious pastry, she's writing contemporary romances. Melissa taps into her experience as a disabled woman/trauma survivor and her master's in social work to write stories that explore themes of disability, mental health, trauma, autism, grief/loss, and healing in the swooniest and steamiest ways as possible. LIfe is not a romcom nor a melodrama; it's somehwere in-between and so are Melissa's books.