A divorce lawyer with a romantic spirit. A cynical television executive who thinks commitment is for fools. They can’t fight their attraction, or their affection. Can they find a way to reconcile their vastly different needs, or will each walk away from the best thing they’ve ever had? Jordan might be a divorce lawyer, but he’s a hopeless romantic. He doesn’t see the two as incompatible, either. He’s never had a relationship last long enough to be with someone on Valentine’s Day, but he’s still hopeful he’ll find the one out there somewhere. Sam is an executive vice president at a major television network. He spends his days managing programming, much of it centered around romance, and he knows exactly how fake television romances are. His own background of rejection only cements his views on the fleeting nature of affection. They meet by chance, when Sam’s sister and best friend file for divorce. The divorce is messy, and Sam and Jordan are thrown together often enough to try to make a relationship work. When the winter holidays roll around, the difference in their expectations comes to the fore. Can Sam overcome his fear of commitment ... and rejection? Can Jordan get over his need to define their relationship? Or will they both lose the one thing in their lives that makes them happiest?

Paper Hearts

Jordan was everything Sam liked in a partner. When they met, Sam had been attracted to his looks, and Jordan certainly had nothing to be ashamed of there. Now that they had a chance to chat, and outside of a professional setting, Sam found himself drawn more to Jordan’s sense of humor than anything else. The comment about the mullets was just the start. By the time they left the bar, Sam’s sides ached with laughter.


He couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Dinesh shouldn’t have married Ida, it was true, but he had, and now he was sitting in a condo near the medical examiner’s office, heartbroken over the loss of his one true love or whatever. Sam didn’t regret taking the chance to enjoy life a little, even with someone he’d met through Dinesh’s misfortune, but he did feel guilty about it. Plenty of people wouldn’t recognize the fine line there, but it existed, and Sam danced merrily along it.


Chapter 6