Degree of Love

Noah Becker promises nothing but trouble.

That’s what my mom used to tell me when I, as a child, kicked Noah's bench in church and giggled at the games he created. That’s what the townspeople said when his father died and the Becker brothers went off the rails.

And that’s what I thought on the day I was heading to the distillery where he worked to buy a wedding gift for my fiancé.

Noah is a troublemaker. A nasty, rude rebel.

But no matter how much I try to convince myself, I can’t avoid encountering Noah in our small southern town. And the more I run into him, the more he annoys me. Because he sees what others don’t notice: the real me.

The one I’m forbidden to be.

I am Ruby Grace Barnett, the mayor's daughter. Soon I will become the wife of a politician, as my parents dreamed. Soon I will fulfill my family duty, as I have always planned. Until the guy everyone warned me about makes me question my decisions — like whether I want to get married at all. Everyone said Noah Becker brings trouble.

I regret not listening to them.