Today I am excited to share the newest, standalone, small-town romance novel from the Women of Boone County Series. Forget Me Not by Julieann Dove is a sweet, heartfelt romance about loss and starting over. Check out the excerpt, enter the giveaway and grab your copy!
Forget Me Not
Women of Boone County #3 | Release Date: January 21, 2025
Sadie Billingsly cannot remember the last time she ate a vegetable, shaved her legs, or slept in a bed. Since the morning she woke up in the hospital and was told her husband was dead, nothing resembled her life. For the last ten months all she’d been able to do was survive the life she’d been dealt. She quit going to her private practice, started lying to her mom, and knew entirely too much about the top ten streaming movies any given day.
Campbell Stone watched from a far as Sadie, his departed best friend’s wife, withdrew from society. He didn’t want to upset her with mentioning she should return to work, but most of all, he didn’t want to hurt her with the truth about the year leading up to the accident that spared her life and took his best friend’s. He knew her amnesia of the events and time prior to the fateful night was necessary to protect her.
Sometimes your life has to fall apart so it can fall into place. The storm that hit Boone County that night in November did more than knock out half the town’s electricity… with the help of a stranger, it shifted Sadie’s mindset about her situation. But time would tell if she was ready to face the truth about her marriage, Campbell Stone, and her part in the night that changed her life.
Enjoy this peek inside:
“You want a Cosmo?” Campbell asked Sadie.
“Actually, I’ll have a cranberry juice, straight up.”
The woman looked up from her pad, questioning her with her eyes.
“Okay,” Campbell said, interrupting the ensuing question from the waitress. “I’ll have a Coors.”
She looked back at Sadie before she left the table.
“So you’re not drinking tonight?”
“Giving it up for Lent.” She folded the tiny cocktail napkin the woman left behind.
“You’re not even Catholic.”
“Yeah, well, that might change, too.”
The music was certainly bluesy that night. Campbell noticed a man in the corner. He was swaying his head, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. His eyes were closed, feeling the music deep in his soul.
“So, how was your first week? Did it all come back to you?” He rested his elbows on the table. It was all he could do not to reach across and pull a stray hair from the middle of her forehead. But then that would lead to touching her cheek. Then that would lead to bending across the table and kissing her. Something she wouldn’t understand.
“Yeah, pretty much. You see one naked ass, you’ve seen them all.”
He let out a laugh. The woman reappeared with their drinks. Sadie’s was bright red and filled a medium glass. His was a longneck. A frosted mug accompanied it.
“So true.” He poured the cold elixir down his throat. It felt as if it were setting off sparks as it crawled down to his stomach. A great end to a busy day. And now to be sitting across the table with Sadie made it the best.
Sadie began to sway in her chair to the song that was playing. Without giving thought to how she’d react, he stood and pulled her out to the small dance floor. He couldn’t take not being able to touch her any longer. They were going to share it with three other couples. Slow-moving couples. Maybe dirty dancers, if the lights were brighter and he could see better.
She fought at first, shaking her head no. But he insisted, pulling her harder. The song was “These Arms of Mine.” The words couldn’t have been more fitting to how he felt for her. He wrapped his arms around her tight and began to sway. Her body felt so good…so perfect next to his.
She went to say something the same time he moved his head to look at her. She ended up at his cheek. Her lips brushed against it. They stopped for a brief second, a half inch of space between their faces. His eyes focused on her lips. The ones he’d watch getting slathered with lip gloss in the break room that day, longing to be the wand in the tube. Slowly, he leaned in and kissed her. It was second nature. He wasn’t sure whether she closed her eyes. It ended quickly.
Like the song. “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” came on next, not allowing for any silence in the dance area. Her eyes didn’t leave his for what seemed a whole chorus of Otis belting out the soulful tune.
She moved her head back to his shoulder, laying her cheek flat against it. His body radiated heat from what just happened…from feeling her breast pressed against his chest. How could he get rid of the extra warmth before she sensed the temperature change?
They remained dancing until the song ended and she pulled away. They went back to the table and sat down without saying a word.
“I’ve got to go to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
He nodded.
©Forget Me Not, Julieann Dove, NerdyBirdBooks 2025
The Women of Boone County Series
Coming Home | To Have and Let Go | Forget Me Not
“If you haven’t discovered Julieann Dove’s books, start right now with Coming Home, the first book in her latest series. It’s filled with the complex characters and small-town charm I love.” –Sherryl Woods, New York Times #1 bestselling author of The Sweet Magnolias and Chesapeake Shores series.
Author Julieann Dove
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