
Title: A Broken Soul
Series: The Pembrooke Series (Book 3)
Author: Jessica Prince
Genre: Contemporary Romance

He’s terrified of loving her.
She’s terrified of losing him.

Heâs terrified of loving her.
Quinn Mallick already had his happily-ever-after, and in the blink of an eye it was ripped away from him. Now heâs content to walk through the rest of his life carrying the weight of that guilt on his shoulders. Heâs convinced he doesnât deserve a second chance. But when the townâs beautiful dance teacher turns her sights on him he finds himself questioning everything.
Sheâs terrified of losing him.
Lilly Mathewsonâs once quiet, predictable life has been turned on its head. Feeling alone and adrift, she finds her comfort in the most unexpected of places. Falling for the town widower was never part of the plan, but there is just something about the temperamental man she canât seem to let go of.
What started as two grieving people leaning on each other has quickly turned into something neither of them expected. Lilly is ready to take the next step, but how do you move forward when the man you love refuses to let go of the past?
He has a broken soul. She has a broken heart. And the only way for them to heal is if they do it together.
***This is Book 3 in the Pembrooke series, a spin-off of Wildflower. They are interconnected standalones.***

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âSo what about you? Have you always wanted to dance?â
Her voice went soft, her expression wistful. âYeah. Iâve been dancing since I was about eight. I started a little later than most, but once my mom put me in classes, I was hooked.â
âYouâre amazing,â I found myself admitting. âWhy didnât you go to New York or something like that?â
Her face flushed, and something told me it wasnât from the wine this time. âYouâve seen me dance?â
âYeah. Last week. I was getting in my truck after grabbing a coffee. The blinds to the studio were open and you were in there by yourself.â I stopped, thinking back to the sadness on her face that morning. âYou wereâŚâ
âCrying,â she whispered, and although she still wore a smile, I could see the sadness had returned. âYeah. You kind of caught me on a bad day.â
Suddenly I was aware of what I must have been putting my loved ones through, because even though I knew it wasnât fair, I wanted to push her to talk about whatever was bothering her. Instead, I ignored that curious niggling in my gut and said, âYou know, I might not be as good a listener as you are, but if you ever need to talkâŚâ
âThanks,â she smiled. âItâs okay. Iâm okay. I just got some bad news the day before.â She stopped long enough to inhale deeply before she continued. âMy dadâs sick. Cancer. I found out about it the day before.â
âChrist,â I hissed. âLilly, Iâm so sorry.â
âItâs all right. I was struggling with how to cope, you know? I couldnât imagineâŚâ Her voice cracked and her throat moved as she swallowed. âI still canât imagine not having him, and knowing heâs going to die⌠it really fucking sucks.â When she let out a self-deprecating laugh, it took everything I had not to jump across the table and wrap my arms around her. Iâd never felt more out of my element with a person before, yet, at the same time, I could relate to her better than most.
âI went down to the studio before it opened and put on the music and just⌠escaped for a little while. Iâve always used dancing as a way to escape. When I was little, I had trouble in school. Iâm dyslexic and it took a while for the doctors to be able to diagnose it. I know itâs not really a big deal, but when youâre in elementary school and have trouble reading, well, letâs just say the kids can be real assholes.
âMy mom enrolled me in dance classes and I discovered that when I was moving, when the music was playing, all the mean things those kids said about me just⌠disappeared. It was my escape, to this day it still is. So, to answer your question, thatâs why I never wanted to pursue something like New York. It might sound weird, but what I do now, when I dance, even when I teach my kids, itâs all for me. If I tried to join a company, everything I did would be for them. Doing what I do now, I donât have to answer to anybody. I donât have to worry about the routines becoming monotonous. I get to leave my head for a while and not worry about the outcome. Does that make any sense?â
I hardly recognized my voice, the sound rougher, almost jagged as I said, âIt makes perfect sense.â I had no clue what was coming over me, why I was reacting the way I was, but I couldnât stand to see that heartache in her eyes any longer. Standing from my place on the floor, I held my hand out to her. âCome on. I want to watch you dance.â
âWhat? Now?â she asked incredulously. âYou want to watch me dance right now?â
I gave a casual shrug and let my lips curl up in a grin. âWhy not? You got other plans at the moment?â
âWell⌠no, butââ
âPerfect, so nothingâs stopping you.â She didnât seem convinced, and for reasons beyond my comprehension, I wanted nothing more than to see this gorgeous woman dance. So, I pushed.
âCome escape with me for a little while.â




FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

FREE on Kindle Unlimited!
Amazon US | Amazon UK |Amazon CA | Amazon AU


Born and raised around Houston Texas, Jessica spent most of her life complaining about the heat, humidity, and all around pain in the ass weather. It was only as an adult that she quickly realized the cost of living in Houston made up for not being able to breathe when she stepped outside. Thatâs why God created central air, after all.
Jessica is the mother of a perfect little boyâshe refuses to accept that he inherited her attitude and sarcastic nature no matter what her husband says.
In addition to being a wife and mom, sheâs also a wino, a coffee addict, and an avid lover of all types of booksâromances still being her all time favs. Her husband likes to claim that reading is her obsession but she just says itâs a passionâŚthereâs a difference. Not that sheâd expect a boy to understand.
Jessica has been writing since she was a little girl, but thankfully grew out of drawing her own pictures for her stories before ever publishing her first book. Because an artist she is not.
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