Love On Her Terms
If only attraction always led to happily ever after…Mina Clements wants to grab life with both hands. With a fixer-upper and a fresh start in Montana, the graphic novelist is ready to do just that. Plus, having handsome handyman Levi Pardo next door could be a bonus… But even though sparks sizzle when Levi helps with her renovations, the widower’s in no hurry to fall in love again. Still, he’s much more than the neighbour who looks good swinging a hammer. He’s a man she wants to trust with her biggest secret—one that can either bring them closer or wreck the new beginning they both need.
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If only attraction always led to happily ever after...
Mina Clements wants to grab life with both hands. With a fixer-upper and a fresh start in Montana, the graphic novelist is ready to do just that. Plus, having handsome handyman Levi Pardo next door could be a bonus... But even though sparks sizzle when Levi helps with her renovations, the widowerâs in no hurry to fall in love again. Still, heâs much more than the neighbor who looks good swinging a hammer. Heâs a man she wants to trust with her biggest secretâone that can either bring them closer or wreck the new beginning they both need.
Mina couldnât hear over the beating of her heart and the rush of blood in her ears.
âAre you okay?â Levi said, his forehead creased in confusion over her sudden change of behavior.
âIâm fine.â Her voice sounded breathy and disjointed to her ears, but he only nodded.
Leviâs gaze had become intense with emotion during the time theyâd been sitting on the couch. Intent had softened his jaw and, she saw as he set both their bowls on the ice cream table, his shoulders. As he sat back up, the coming kiss dulled the world around them.
He leaned in to her, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. âAre you sure youâre feeling okay?â
âIâm sure,â she reassured him, her lie failing miserably.
But Levi didnât seem to notice her failure. Or, if he did, he didnât care. Every skin cell burned as he trailed his finger along her jawline. The panic beating inside her couldnât hide the intensity with which she wanted his lips pressed against hers. The fear didnât stop her from leaning in to him, from meeting him halfway.
Love on Her Terms is one of those books that was born from many places yet somehow came together perfectly. Thereâs no question this book is influenced by the many times Iâve watched the 1966 movie A Man and a Woman (my momâs favorite). And for years Iâd wanted to write about a young woman who moves in next door to a cranky widower. She brings new sparkle to his life, but she has a chronic illness, and my heroâs not sure he can handle it. Of course, the heroineâs illness kept eluding me. Then while ruminating on a different novel where the heroine has HIV, a friend asked on Twitter if there were any heterosexual romances where one character has HIV. I knew then that I had to put the two ideas together! Sometimesâokay, oftenâauthors need a friendly push.
My heroine, Mina, is also a graphic novelist so I canât resist recommending Scott McCloudâs Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. Itâs a wonderful exploration of the art form whether youâve read comics and graphic novels or are new to the format entirely. Some of his theories made my jaw drop in awe. And seriously, if you do pick up the book and want to talk about itâshoot me an email! And for a real-life love story similar to Love on Her Terms, read Blue Pills: A Positive Love Story by Frederik Peeters. Itâs Peetersâs graphic novel memoir about falling in love with an HIV-positive woman, who also has an HIV-positive son. As a librarian and book lover, suggesting books is one of my favorite pastimes, and these are two good ones!
Love on Her Terms was a powerful book for me to write and I hope itâs just as powerful for you to read.
Enjoy,
Jennifer
JENNIFER LOHMANN is a Rocky Mountain girl at heart, having grown up in southern Idaho and Salt Lake City. When sheâs not writing or working as a public librarian, she wrangles two cats and a flock of backyard chickens (the dog is better behaved). She currently lives in Durham, North Carolina. She has one published comic strip, which you can find in a collection called The Durham Comics Project.
To Amy, Kirill and Yuri.
Thanks for all your support over the past couple years and for bringing comics and drawing into my life.
Contents
Dear Reader
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
THE SOUND OF a heavy vehicle pulling into the driveway next door broke Levi Pardoâs concentration, forcing him to look up from the newspaper spread out on the kitchen table. A small, ridiculously young-looking woman was hopping out of the driverâs seat of a truck onto the narrow strip of grass between her driveway and his property. Sheâd parked too close to the lawn, which didnât surprise him. He was amazed she could see over the dash and touch the pedals at the same time.
