When I wrote Heart Thief, it was a few years ago and I didn’t have a clear direction where this series might lead. Looking back on it, I wish I would have thought it through more, but Levi and Sage wanted their story told and I’m a more seasoned writer now.
But, back to the title of this post and why Levi and Sage matter. Both are former military. Levi is a wounded veteran who walks with a limp and is in pain most of the time. That pain is made stronger by the fact that he’s bitter. His fiance’ left him while he was in the service and he adopted the attitude that women equaled heartache. I think this happens more often than we’d like to think about and some people, carry wounds to their heart much deeper than others. For Levi it was much more than having his fiance’ break up with him, it was that she cheated on Levi with his best friend. That’s a double hurt and disrespect and betrayal. So, he built a wall, a big one, around his heart and it stayed in place.
That was until Sage walked in his door. Sage also carried a burden with her. She’d just buried her father, used her savings to pay off all his debts and felt like all she really needed was a break. That break is what lead her to Levi. The chance to make some quick cash and start all over in a bigger city with more opportunity.
Funny how life can steer you in a direction you didn’t plan on going. Some people fight that direction and try to go down the wrong road, but life has a funny way of saying – “Not so fast!”
This is what happened with Levi and Sage. And while in the end it didn’t look like they were going to be able to meet in the middle, they did, and that’s the best part!