Growing Connected: Living for Love

They both thought they were finished with romance. Neither expected love to take root.

Susan loves her teaching career and values her independence. After deciding that relationships are more trouble than they’re worth, she’s perfectly content with her single life. Yet lately, something has been missing, leaving her searching for a new purpose.

When an opportunity arises to create a garden for her elementary school, Susan eagerly volunteers to lead the project. There’s just one problem: she knows absolutely nothing about gardening.

Enter Jacob, a talented horticulturist who understands plants far better than people. Burned by past relationships and struggling with social anxiety, Jacob has built a quiet, predictable life where he can keep the world at a comfortable distance. The last thing he needs is an relentlessly cheerful teacher disrupting his carefully maintained solitude.

Susan is sunshine, enthusiasm, and endless optimism. Jacob is brooding, guarded, and happiest when left alone. They’re complete opposites, and their first meeting proves just how spectacularly their personalities can clash.

But as they work together to transform an empty space into a thriving school garden, something unexpected begins to grow between them.

Behind Jacob’s gruff exterior, Susan discovers a vulnerable man with a generous heart. And despite his determination to avoid romantic entanglements, Jacob finds himself drawn to the one woman who refuses to let his gloomy disposition dampen her spirits.

With a secret matchmaker quietly encouraging their connection, their professional relationship gradually blossoms into undeniable attraction.

Can two people who’ve given up on love overcome their past disappointments and discover something beautiful together? Or will their differences prevent their budding romance from ever reaching full bloom?

Growing Connected: Living for Love, the first book in Penny Heart’s Happy Hollows – Connections series, is a steamy contemporary romantic comedy filled with witty banter, emotional vulnerability, unexpected chemistry, and the delightful complications of falling in love when you least expect it.

This title contains explicit sexual language and adult situations.

Penny Heart is a contemporary romance author who writes passionate, entertaining love stories filled with romantic chemistry, emotional drama, and satisfying happily-ever-afters. Her work explores the excitement of attraction, the challenges of relationships, and the sometimes complicated journey toward lasting love.

In addition to her romance novels, Penny writes erotic short fiction, embracing both the playful and passionate sides of romantic storytelling.

She lives in the southern United States with her husband, children, and a cat who considers itself the true head of the household.

When she isn’t writing, Penny enjoys reading romance novels, spending time online, and finding humor in life’s everyday moments.