Eight Weeks Later: A Novel

A key to paradise isn’t the same thing as entry.


After a tumultuous childhood, Roy Fernsby now runs a quaint London coffee shop that his friends frequent, cycles on Sundays . . . and keeps his distance from romantic relationships. Though Roy’s charming and well-liked, being single suits him—if only because it helps him avoid the sting of abandonment. Besides, Roy likes his life exactly as it is.


Then, a lawyer in Hawai’i calls Roy to inform him that he’s just inherited a beach house in Nalu from his grandparents. There’s just one problem: a former foster child, Roy never knew he had grandparents.


Roy doubts this newly discovered “family” ever cared about him. But a tropical island—complete with a beach house inheritance—beckons. He takes a chance and flies to Hawai’i, expecting to stay a week and sell the beach house. Fast. What he isn’t anticipating is the resentment and painful childhood memories that resurface as he uncovers the roots of a close-knit family he never knew he had. Why didn’t any of these folks, whom everyone adored, look for him?


Then he meets Amy, a former New Yorker and single mother who works as a snorkeling guide. Though the pair are from opposite worlds—literally—and neither is looking for a relationship, their connection is instant, and they’re soon spending a lot of time together.


Roy tells himself that Amy’s only a nice distraction, even as he falls for her. But Amy has her own secrets . . . and a hidden agenda that involves Roy and his beach house.


As Roy grapples with life-changing secrets regarding his past, he must make difficult decisions about his present: Can he embrace his roots and let go of resentment? Can he trust Amy? Can he stay and seek the truth about where he belongs—no matter the cost to his guarded heart?