It was never over. It was just waiting.
Nathan Carter didn’t return to Worthbridge looking for a second chance. He came back for a roof over his head, a job that pays, and maybe, if he’s lucky, a way to connect with the teenage son he’s barely known. Life in the army taught him how to survive, but not how to be a father… and definitely not how to live with the choices he made the day he walked away from everything. Including Freddie Webb.
PC Freddie Webb never left Worthbridge. Not the town. Not the ghosts. Steady, dependable, the man everyone trusts to hold the line when things fall apart, he’s spent years keeping his head down and his heart locked up tight. But all that control shatters the moment a routine arrest throws him face to face with the boy he once loved… and the son that boy now has.
What started between them as teenagers was messy, intense, and unforgettable. Fifteen years later, it’s no less complicated. Especially with Alfie, Nathan’s angry, guarded son, caught between them and already spiralling toward trouble.
As old desires resurface and old wounds reopen, Nathan and Freddie are pulled back into each other’s orbit. But with the whole town watching, tensions rising, and the past refusing to stay buried, they’ll have to play it safe… or risk everything for the love they never got to finish.
Because in Worthbridge, the past never stays buried.
And some loves are worth every second of the wait.
THE FACTS
📕MM romance
📘 second chance… with lots of complications
📙 a first love that might be worth waiting for
THE GOOD BITS
When Nathan and Freddie were young, they were best friends. Then in stolen moments, they became more and as frightening as it was it worked. Then things changed and Nathan left, and Freddie stayed in Worthbridge.
Years have passed when “Worth the Wait” begins.
Freddie is settled in his hometown and has become PC Freddie Webb. He’s carved out a good place for himself. He’s good at his job, he has a family he loves, friends who care about him and he’s even found some time to date.
Then everything comes crashing down on his shoulders when he apprehends a young man named Alfie and discovers that same young man is Nathan’s son. When he walks into an interrogation room he is suddenly face to face with Nathan. After years, Nathan has returned, and Freddie is drowned by all the feelings he has been avoiding.
Nathan has returned to Worthbridge with his estranged son because he needs a place to land. Living in his father’s house once more, Nathan knows he can work at the garage, get on his feet and try to build a relationship with his son.
Both men have kept their emotions in check for the years they were apart, but when the see one another again it is intense, emotional and opens old wounds. The pain and longing are unleashed the moment their eyes meet, and both men face different battles within themselves.
As always, C.F. White masterfully navigates the struggles each of the characters is facing. Nathan is trying desperately to reign in all the instincts he had engrained in him during his time in the army. He’s coping with an injury. He still has a fractious relationship with his father even as he is trying to be a better father to his own son.
Freddie comes to face to face with the fact that things were never over between him and Nathan. He must acknowledge that he may not have been moving on after all; he may have just been waiting. He finds himself willing to risk everything he has built up to do what he can to help Nathan.
This is such an emotional story. It’s about love and strength, endurance and courage. It’s about taking a step off the cliff even when you’re not sure what awaits you at the bottom. I absolutely loved these two characters from the moment I met each one.
White also does a fantastic job of capturing the small-town feel of Worthbridge. Everyone knows everyone else, there are few secrets that can be kept for any length of time and there are many entangled lives.
This is a perfectly paced first book in the “Worth It” series. It’s emotional and has such a beautiful ending. This is about as perfect a book as one can get. Coming on July 31!!!!
THE LINKS
I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review!
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