And Then I Found You by Patti Callahan Henry

And Then I Found You:
Kate Vaughan is no stranger to tough choices.

She’s made them before. Now it’s time to do it again.

Kate has a secret, something tucked away in her past. And she’s getting on with her life. Her business is thriving. She has a strong relationship with her family, and a devoted boyfriend whom she wants to love with all her heart. If Kate had ever made a list, Rowan would fill the imagined boxes of a perfect mate. But she wants more than the perfect on paper relationship; she wants a real and imperfect love. That's why, when Kate discovers the small velvet box hidden in Rowan's drawer, she panics.

It always happens this way. Just when Kate thinks she can love, just when she believes she can conquer the fear, she’s filled with dread. And she wants more than anything to make this feeling go away. But how?

When the mistakes have been made and the running is over, it’s time to face the truth. Kate knows this. She understands that a woman can never undo what can never be undone. Yet, for the first time in her life she also knows that she won’t fully love until she confronts those from her past. It’s time to act.

Can she do it? Can she travel to the place where it all began, to the one who shares her secret? Can the lost ever become found?

Patti Callahan Henry has a gift for telling heart-wrenching, yet utterly romantic stories. Loosely based on her own family's experiences, And Then I Found You is the perfect example of the romance genre. Boy notices girl, boy and girl fall in love...and then life happens. The decision Kate made when she was a young woman truly drove this story, filling it with tension and plenty of tear-jerking moments. While completely different, but reminiscent of Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook, this was one of those books that will stay with me long after I had turned the final page. The characters were down-to-Earth and easy to relate to, and once I started this book I could not put it down. Without giving too much away, all I can really say is that I loved And Then I Found You, I was completely blown away by the story and the beautiful and vivid writing style.

Kate and Jack fell in love when they were thirteen years old, throughout high school and college their love remained strong. Until Kate took a job out of state to work with troubled girls, and something changed her there. The thought of leaving those girls ate at her heart so she put off returning to Jack. And when she discovers that their lives will be forever changed, it's too late. Jack didn't wait for her. Thirteen years later, Kate is with a wonderful man who wants to marry her, only the past and a decision she made is eating away at Kate's heart and she cannot commit to Rowan until she closes the door to her past. Only when she confronts Jack, old emotions and feelings come to the surface, and this time she's determined to find the solution to mend her broken heart.