Stepping it Up: Hard to Hold

Some walls protect us. Others just keep us from reaching what we need most.

Lena’s always believed strength meant not needing anyone. Love, in her experience, comes with conditions, silence, or the slow ache of being left behind. Years ago, when her mom married Jack’s dad, Lena and Jack tried to make family work—but the adults couldn’t, and neither could they. Now, years later, an unexpected weekend under the same roof reignites something neither of them ever fully let go of.

While her mom’s away, the quiet distance between them collapses into charged silences, old hurts, and one impossible kiss. What they had as teens wasn’t much, but the potential for something real has always simmered just beneath the surface. And now, Lena can’t stop thinking about the way Jack sees her—or how it felt to be wanted without conditions.

But wanting Jack risks more than just her pride. It risks everything she’s built to keep herself safe.

Hard to Hold is an emotionally layered contemporary romance about old wounds, unexpected longing, and what happens when you stop running from the one person who sees you clearly. Told entirely from Lena’s third-person perspective, this standalone novella in the Stepping It Up series blends slow-burning tension with a high-heat payoff—and the kind of heart that lingers after the last page.

Perfect for readers who

Former step-sibling romance

Close proximity tension

Healing and vulnerability arcs

Steam layered with emotion

Each novella in the Stepping It Up series features a standalone romance full of real feelings, sharp dialogue, and characters who get under your skin.