Aubree Valentine

Aubree Valentine frames Loves Me Knot as a brief return to first love in Candy Cane Key, Florida. Jessica and Ryan planned to leave their hometown together after school, but a misunderstanding and separate paths ended that future. Years later Jessica is teaching children in the community while Ryan serves as a deputy sheriff. A charity date brings them face to face and gives each a chance to explain the choice that separated them. The novella appeared in 2023 as part of the Man of the Month Club, a multi-author small-town collection linked to holidays in Candy Cane Key. Valentine had previously written contemporary series including Too Hot to Handle and 425 Madison Avenue. Loves Me Knot uses its Valentine season and community setting to revisit youthful certainty from an older perspective, placing honest conversation before any renewed commitment.