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It Had to Be You

First edition published in 1999/2011 by Harlequin Love Inspired/Harlequin Heartwarming as It Had to Be You/The Heart Remembers
Encore Edition published in 2025 by Irene Hannon

Twelve years ago, he left her standing at the altar. Now he’s back, asking for a second chance.

Maggie Fitzgerald and Jake West had a beautiful future planned—until he walked out on her five weeks before their wedding.

Years have passed, and now Maggie owns a B&B on the Maine coast. Though she’s never forgotten Jake, she’s created a new life far from her Midwest roots. And if loneliness and what-ifs sometimes bubble to the surface, they’re a small price to pay for her otherwise placid and happy existence.

Jake has gone on with his life too, including a long tenure in the navy. Now he’s charting a new course—one that unexpectedly puts him on a collision course with the woman who once stole his heart. Their unplanned reunion not only shakes the foundation of his world, it makes him rethink his solo existence.

Though Maggie begins to fall for Jake all over again, letting him back into her life would require a huge leap of faith—and is a second chance at love really worth the risk?