With a former supermodel mother and a rock-and-roll legend father, Emma Preston has the best of everything. Nothing is as perfect as it seems though. After her parents divorce, she's forced to live with her mother in a private Santa Monica community. Ignoring their parental roles, her mother becomes more focused on climbing the social ladder while her father is off on tour. Growing up in a trailer park with his mother, Jesse is used to people looking down on him. When his mother begs him to submit an application for a scholarship to one of Santa Monica's top private schools, he never expects to actually get it. When he does, he is forced to attend school with a bunch of rich kids. He ignores their stares as they judge him for having tattoos and a less than impressive car. As long as he has his surfboard and the guys at the tattoo shop, he knows he can make it through. When Jesse shows up on the first day of school, Emma can't help but be intrigued. Her mother would never approve of Emma talking to someone so poor, but she doesn't care because something about Jesse draws her to him. Jesse tries to hate Emma, but he discovers that he can't resist her. Forced to hide their relationship from Emma's mother and everyone else around them, things start to fall apart. When Jesse's friend, Ally, decides to interfere, things go from bad to worse. Can they survive their first love? Or will they be left with nothing more than shattered ties? ____ Two years ago, Emma Preston walked away from Jesse Daniels. It is a decision she has regretted ever since. Plagued with the knowledge that Ally's lies tore them apart, Emma enlists Jesse's former best friend, Andy, to help her search for him. When he left California, Jesse was determined to start over in West Virginia with his mother. Now, the past is determined to catch up with him-first, with the appearance of Ally, and when Emma and Andy come back into his life. Just when Emma thinks she's found Jesse, a dark secret and misunderstandings force them apart before they can even reconnect. Jesse is torn between his love for Emma and protecting his childhood friend, Ally. Ally has an agenda of her own, and she's not about to let Emma get in her way-even if that means getting rid of her...permanently. Can Emma and Jesse's relationship survive all of their twisted ties?