Man Candy - The Cougar Journals, #1

Ava Baldassari has spent forty years being a good girl.

Successful commercial real estate agent. Responsible. Independent. Sensible. The kind of woman who has always done what was expected of her—and never questioned the rules.

But Ava is tired of playing it safe. She's revamped her image, her wardrobe, and her home. There's only one thing left to change: her sex life.

Then she runs into Cole, her handsome twenty-five-year-old friend and running partner, while she's out with a friend. A little tipsy and feeling bolder than usual, Ava flirts with him—and is stunned when he enthusiastically flirts right back.

Cole is fifteen years younger. He's also exactly what Ava suddenly realizes she wants.

Crossing that line could change everything.

When Ava and Cole turn their attraction into a friends-with-benefits arrangement, she discovers something unexpected: she likes this new version of herself. No promises. No pretending. No worrying about where the relationship is going. Just two consenting adults enjoying what they want.

But what begins as an exploration of her sexuality becomes something deeper. Ava starts questioning why women are expected to follow rules about sex and relationships that men have never been expected to follow.

Maybe being a "good girl" was never the goal.

Maybe Ava is finally ready to stop worrying about what she's supposed to want—and start embracing what she actually does.