Play It Back
Ten years. Two hearts. One love story that never forgot how it began.
Ten years ago, Erin Campbell left Texas without saying goodbye to the only boy she’d ever loved.
Ten years later, he’s the biggest name in country music… and every song he’s ever written is about her.
After losing her mother at eighteen, staying meant facing a life she no longer recognized. So Erin left – her hometown, her grieving father, and Jake Ingram, her best friend, first love, and the future she’d always imagined.
A decade later, Erin has built a successful career as one of New York City’s most sought-after photographers, creating the life she always thought she wanted. But no amount of distance – or success – has been enough to silence the memories she left behind.
When her father needs surgery, Erin returns to Texas expecting to stay only long enough to help him recover.
Instead, she comes face to face with Jake.
The boy she left behind is now one of country music’s brightest stars, known for writing songs that have captivated millions. Fans have spent years wondering who inspired the heartbreak woven through every album.
Only Erin knows the answer.
As old memories resurface and long-buried truths finally come to light, Erin and Jake must decide whether the love they never stopped carrying is strong enough to overcome the heartache they never healed from – or whether ten years is simply too much time to ask two hearts to begin again.
Play It Back is a heartfelt second-chance romance about first love, grief, forgiveness, and finding your way home.
Because some love stories don’t end, they simply wait for you to come home.
Purchase Link – https://a.co/d/06nl3Inp
Author Bio – My name is Sara Palacios and I write contemporary romance and women’s fiction with emotional depth, layered family dynamics, and characters who are messy, hopeful, and just a little bit stubborn. Outside of writing, I’m usually reading, watching baseball, trying to keep up with my two kids, and pretending I can squeeze one more book into my already mile high TBR pile. I live in Texas with my husband, and our two kids.
Lisa’s Reading Unique Extract: Chapter 20, Pages 132–133
Hello, Lisa’s Reading! I’m so happy to be here and to share a little piece of Play It Back with you as part of the blog tour!
For this stop, I picked an excerpt from Chapter 20 because, well… after ten years apart, Jake sees Erin again!!
Play It Back is mostly told from Erin’s POV, but I sprinkled in a few chapters from Jake’s perspective because I wanted readers to see what was happening on the other side of their story, too. And honestly, getting inside Jake’s head is one of my favorite parts of the book. He’s a country music star, a songwriter, and a guy who has spent the last ten years writing love songs about the same gal, the one who got away.
So imagine spending a decade convincing yourself you’ve moved on, building a successful career, creating a life you’re proud of… only to walk into a room and see the girl you never really stopped loving.
Yep. That.
When I first started writing Play It Back, I knew the broad strokes: boy meets girl, they fall in love, something happens, girl leaves, boy becomes a country music star, girl moves to the big city, and ten years go by.
What I didn’t fully appreciate at the time was just how much those ten years would matter. Because when Erin finally comes home, she and Jake aren’t the same people they were when they fell in love. Some things have changed, but it’s pretty clear that others haven’t. Apparently, ten years isn’t always enough to make your heart forget.
And Jake? Well, his heart never quite got around to moving on or forgetting the one who got away.
Here’s a little glimpse of what happens when the person you’ve only seen in your dreams for ten years suddenly becomes real again.
I hope you enjoy it!
Jake
When I push open the studio door, the place is already humming. Bass is low and steady in the corner. Drums get a couple test hits. Mike and Tyler are chatting with the sound engineer, heads bent together completely focused.
I check the time on my phone.
It’s late.
Of course I’m late.
I lift a hand in apology as I grab my guitar from its case on the far side of the room then head toward the center of the room where everyone’s gathering for the usual pre-recording huddle.
Mike claps his hands once. “Alright, listen up. Studio execs are happy with where we’re at. They liked what they heard at the bar earlier. So tonight’s simple. We finalize ‘Lost and Found.’ We’ve got room for two more tracks on the album, so let’s make this count.”
He’s talking. I know he is. But I’m not really hearing any of it. Because she’s here.
Erin’s here.
And my god, she is more beautiful than I remember. Hair pulled back into a loose braid over one shoulder, a few pieces falling out around her face like they always used to by the end of a long day. Jeans. T-shirt. Tennis shoes.
Hazel eyes I would recognize anywhere.
Same freckles sprinkled across her cheeks, the same ones I used to trace with my thumb without even thinking.
I feel like I’ve been hit in the chest and nobody else noticed.
Mike’s still talking. Tyler nudges my shoulder.
“You with us?” he mutters under his breath.
“Yeah,” I say automatically. But I’m not. I can’t seem to process anything past the fact that she’s real. Not a memory. Not a lyric. Not a ghost that shows up when I close my eyes.
After ten years.
She’s here.
I told myself I’d be fine if I ever saw her again. Instead, I’m standing in the middle of my own studio trying to remember how to breathe.
I glance over at Tyler, who is looking at me with wide eyes. He mouths, “You ok?” but I don’t respond. I can’t. How could I possibly form a coherent sentence right now? Erin is home.
Mike finishes talking to the group, and we break. I walk over to the small stool in the middle of the room on autopilot. I can’t feel my hands or my toes. Everything’s numb – well, everything except the damn pounding in my chest.
“Jake, you ready?” Mike calls from across the room. I nod, pick up my guitar, and place it on my lap. My fingers find the strings but don’t move – I don’t remember where they’re supposed to go.
“Jake?” Tyler’s voice cuts through the fog as he makes his way over to me. He pulls my face up to meet his, concern etched in his features. He places my guitar back in its case and pulls me up by the arms. “Give us a minute, everyone. Looks like Jake just needs some air. We’ll be back in a few.”
We step outside, the warm summer breeze hitting me instantly, waking me up a little. Tyler grabs my face once more, examining my pupils and checking my forehead for a fever. “Are you drunk?” he asks, his tone serious.
“No, you asshole. I’m not drunk, but I kind of wish I was,” I reply.
“What’s going on? You feeling ok?”
I laugh, a hollow sound. “She’s here.”
He looks at me, eyes narrowing. “Who’s here?”
“Erin.”
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