Immergrün: A Lesbian Romance Novel (Paperback)

When talented architect Zoe accepts a job offer that takes her to a remote Swedish community, she doesn't expect to fall for her new boss. Snowed in by a blizzard with awakening desires, their professional boundaries blur as temperatures drop and passion ignites. But when disaster strikes and people die, they must find out if their connection is strong enough to weather the storm – or if it will be buried under the weight of snow and circumstances.

Kunden aus Großbritannien, USA, Australien und Kanada: Bestellungen werden im jeweiligen Land gedruckt und verschickt. Internationale Kunden (alle Länder außer Großbritannien, USA, Australien und Kanada): Bücher werden in britischen Einrichtungen gedruckt und verschickt.

Druckzeit: 3-10 Werktage
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Wichtiger Hinweis: Internationale Bestellungen (wie oben angegeben) können bei Lieferung Einfuhrzölle, Gebühren und Steuern des Empfängerlandes verursachen. Diese Gebühren werden von Ihrem Kurier erhoben und unterliegen nicht unserer Kontrolle.
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Seiten: 194
ISBN: 9614622000556
Gewicht: 195 g
Abmessungen: 127 x 20 x 203 mm

Ambitious architect Zoe McGuire is handpicked by successful property developer Alex Galbraith to transform a historic theater into sustainable community housing – her chance at a big break. But her boss at the prestigious firm wants to snatch the project from her, and Zoe has to fight for what she deserves.

Impressed by Zoe's talent and assertiveness, Alex invites her to Sweden to see her self-built eco-settlement. What begins as a business trip to help Zoe decide on Alex's job offer takes an unexpected turn when a devastating snowstorm traps them. As temperatures drop outside, a fire ignites between them, melting the professional boundaries they had both so carefully maintained.

But no sooner have Zoe and Alex given in to their irresistible attraction than disaster strikes. A deadly avalanche threatens not only their newfound relationship but their very survival. Trapped in the merciless winter wilderness, they face a truth more terrifying than any storm – that they have fallen irrevocably in love with each other without looking for it.

When the snow finally melts, do they return to their separate lives – or do they build something lasting on the foundation they found in each other?

IMMERGRÜN is a thrilling romance about unexpected love under extreme conditions and the courage it takes to change your life for someone who has changed your heart forever.

- Falling for the Boss
- Snowed In
- Forced Proximity
- Slow Burn
- Community
- Avalanche!
- Age-Gap Romance

Chapter 1
2045
It had been a long time since Alex had last taken a bow at the Paramount Theater. It was a Thursday, March 12, 2020. In the twenty-five years since the last curtain call, the building, once the heart of the city's cultural melting pot, was but a shadow of its former self. Where once heavy red velvet curtains hung, only a tarnished rail remained; the stage was rotten and brittle from years of decay.
The theater had been on the demolition list for years, but every attempt by the city to tear it down and replace it with something new was met with resistance. It had long been unusable, and no one seriously thought of restoring it to its former glory. Many, however, clung to it out of sentimentality. Thus, despite all efforts, the house remained empty for twenty-five years.
It no longer made much of an impression, and anyone under thirty would hardly have believed that it had once been one of the city's greatest treasures. A thick layer of dust covered every surface, dulling the interior to a uniform, dull gray. Where a band once played soft jazz, now lay a heavy, empty silence.
In this silence, a muffled sneeze was heard, the first in years. There followed a brief pause, a sniffle, then another. And shortly thereafter, three more in quick succession.
The bright light of a phone flashlight swept through the Paramount auditorium, over to the entrance doors that led back into the hallway, where a young woman desperately tried to suppress her sneezing fit. After a particularly loud sneeze that briefly took her breath away, it became quiet.
"I told you to wear a mask!" Alex called out.
"I didn't think it was that bad," Luna mumbled through her sleeve, which she held over her mouth. "Damn, I think I taste it. I taste the dust, Alex."
"Sad to see it like this," Alex agreed, letting her phone light glide over the former orchestra pit. All that remained were the remnants of the grand piano under a dusty sheet. "You've probably never seen a performance here, have you?"
"I was born about five years too late for that. And you?"
"I stood on this stage and took a bow when the curtain fell for the last time." Alex looked up at the stage and pointed. "I stood about... there."
"You were an actress?" Luna's tone betrayed the same surprise as her face, which made Alex laugh.
"I was a dancer. It was also my last performance, the last for me and the last for the theater. After that, I did something else." Alex sighed wistfully. Although she still had a dancer's figure, it had been a few years since she last danced.
"It certainly looked a lot less creepy back then." Her gaze kept darting into the dark corners.
Alex chuckled softly and nodded. "Indeed."
"Do you think we can send the assessment team in?" The younger woman looked around nervously, scrutinizing the moth-eaten dust sheets and peeling paint. Evidently, she didn't trust the theater's structural integrity.
"Is that your way of asking if we can leave, Luna?" Alex asked with a small smile.
"No," the other said quickly. Too quickly, to be honest.
"We can't do much here until we have an architect and get some light in," Alex admitted, running her hand over one of the pillars next to the stage. Twenty-five years ago, it had been a rich scarlet, with raised gold ornaments. Now the paint was faded or chipped; it was only a pale shadow of what it once was, just like the rest of the theater. "I just wanted to see how bad it was..."
The two made their way back to the exit. Alex kept sweeping her light over the traces that time had left, and Luna commented that she felt like the protagonist in a horror movie. Finally, they found their way back to the large entrance doors and stepped out into the sunshine.
"Oh, that's better." Luna lowered her hand from her mouth and took a deep breath of fresh air. "Oh, that feels good."
"We were only in there for a few minutes." Alex locked the heavy wooden door of the theater with the old bunch of keys she had been given a few weeks ago. A few passersby cast curious glances at them; no one had entered or left the Paramount in a long time.
"Still. Fresh air? Good. Dusty air? Bad."
Alex took off her light blazer, tucked it under her arm, and the two walked away from the theater. She had done exactly what she wanted: finally satisfied her curiosity about what was behind those doors after all this time. And as bad as it was inside, it was nowhere near as terrible as she had feared.
Of course, almost everything inside would have to be torn out. But the roof hadn't collapsed from water damage, and there was no half-collapsed staircase in the foyer – a start. The assessment team would be able to give her exact details about the structural integrity later, but for now, it seemed to have been a worthwhile purchase.
"Why did it close at all?" Luna asked, giving the theater one last look before they crossed the street. "I mean, because of Corona, of course. But why didn't they just reopen it afterward?"
Alex smiled and fished the car keys out of her pocket. Luna was a sweet girl and a good assistant, but sometimes she said things that highlighted the age difference between them. When Alex was Luna's age, she had been sitting in isolation in her apartment alone and had only not lost her mind thanks to video calls with friends. The world had looked completely different back then. Even though the world had moved on, it was no longer the world Alex had grown up in.
"The same as with many shops here," Alex said, pointing to the neighborhood that used to be considered the arts district – now it was mainly hip open-plan kitchens or outrageously expensive apartments. "It closed during the pandemic and never reopened. Back then, many thought everything would just go back to normal. Many probably expected it to reopen, but then there was a lack of money everywhere, and people had found other ways to entertain themselves."
She paused and shrugged. "Well, almost twenty-five years later, and nothing has happened yet."
"So what do we do now?" Luna asked.
"The assessment team needs to go in," Alex said, pressing the button on her car key as they entered the parking lot. "You call them, and I'll find an architectural firm to start with the designs."
On the other side of the parking lot, Alex saw her car backing out of the parking space. Luna made a note on her phone to call the assessment team about the theater's structural integrity. The two said goodbye and went their separate ways. Alex took one last look at the Paramount Theater on the drive home and smiled to herself as it disappeared from her sight.
Finally, after all these years, she had found a use for the building.


***
As Alex opened the apartment door, the lights in the hallway automatically came on, accompanied by the disembodied voice of her smart home assistant, Ava. "Good evening, Alex. I hope your day was pleasant. According to the protocol on your mailbox, two packages arrived while you were out. Would you like me to start your evening routine?"
Alex sighed softly, left her bag on the hallway table, and strolled into the kitchen. As she walked through the rooms, the lights came on without command, silently following her path to the refrigerator. It was somehow depressing to come home and be greeted only by a computer-generated voice, always ready to serve, but without personality. A human name didn't make it any less sad.
"Alright, fine," she murmured, opening the refrigerator and peering inside. Milk that needed to go, an overpriced juice she'd bought on impulse and hadn't opened yet, and yesterday's leftovers. Not much of a choice.
"I'm sorry, Alex. You sound a little down today. Can I do anything to lift your spirits?"
Alex sighed. "No, just start my evening routine, please!" she called out, took out the leftovers, and sniffed them hesitantly. They still smelled good, so she put the food in the microwave. As she set the time on the display, the melodic sounds of a blues guitar emanated from the living room.
It was Friday evening, for most people that meant slowing down and getting ready for the weekend. Strictly speaking, Alex could have done the same, no one would have blamed her. But she wasn't ready yet. Her mind was still buzzing with thoughts of the Paramount Theater and the next steps.
So she didn't put her feet up, didn't look for a wonderfully bad movie, and didn't switch off her brain for the next two and a half days. Instead, she took her food into the living room and worked through the documents of the local architectural firms that Luna had sent her.
Alex scrolled through endless profiles with impressive references, but nothing really caught her eye until she stumbled upon a name she recognized.
"Zoe McGuire," Alex read half-aloud, examining the resume more closely. She had seen the name somewhere recently. "Hey, Ava? Search for Zoe McGuire, architect."
"Searching for 'Zoe McGuire, architect'." Ava's calm voice echoed through the house as the search results lit up on Alex's screen.
Young Architect Receives Murray Award for Outstanding Contributions to Sustainable Development.
Zoe McGuire Wins Jimmy Carter Award for Use of Renewable Energy in Urban Development.
Out with the Old, In with the New: How This Architect Paves the Way for a New Generation.
Alex had seen some of these headlines before – that's why the name sounded so familiar. Zoe McGuire was one of the young architects everyone was talking about because of her sustainable designs. And judging by the awards, she was really talented.
A smile crept across Alex's face as she leaned back in her armchair. She had found the perfect woman for the job.