She thought her worst mistakes were behind her. She was wrong.

Taylor Clark has learned the hard way that desire comes with consequences. After too many nights that ended in regret-and too many men who mistook charm for sincerity-she's built walls no one gets past. Not anymore.

Until a blind date changes everything.

He's magnetic. Attentive. Impossible to read. The kind of man who knows exactly what to say-and exactly how to touch. For the first time in a long time, Taylor feels something dangerous stirring beneath her carefully controlled life.

But perfect doesn't stay perfect for long.

Because the more she lets him in, the more things stop adding up. Missed details. Lingering looks. A tension that feels less like chemistry... and more like a warning.

And then there's Jack.

The man behind the bar. The one who's watched her fall apart and put herself back together again. The one whose quiet restraint hides a slow-burning intensity she's tried-and failed-to ignore.

Jack doesn't chase. He doesn't push. But when the cracks in Taylor's new romance start to split wide open, he's the only one who sees the danger for what it is.

Caught between a man who ignites her and a man who understands her, Taylor is forced to confront a truth she can't outrun: sometimes the greatest risk isn't falling in love-

...it's trusting the wrong person to catch you.

Under the Santa Monica Stars is a seductive, high-stakes romance where desire blurs into danger, trust is a gamble, and the line between passion and obsession is razor thin.