Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Oakland Hills #2.5

Can't Stop Wanting You

Rate this book
Best friends as children, Jody and Simon finally have a chance at lasting love. If only they didn’t hate each other’s guts.

Jody Lapinski is a plus-sized chemist with a problem. The despicable Simon Brogan has moved into the upstairs unit of the San Francisco Bay Area house she shares with her grandmother. Although he’d been a nice friend when they were kids, high school had unmasked him for what he really was—an arrogant, heartless jerk. She wasn’t going to forgive him now just because he was gorgeous and successful. Not after what he’d done.

Simon never would’ve signed the lease if he’d known Jody was living downstairs. That he’d have to see the hate in her eyes, still strong after almost a decade. That he’d have to see her sweet, curvy body so often. That he’d be forced to remember how much he’d cared about her...

35 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

10 people are currently reading
341 people want to read

About the author

Gretchen Galway

27 books367 followers
GRETCHEN GALWAY is a USA Today bestselling author who writes mystery, fantasy, and romance. She lives in Sonoma County, California.

To be the first to know about sales and new releases, and get a free short story, sign up for an email alert at www.gretchengalway.com.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
45 (17%)
4 stars
81 (30%)
3 stars
105 (40%)
2 stars
27 (10%)
1 star
4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Bethany Clark.
526 reviews
August 24, 2015
Friends since they were children - split up by a horrible loss of their childhood friend Melissa.

Jody and Simon have the chance they need to discuss their past and try to move forward and put it all behind them.
They have had hared and animosity against each other for several years and it really didn't have to be that way. They were both wrong.
It took Simon moving into her Grandmother's spare apartment for these two to really sit down and get their feelings out and move on.

Jody has always held a spark for Simon and Simon has always been in love with Jody...Will these two be able to move past the past and find true love or will their anger eat away at them and they lose touch forever?





Profile Image for K Huskić.
2,202 reviews39 followers
January 10, 2019
A short story about Jody and Simon. They used to be friends as teenagers, but due to a misunderstanding they have disliked each other for the past ten years. Then Simon moves in to the apartment upstairs from Jody, and while they start out hating each other, you can see that neither one really wants that. It’s a sweet little story.
722 reviews5 followers
September 23, 2018
SUCH A SWEET SEXY STORY!

This one was short but oh so satisfying! It was a very sweet sexy story that left me with a smile on my face and a happy feeling....... Even though it was short I didn't feel like it needed more! It was like a small piece of chocolate... just right!
155 reviews
July 27, 2019
Sweet story

Two chi

Two childhood friends who have been
estranged for years find love is there behind a
the misunderstanding that pulled
them apart .







Profile Image for Leyns.
3,054 reviews
May 4, 2020
Meh. It was okay. The hero seemed a tad arrogant. “I knew you wanted me”. Eh. Bite me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
222 reviews
October 22, 2020
Totally loved it!!

I knew it was short but cute and fun always a fresh fun story totally loved it and ready for the next one!!
Profile Image for Alayne.
2,453 reviews7 followers
October 3, 2023
A pretty good short story, but could have been better.
13 reviews30 followers
April 29, 2015
*Spoiler Alert*

This is a really cute story, I did enjoy it, but I feel it would have been better as a full book versus a short, whether it stay part of the Oakland Hills series or as a standalone.
I think Jody forgiving Simon was very rushed. He told her his side of the story and for all the animosity she was feeling towards him at the beginning she seemed to just jump head first into believing him, and forgiving him. No second thoughts. Considering their background, and the reason she was so upset, I would have liked to have seen her be a bit more intrigued, and thoughtful, and maybe even a bit suspicious.
It was so fast paced, boom, boom, boom, then the end, that you really don't get to connect with the characters like you do with Bev and Liam in book one, then Mark and Rose in book 2.
Again, it was good, I liked it, but it was lacking.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Elizabeth Connor.
1,464 reviews41 followers
June 8, 2016
This short story was packed with a lot of emotion and had some pretty well developed characters. It was no great mystery what was going to happen between Jody and Simon, but it was fun to watch the events unfold. I could easily see this story turned into a full-length novel where characters could have been developed more and history explored in greater detail. Regardless, I would recommend this story and I'm interested to read more of this author's work.
498 reviews
May 31, 2015
Welllll.... The title says it: short story.
And it is, my friend.

Three stars (or it would be better 2?) for well-written-ness and potential very good long story.

I was very very vexing, I can tell you that. The story was so short that main characters barely talked to each other and then they were "sparing" and then they were kissing. The end.

Longer, woman! Longer!
Profile Image for Christine.
76 reviews1 follower
September 25, 2015
It was a quick read. I finished the book in about 2 hours last night. My only issue was the pace or the last chapter. I enjoyed it for what it's worth. This book, very much reminds of an ABC romantic Comedy. I wold suggest reading this book if you have a flight to an airport or waiting on an appointment.
Profile Image for Charlie Torres.
171 reviews3 followers
February 21, 2015
Really short but very cute

Funny and cute story about former best friends who in high school had a falling out. Now they are all grown up. It was just a really happy read. Made me chuckle.
Profile Image for Andrea (mrsaubergine).
1,583 reviews92 followers
February 29, 2016
Cute story but quite rushed. I would have liked it to have been longer so we could have seen more UST build up and more of a gap from forgiveness to the HEA. Still, really cute and I'm interested in reading the other books.
63 reviews1 follower
November 21, 2014
Cute novella but way too short and too quick for the HEA IMO
Profile Image for Amy.
90 reviews20 followers
March 11, 2015
Cute short read. Old friends re-united.
Profile Image for Lori.
1,056 reviews8 followers
May 25, 2016
I really liked this story. The characters are fun and very relatable. This is a romantic comedy, with a bit of drama. Great book.
5 reviews
August 8, 2016
What a fun, feel good read. It's quick and makes you think maybe that gorgeous one that got away could be yours one day. Enjoy!
Profile Image for Nati.
2,945 reviews16 followers
September 18, 2017
A sweet story about friendship and love found in an ancient friendship going wrong for a misunderstanding. Jody and Simon, best friends from school meet each other again but can they be together after what happened years ago? You have to read the book to know. Very sweet
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.