Code Yellow Hearts

by Ava Hawthorne

She's nine years older. A one night was all it was supposed to be. Then their plane went down.
Fire Investigator Emilia Rush spent four years rebuilding after her ex left her for someone younger. She's controlled, by-the-book, and refuses to be the desperate older woman chasing a younger man.

Smokejumper Will McCall keeps things casual. After watching his mother lose herself in relationships, he's convinced he can't do serious.

Their professional antagonism explodes into one reckless night that leaves them breathless and immediately regretting it. Especially when Ridge Point starts gossiping about the fire investigator and her twenty-four-year-old mistake.
Then their plane goes down in the remote wilderness. Six days of forced proximity sharing shelter, sharing warmth, and fighting an attraction that's already proven dangerous. Survival strips away their defenses and ignites something neither can deny.

But rescue means returning to a small town with loud opinions about their age gap. As a missing persons investigation pulls them together professionally, they must walk away safe, or risk everything on a connection that's already consumed them.

Code Yellow Hearts is a steamy dual POV contemporary romance. Third in the Ridge Point Heroes series but can be read as a standalone. Features forced proximity survival, age gap spice, and a grumpy/sunshine pairing with serious heat.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication November 18, 2026