Scarlett Vaughn

After She Stopped Asking is a slow-burn contemporary romance about first love, second chances, and the moment everything changes. Julia fell in love with Leonel when she was still a teenager. He was older, untouchable, and completely wrong for her-her father's business partner and best friend. To Leonel, her feelings were harmless, almost amusing. To Julia, they were everything. After years of unreturned longing and quiet heartbreak, Julia leaves Brazil determined to move on.
Five years abroad transform her life-but not her heart. When she comes back, she realizes one truth she can't escape: she never stopped loving Leo. The difference is this time, she's no longer the girl who begged for his attention. Now confident, emotionally mature, and finally in control of her own desires, Julia refuses to chase a man who once dismissed her. But Leonel is no longer laughing. Faced with the woman she's become-and the possibility of losing her for good-he must confront feelings he never allowed himself to name.
Some loves don't disappear with time. They wait-until she stops asking, and he starts wanting.