When Love Arrives Late but Lands Hard: Inside the Raw, Unfiltered Heart of the Marcie & Steve Story

 

In Kenneth E. Summers’ Marcie & Steve series, the latter is exactly what readers witness the moment Steve Williams admits to himself that he is “crazy in love” — after just six days of knowing Marcie.

It is a confession that sets the tone for the entire book, and not because it is impulsive, but because it comes from a man who believed he was done feeling this way at all. Steve isn’t a young bachelor searching for excitement. He is a widower, a father, a successful businessman, and someone who has lived inside a shell of predictability since the death of his wife Jennifer. For years, he did everything right — worked hard, kept his routines, raised his daughter, and stayed out of emotional danger. So when Marcie enters his life unexpectedly during his trip to Australia, the effect on him is almost seismic.

The book opens with Steve sitting at his desk in Los Angeles, unable to wipe the smile off his face. He has just spoken to Marcie, and the emotional shift inside him is unmistakable. Six days — that’s all it took for this woman to reroute his life so completely that he finds himself preparing to fly halfway across the world to see her again. What makes this moment compelling is not the romance itself, but Steve’s vulnerability. He knows what he’s doing doesn’t fit neatly into the responsible, structured version of himself he has spent years building. But he also knows something even more frightening: if he doesn’t go, he may regret it forever.

This book is not just a continuation of a love story; it’s a portrait of a man waking up emotionally after years of numbness. Steve’s realization that life has been “cautious, predictable, and uneventful” comes through with painful clarity. For the first time since losing Jennifer, he feels something powerful enough to unsettle him — and Summers does not rush through that emotional transition. Instead, the story unfolds slowly, showing how Steve struggles to reconcile the joy Marcie brings with the fears that accompany it.

From the moment he decides he must fly to Tokyo, the story shifts from internal reflection to real-world consequences. Steve’s life is full — full of work, full of responsibility, full of people depending on him. And love, especially unexpected love, tends to disrupt carefully built systems.

His first challenge is telling Pete, his business partner and close friend. Their conversation is one of the most revealing scenes in the book. Pete is already under enormous emotional strain — his wife, Brenda, has asked for a divorce, and he is navigating the heartbreak of infidelity, loneliness, and financial fear. When Steve enters his office and announces that he needs several hours to talk, Pete immediately senses something is off.

And then Steve tells him the truth: he met someone in Australia and is leaving again. Pete’s reaction is exactly what any concerned friend’s might be — disbelief, frustration, a hint of jealousy at the suddenness of Steve’s happiness, and a sharp worry that his partner may be losing his grip on reality. “Less than a week?” he asks, stunned. His shock isn’t judgment; it’s fear. Pete needs stability right now — in the business, in his friendships, in his fragile emotional state — and it feels like Steve is about to disappear again just when he needs him most.

Yet, beneath all the confusion, Pete still cares. Even in his own heartbreak, he recognizes something important happening to Steve. And slowly, despite his initial resistance, he allows his friend the freedom to pursue this rare chance at love. Their dynamic illustrates one of the book’s strongest themes: relationships don’t exist in separate compartments. When one shifts, it affects all the others.

This shift becomes even more pronounced when the story turns toward Steve’s daughter, Samantha. If Pete’s concerns represent the logical, adult complications of Steve’s decision, Sam’s reaction captures the emotional uncertainty of someone whose world is changing faster than she can process.

Sam is still young, juggling college life and the remnants of childhood. Her father’s happiness matters to her deeply, but the situation is confusing. Marcie is twenty-four — an age close enough to Sam’s that the distinction between a partner and a peer becomes uncomfortably thin. When Steve invites her to fly down for the weekend, Sam arrives cheerful but unsettled, carrying questions she hasn’t yet found the words for.

Their conversations over the weekend reveal the heart of their father-daughter relationship: love, honesty, worry, and a mutual desire to understand each other even when the words come out wrong. Sam isn’t opposed to Marcie, but she’s unsure how to fit this new relationship into her mental picture of her family. She asks Steve about the future — children, marriage, living arrangements — not because she expects immediate answers, but because she is trying to grasp the scale of the change ahead.

The tension rises when Sam admits that she feels she might be replaced — not only emotionally but symbolically. If Steve and Marcie have children, she will be old enough to feel more like a sister than a daughter. The confusion of that thought lingers over their conversations, adding depth to a storyline that could easily have become simplistic. Instead, Summers allows Sam’s discomfort to be real and valid, giving her space to express fears that many adult children experience when a parent finds love again.

But perhaps the most important moment comes when Sam speaks to Marcie for the first time. Their phone call is gentle, awkward, honest, and incredibly human. Sam is direct about her worries, and Marcie responds not with defensiveness, but with compassion. She makes no promises she cannot keep and no attempts to gloss over the age difference or the emotional complexity. Instead, she offers reassurance where she can: she is not trying to replace anyone, least of all Sam’s mother, and she wants Sam to feel welcome and safe in whatever family they build.

This conversation becomes the emotional bridge between the three of them — a quiet moment that shapes the path ahead.

What makes this book stand out is how grounded it feels.

Amazon: THE MARCIE AND STEVE SERIES: Sydney Where Love Was Found

The entire story — from the frantic workday to the difficult conversations to the tender moments with Sam — forms a portrait of love not as an escape, but as a responsibility. A responsibility to yourself, to your family, and to the people who enter your life asking you to choose them.

Marcie & Steve is not simply a romance. It is a story about courage — the courage to feel again, to risk again, and to step into uncertainty with nothing but hope guiding the way.