If only life were as simple as breathing in and letting go.

Millie Hart has made a career writing happy endings. While her real life is often less than enchanting, at least she has her stories, featuring strong, vibrant women ready for any challenge and men who stand in support of their dreams. Millie makes millions of readers swoon, but despite her agent’s deep objections, her new project is fueled by her intense drive to prove something. All she needs is four months in Bodega Bay. No meet-cutes, no kissing, just blissful silence.

Drake Branch is happy to be alive. He’s healed, opened BP Glass Works with his best friend, and appreciates the value of his hometown. It’s been six years since the accident, and Drake has tackled every hurdle—mental and physical—to stand on his own. So, when he lets a struggling metalworks shop move in next door to his studio and the noise triggers old issues, Drake needs to crank the music—as loud as it will go.

Millie rents the cottage mere steps from Drake’s studio to write a literary novel she hopes will finally gain her father’s approval and soon learns that away from her laptop, there are men who refuse to be edited out. Despite her neighbor’s insistence that she is an entitled tourist, Millie has been blown off most of her life and she’s not going anywhere this time.

It is going to be one long summer unless Millie and Drake can learn that some books are more than their covers, one breath can change the shape of everything, and true family often shows up in unlikely places.