A reluctant matchmaker. A charmingly grumpy academic. And a love story written in the margins.

Starting a matchmaking service seemed like a great idea at the time. After a messy breakup, romance and I? We’re not exactly on speaking terms. But with a knack for reading people’s energy (and their questionable dating patterns), helping other people find their happily ever after felt like a safe bet.

Then Eli Lancaster walks into the library.

He’s a rare book curator, professor-level broody, and—unfortunately—my very first matchmaking client. We’re supposed to be strictly business: I find him someone lovely, and we both move on. Easy.

Except nothing about Eli is easy. His hazel eyes? Distracting. His dry sense of humor? Weirdly charming. And the way he looks at me—like he sees every messy, magical part of me and still wants to stay? Dangerous.

I can’t fall for him. That would be a terrible idea. A glitter-covered train wreck of emotions.

I swore off dating for good reasons. But in Magnolia Cove, where the magic runs deep and nothing ever goes quite according to plan… rules tend to get rewritten.