The Lies We Leave to the Tide

On the Atlantic coast, storms don't always roll in from the sea.

When I return to Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer to save my grandmother's bookshop café, I have no solid plan, no money, and absolutely no patience for men who are too sure of themselves. Least of all Nolan Vasseur, the infuriatingly magnetic owner of the neighboring boatyard, who has a way of looking at me as if he can see everything I'm trying so hard to hide.

He needs to repair his reputation after a public breakup that has set the whole small town talking. I need to bring customers back, reassure the bank... and prove I can make this work on my own. So when an absurd solution presents itself, we make a simple deal: pretend to be together for one summer.

Stolen photos on the harbor. Convincing dinners. Hands that linger a little too long. Looks that slip. And one essential rule: absolutely do not fall in love.

Except the longer we play the part, the more the lines begin to blur. Beneath Nolan's charm, there are cracks. Beneath my control, there are fears I refuse to face. And in a town where everyone knows everything, a fake relationship can quickly become the most dangerous kind of real lie.

An intense, luminous, addictive contemporary romance filled with slow-burn tension, raw emotion, and a second chance at finding yourself.