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ISBN13: 9798279393619
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Dec 22 2025
Pages: 624
Weight: 1.81
Height: 1.38 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Dec 22 2025
Pages: 624
Weight: 1.81
Height: 1.38 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
He likes his life quiet.
She refuses to be temporary.
The town is watching. Matthew Calder has built his life in Hawthorn Vale around routine, privacy, and keeping his distance. He isn't interested in belonging, and he certainly isn't interested in letting anyone close enough to change the shape of his days. Lucy returning to Oxfordshire was never part of his plan. Calm, capable, and unapologetically present, she challenges his most carefully guarded belief: that solitude is the only way to stay intact. As the village quietly tests boundaries and expectations close in, Matthew and Lucy are forced into domestic proximity that strips away easy exits. Their conflict isn't loud or cruel-but it is fundamental. Hospitality versus autonomy. Temporary versus permanent. Staying versus leaving. Matthew's resistance isn't about desire.
She refuses to be temporary.
The town is watching. Matthew Calder has built his life in Hawthorn Vale around routine, privacy, and keeping his distance. He isn't interested in belonging, and he certainly isn't interested in letting anyone close enough to change the shape of his days. Lucy returning to Oxfordshire was never part of his plan. Calm, capable, and unapologetically present, she challenges his most carefully guarded belief: that solitude is the only way to stay intact. As the village quietly tests boundaries and expectations close in, Matthew and Lucy are forced into domestic proximity that strips away easy exits. Their conflict isn't loud or cruel-but it is fundamental. Hospitality versus autonomy. Temporary versus permanent. Staying versus leaving. Matthew's resistance isn't about desire.