Grace, a high-powered attorney, is forced to work with small-town lawyer, Jack. Sparks fly as their case goes forwards, but will their love be overruled? ***** Grace Wallace is a high-powered attorney, determined to earn her place as a partner at her firm. When she's given an important case, she's sent to Florida and forced to work alongside a laid-back lawyer who's got the opposite philosophy about work, Jack Rollins. Despite the craziness of the clients and the case, Grace begins to see how much Jack truly cares, and Jack learns about the woman behind Grace's professional facade. Soon they're falling for each other, but their relationship could cost Grace her reputation, and Jack stubbornly refuses to leave Florida for the big city. Can they win the case, and each other's hearts? Or will Jack and Grace be disbarred from the court of love? [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]

Ari Callahan has no idea how to talk to boys -- or how to talk to anyone for that matter. Enter Zac, the cute new guy in town who won't stop texting her. But is his interest real, or does he have a hidden agenda? ***** Found as a young child washed up on the beach, 17-year-old Ari Callahan has never uttered a word out loud to anyone -- not even her adoptive family. Psychologists have diagnosed her with a condition called selective mutism, but Ari can't help identifying with her namesake character, Ariel, the little mermaid in the fairytale whose voice was stolen by a sea witch. Mermaid-obsession aside, Ari's silence makes socializing tough. She's never had a boyfriend or been asked out on a date. Not until Zac, the confident new arrival in town, asks for her number. But Zac has his own reasons for texting with Ari. He's part of a movement to sabotage the artificial music app called SirenSong, threatening to render human singing obsolete. Zac's collaborators have scoured the globe in search of a singing voice perfect enough to break the SirenSong spell, and their search has led them straight to Ari's beachside town. Will her relationship with Zac help Ari find her voice and unlock the secrets of her origins? Or will he use her and leave her high and dry? Title: Ari and Zac (formerly The Mermaid Hypothesis) Content Warning: This story contains references to selective mutism, suicidal thoughts, and early childhood trauma.