Paris was supposed to be the city of love, light, and other lies. Iris Lavigne has lived her entire life surrounded by croissants, clichés, and tourists who confuse her home for a movie set - yet somehow, she's never had a boyfriend, a thrill, or a reason to believe life isn't just one big, flour-dusted loop.
But when her parents drop a bombshell (goodbye Paris, hello Minnesota?!) and sell the one thing Iris actually cares about - her family's beloved bakery - she's thrust into a shiny new American life that smells like Wingstop and midlife crisis. And just when she thinks it can't get more ridiculous, she meets him: Axel Johnston. Cold stare. Colder aura. Hot enough to cause international conflict.
Now, she's stuck in a rich suburban nightmare filled with sugar, secrets, sarcastic soulmates, and the terrifying possibility that... maybe she can feel something again. Maybe moving was the best worst thing that ever happened.
𝘼 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙗𝙮𝙚𝙨, 𝙗𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡'𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙤𝙨, 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨.
PAUL
I cheated on my fiancée.
Sophie and I were building our future. In love, happy, peaceful. Then she found a lump in her breast and I made the worst choice: I numbed my fear by sleeping with someone else. My worst mistake and my biggest regret. Now I see Sophie around town with him. She's radiant and laughing with people who actually show up. I'm trying to learn how to be a man who does. If she lets me, I'll spend the rest of my life proving I can choose her when it's hardest. If she lets me...
SOPHIE
I thought the promise was in sickness and in health.
But he buried his fear in someone else. On the same night, I walked into a bookstore and meet the gentle giant owner who invites me to his book club full of misfits.
I'm laughing again, I smile more than I ever have, I heal my heart.
My ex says he can learn to stay, but my bookstore owner keeps showing up like it's as easy as breathing. I don't know what the future holds; I don't know if I'll win this battle against cancer, but I do know I'm done wasting time on people that love only when it's easy.
CALLUM
She came in to Rivers & Rhodes Bookstore and asked for books with happy endings only.
I gave her a recommendation, an invitation, and an offer of friendship. Now, this beautiful brave woman is completely under my skin. I'm not here to win a competition against him. I'm here because choosing someone, second by second, is the only way I understand love.
Content Warnings: on page cheating, emotional and physical infidelity, cancer, mentions of vomiting, bleeding, surgery. Please be advised.