Aaliyah Johnson is in her final year at Magnolia State University, where she's balancing a scholarship, an art degree, and the pressure of not knowing what comes next.
Elias Carter, the university's baseball captain, seems to have everything figured out, except his own heart.
When mutual friends and a poetry club bring them together, sparks ignite in the most unexpected ways. She's brilliant and blunt; he's disciplined and mysterious.
But between classes, practices, and the expectations of everyone around them, connection becomes the one thing they can't plan for.
From strangers to friends to something far deeper, their story grows with every season, rooted beneath a magnolia tree that sees it all.
Autumn brings sparks: "I'm curious about you, but I don't even know why yet."
Winter, closeness: "You calm me when I didn't realise I needed calming."
Spring, love: "I've known for a while... I just didn't want to ruin it."
Summer, uncertainty: "Even if everything changes, you've changed me already."
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the images used both on the cover and throughout the story.
Normani is use to being in control-of her body, her home, and especially her heart. A stunning, single mother and seasoned flight attendant, she knows better than to entertain distractions. But when her son comes home from college for the summer and brings his best friend with him, all bets are off.
Zane is tall, tatted, and built like temptation in human form-confident, cocky, and way too grown for his own good. He's got bedroom eyes, a mouth full of slick charm, and zero shame in how hard he flirts with her.
She knows he's trouble. She knows he's off-limits.
But every night, he's just down the hall...
Because temptation has never looked this good.
And it might just be the best worst decision she's ever made.