The Curated Fall

I didn't come to Maple Valley to fall in love. I came to dismantle my family's legacy and leave without looking back.

But the century-old orchard I inherited came with a catch: a co-owner who hates my guts. Jack Hawthorne is all dirt-smudged flannel, stubborn silence, and eyes that hold a grudge I still don't understand. He's been running this place with his calloused hands and a chip on his shoulder the size of Vermont, and the last thing he wants is a city girl with a clipboard telling him how to save the harvest.

I tell myself I can ignore the way he looks at me when he thinks I'm not watching. The way his voice drops when he's angry-which is always. We clash over pruning schedules, cider recipes, and the exact number of inches a door should stay open between our living quarters. But when a storm traps us together in the old barn with nothing but lantern light and the scent of rain on hay, the line between enemies and something far more dangerous starts to blur.

Jack has secrets rooted deeper than the oldest trees on this property. And I've got a plane ticket back to Boston with my name on it, a reminder that this small-town chapter has an expiration date. Walking away was supposed to be easy. But every stolen glance, every accidental touch, every heated argument that ends with our mouths inches apart makes me wonder if the life I planned is the one I actually want.

This is a forced proximity, grumpy sunshine love story where the brooding hero fights as hard against his own heart as he does against the witty heroine determined to upend his world. Set against the crisp, golden backdrop of a Vermont autumn, this steamy contemporary romance delivers slow-burn tension, small-town second chances, and an emotional fall romance that asks what happens when two rivals discover they're fighting for the same thing all along.

Maple Valley was supposed to be a pit stop. But some falls are curated so perfectly they change everything.

And some men are worth staying for-if they don't push you away first.