But plans never go as, well, planned.

Also unplanned was running into a hot, prickly mechanic on my first day back in Sapphire Creek.

Austin Kyle sure knows how to work a flannel shirt.

And based on the way the brooding man argues with me over an apple pie, it’s safe to say he doesn’t like me.

Call it the former homecoming queen in me, but I need the veiny-forearmed grump to like me. I have a week to change his mind before I return home to the city.

Before I know it, Austin’s occupying all my thoughts. I’m singing karaoke, bringing him coffees at his garage, and doing anything else I can think of to win him over.

And it works—a little too well.

One moment we’re arguing over who’s more stubborn, and the next, we’re crawling into his truck bed, a tangled mess of eager hands and bruising kisses.

It’s not long before Austin’s charming his way into my heart, but this thing between us is only temporary.

From the start, he’s warned me we wouldn’t have a storybook ending.

Maybe I should’ve listened.