Poppy Smyth is out of options—and patience—when it comes to love.

After catching her boyfriend cheating and failing spectacularly at her first attempt at a rebound, she decides to take a break from dating altogether. Escaping to the smallest town in America to help her uncle with his business seems like the perfect distraction—and maybe the perfect place to test-drive her new “men are canceled” mantra.

But then she flips open her phone to find a text from Ryan Trent, the son of her mom’s childhood best friend and someone she hasn’t seen in years. He’s in town for a few weeks on leave from the Air Force before his deployment to Iraq, and their reunion sparks more than nostalgia. It’s impossible to resist his quiet charm, sharp wit, and those arms that look like they could bench-press her and her emotional baggage. What starts as a no-strings summer fling soon turns into late-night confessions, spontaneous road trips, and stolen moments that feel far too real to ignore.

But with the clock ticking down to his departure, Poppy and Ryan are forced to ask themselves the hardest question of all: Is it better to have loved and lost, or is heartbreak the one thing they should avoid at all costs?

Set in the early 2000s, when low-rise jeans, burned CDs, and answering every call on your flip phone were the norm, this spicy rom-com is packed with sizzling chemistry, laugh-out-loud banter, and all the messy feels of falling for the right guy at the wrong time.