First published 2008
Claire Danner Crispin stands in her glass studio, surrounded by four young children and the weight of an impossible promise. The nationally recognized glassblower has agreed to co-chair Nantucket's most ambitious charity event, the Children Summer Gala. Her connection to rock star Max West, her former high school boyfriend, secured his headline performance. But Claire keeps saying yes when she should say no. She commits to crafting a museum-quality glass piece for the auction. She hands the catering contract to her best friend without proper vetting. She clashes repeatedly with her Manhattan socialite co-chair. Most dangerously, she begins an affair with Lockhart Dixon, the charity's executive director. As the gala approaches, Claire's carefully managed life fractures. Her marriage strains under the pressure of her choices. Her business suffers from divided attention. The charity event threatens to collapse under the weight of her overcommitments. Claire must navigate between her past love and present desires while keeping her family intact and delivering the island's most spectacular fundraiser.
Genres: fiction, romance, contemporary, contemporary-romance, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, second-chance-romance
Setting: Nantucket
Period: Summer
416 pages · Hardcover · Little Brown and Company