One young woman finds friendship, community, and romance in a small, beachside town in this heartfelt novel perfect for readers of Mary Alice Monroe and Nancy Thayer. Emily is doubly heartbroken when her fiancé walks out on her while she's still grieving the loss of her family from a terrible accident. So she escapes back to Hope Haven on the remote Dune Island, where she vacationed every summer as a child. Emily hopes that fixing up the house will heal her, but the cottage holds more than just bittersweet memories. Emptying her father's antique writing desk, Emily finds a letter that reveals a devastating secret about her parents.
With a head full of questions that can never be answered, it seems like returning to the island was the worst decision Emily ever made... until she meets Lucas Socorro, saltwater dripping from his dark curls after a surf session. Painting the gloomy cottage walls the color of seashells, and revamping her grandmother's flea market furniture, Emily starts to feel she might call Dune Island home for good--and that she could build that home right here with Luke. But when Emily's family secret spreads through a network of local gossips, her fragile heart breaks all over again. Luke is the only one who could have started the rumors. Was she wrong to trust him so easily?