Summer After Midnight

One unforgettable night was supposed to mean nothing. Emma Bennett has spent years learning not to depend on anyone. After growing up with an unstable family life, she has built a carefully independent life for herself. Returning to the lakeside town where she spent her childhood summers feels like a chance to start over. A seasonal job at a remote resort seems simple enough: work hard, keep her distance, and leave when summer ends. Ryan Carter has his own reasons for getting away. A former college hockey player whose athletic future ended with an injury, Ryan is carrying more responsibility than anyone realizes. With his family's financial problems weighing on him, the last thing he needs is a distraction. Then one late night changes everything. Emma and Ryan meet by chance, share an unexpected connection, and part ways the next morning believing they will never see each other again. Until they arrive at the same lakeside resort. Now they are forced to work side by side for an entire summer, while a strict workplace rule makes acting on their attraction even more complicated. What begins as awkwardness slowly becomes friendship. Friendship becomes trust. And before either of them is ready, the feelings they were determined to avoid become impossible to ignore. But Ryan is afraid that loving someone means taking responsibility for their happiness, while Emma fears that letting someone close will eventually give them the power to leave her behind. As summer unfolds beneath mountain skies, quiet lake nights, unexpected storms, and memories they cannot escape, Ryan and Emma must decide whether what happened between them belongs only to one unforgettable night—or whether it could become something strong enough to survive long after summer ends.