Within Reason

Within Reason — Repair is our love language. Sera Malik organizes chaos for a living—an airport loyalty strategist who can turn delays into grace notes. Rowan Vale inspects the bones of a city—quiet, meticulous, and the kind of landlord who'd rather label a breaker than make a speech. They meet by accident in a Harborview mall, exchange quippy texts, and build something on purpose: two lanes (Housing and Not Housing), a shared "pause" button, and a private ritual—a tiny green dot that means consent, clarity, yes. From a storm-struck island and lantern-lit Pier 7 to a communicating door between two apartments, Sera and Rowan practice a truth few romances admit: love isn't a miracle; it's maintenance. But when one compromised night at a company off-site fractures what they've so carefully built, their vows are tested in therapy rooms, courtrooms, and the bright, nosy light of community. With a violinist busking by the bay, a brass bell that rings for honest repairs, and a found-family of neighbors who clap for what's returned, Sera and Rowan learn to rebuild—slowly, deliberately, within reason and beyond it when necessary. Tender, modern, and fiercely grown-up, Within Reason is a romance about boundaries as devotion, the small technologies that keep us kind, and the everyday heroism of staying. Perfect for readers who like their love stories consent-forward, community-rooted, and lit by lanterns over water.