Andi Doyle built her life on her own terms. She owns a coffee shop in South Boston that she’s poured everything into, shows up fiercely for the people she loves, and learned one thing the hard way: she won’t be an afterthought. Not for anyone.
So when Gavin Byrne walks into her life with quiet intensity and a smile that makes her forget herself, she lets herself believe this one might be different. He’s steady. Present. Real.
Until she realizes she’s been waiting for a place in his life he never fully made room for.
Gavin doesn’t understand what he’s done until the distance between them is undeniable. He thought he had left his past where it belonged. He didn’t see how easily he defaulted to keeping parts of his life separate — smoothing things over, choosing the safer explanation, minimizing what mattered most when it felt complicated.
By the time he recognizes the cost of that mistake, Andi is already walking away.
Fighting his way back to her is one thing. But reconciliation doesn’t bring peace. The past he thought was settled resurfaces with its own agenda, threatening the life he’s fought to protect and forcing Andi straight into the center of it.
Now loving each other isn’t the only risk.
They’ll have to decide whether what they’re building is strong enough to withstand someone determined to tear it apart — or if some mistakes really do turn almost into never… or into always.
