SUMMER STRANGER

Previously published as [SECOND BREATH] by [CIPHER DREAM]

Alyssa runs one of Willowmere's most beloved lakeside restaurants, a cozy place filled with soft light, familiar faces, and the kind of food that keeps people lingering a little longer than they planned. She runs it along with her best friend while raising her bright, observant seven-year-old daughter and carries the quiet legacy of one of the town's oldest, wealthiest families.

From the outside, her life looks steady.

But grief has a way of settling in the spaces no one else can see. She is still learning how to live with the loss of her husband. Still learning how to be enough for her daughter and maybe, someday, for herself.

Indy never meant to stay in Willowmere for long. He is a man searching for stillness. An Indian Army veteran and a descendant of First Nations, he has returned to the small town to reconnect with his mother's side of the family. He keeps things simple now, taking on construction jobs around town and keeping his world small, quiet, and manageable.

When a terrifying accident on an icy, unforgiving winter night sends Alyssa into the freezing lake, it is Indy who plunges into the dark water to pull her out. He saves her life, makes sure she is breathing, and vanishes into the night before anyone can ask his name.

He was never supposed to meet her again. But fate has a beautiful sense of timing.

Small towns like Willowmere have a way of throwing people together. Months later, the quiet, broad-shouldered stranger unknowingly walks through the doors of Alyssa's restaurant looking for handyman work.

What starts as fixing creaky floorboards and sharing quiet morning coffees slowly blossoms into something undeniably soulful. But to find their happy ending, a grieving mother and a haunted soldier will have to do the bravest thing of all: let go of the past and let each other in.

This is a story about finding warmth in the coldest seasons and discovering that the greatest rescue of all is falling in love.

If you love deeply emotional, feel-good romances that earn every single butterfly, you will lose your heart to Alyssa and Indy.

Grab your favorite blanket and escape to Willowmere today.

Read this if you love:

• Cozy small town vibes: lakeside restaurants and tight-knit communities
• Soulful second chances: healing hearts finding love after loss
• Strangers to lovers: a mysterious rescuer turns into the perfect handyman
• Single mother romance: a protective hero who melts for her 7-year-old daughter
• Interracial romance: featuring a strong, quiet First Nations hero
• The ultimate slow burn: delicious tension with a guaranteed, joyful HEA

A slow burn filled with warmth, healing, and the kind of love that feels like coming home.

For readers who love small-town charm, soulful connections, and romances that take their time with happy endings.