Description

Nestled between dusty roads and quiet porches, the town of Willow Creek lived slow, steady, and stuck in the past. But for Claire Matthews, a 47-year-old recently divorced art teacher, slow was starting to feel like suffocation. Her days were filled with routine: painting in her studio, sipping iced tea, and listening to the cicadas hum stories she no longer wanted to hear. The fire she once carried for life had dimmed—but it wasn't dead. She could feel it flickering whenever her fingertips brushed canvas, or her eyes lingered on curves in the shadows.

When Malik Carter—a tall, smooth-talking Black man with city confidence and a smile that made gossip swirl faster than a summer storm—moved into town to manage the new bar and grill, Claire's quiet days began to feel electric. There was something about him. The way he walked. The way he looked at her—not past her. And Claire… well, Claire hadn't felt seen in a long time.

What started as chance encounters and innocent conversation quickly turned into stolen glances, heated tension, and silent wishes. And as summer thickened around them, so did the longing. By the end of chapter three, one thing is certain—Willow Creek's about to witness a heat it's never known before.