He's built walls to protect his heart. She's searching for a place to heal hers. Zane Quinn spent years making sure no one got close enough to break him again. With a heart guarded by old wounds, he's convinced love isn't worth the risk. He has a list, and until a woman checks every box, his heart remains off-limits. Maxinne Whitaker knows what it feels like to disappear inside a relationship. Stripped away from the life she built, she lands in the quiet hills of Covewood, Kentucky, to help her ailing father and rediscover herself in the process. The last thing she expects is for Zane, her brother's best friend, to become the one person who truly understands her. An unlikely friendship slowly sparks into something deeper, cracking the defenses Zane spent years perfecting. But Maxinne is only in town for the summer, and when the season ends, so might their chance at something real. Can two guarded hearts learn to love again before it's too late?