Sam Brooks didn't like surprises. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the world from sending them his way. His ex-wife was getting remarried. His publisher changed his deadline. He needed some quiet time away from home. Little did he know that the best surprise of his life was waiting for him at the beach. Lillie Avery had her world figured out. Unconventionally beautiful, unexpectedly witty, and unabashedly her own woman, she was sure that she knew what life had in store for her-even if she couldn't hear what was coming without the processors for her cochlear implants. A chance meeting brings them together on a peaceful North Carolina beach, but we all know that vacation romances don't survive the real world. Or do they?