Small-town Benton Center, Ohio, is the setting for this clean and wholesome romance. While the people who live here are mid-western friendly, and the town itself idyllic, neither is immune to the tensions of contemporary life. How they deal with these thorny social issues is what makes them fascinating and extraordinary. Kennedy Phillips wants to prove herself to Benton Center in general and the Ladies Gossip Club in particular. The ladies see her as the spoiled and self-centered daughter of Grantham Phillips, the wealthiest man in the county. She returns home as the manager of Scott Rassmussen's senatorial campaign. Kennedy hopes that executing this difficult political assignment will change their minds about her and demonstrate her competence to her father. Chris Lennox is also following a family tradition, but there the similarity ends. His family has run the Lennox Family Bookshop for three generations, and it is in danger of going out of business. No one seems to read anymore, and his only option appears to be selling out to a big box store. The shop has been Chris' only focus, and closing its doors would end his family's presence in town. The two young people know each other, barely, from high school. She was the popular homecoming queen; he was the invisible nerd in the background. She was the perfect but unattainable girl; he was the shy and invisible boy. He adored her; she ignored him. Now they must face each other on a daily basis: he divides his store in two, renting half the space to her campaign and cramming all his books into the other. Only a thin partition separates them. Looming disasters bring them together. When Rassmussen falters, Kennedy must take drastic action to avoid electoral defeat. Chris must change the way he does business, or a horde of book banners will close the bookshop for him. Will their true feelings compel Kennedy and Chris from enemies into lovers, or will they miss their second chance for romance?
