At the age of fourteen, Hallie Welch developed a crush on Julian Vos after an almost-kiss in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now, many years later, Julian, the attractive prodigal returns, and Hallie is hired to renovate the gardens on the Vos estate. Hoping to finally get that kiss she’s been dreaming of, she soon discovers that the grumpy professor is no longer the boy she remembers and their personalities clash spectacularly. After a wine-fueled night with her girlfriends, Hallie realizes she left a reckless secret admirer letter for Julian and begins to panic.
Julian is on a sabbatical from his Ivy League job and plans to work on his novel. However, Hallie’s constant presence outside his window proves to be a distraction he cannot ignore. Despite her being eccentric, habitually tardy, and always covered in dirt, Julian finds her irresistibly beautiful and finds himself getting drawn further into her orbit. As Julian tries to figure out the identity of his secret admirer, he is simultaneously becoming more entangled in Hallie’s life.
Hallie is like a burst of color in Julian’s gray world. As a man who lives by tight schedules and irons his socks, her sunny and chaotic energy makes no sense to him. But something about her seems familiar, and her presence is turning his world upside down.
