Allie Whitstrom is on the fast track to the life she’s always wanted: a dream design job, a charming apartment in Old Town Alexandria, and a future with her perfect boyfriend, Ben. The only flaw in her carefully curated life? Beckham Tate—Ben’s infuriatingly smug best friend, business partner, and perpetual thorn in her side.

Beckham Tate doesn’t do feelings—or failure. Not on the rugby field, in business, or when it comes to the darkest parts of his past. His biggest secret? He’s always had a soft spot for Allison Whitstrom—one he’s buried under years of animosity, for Ben’s sake.

But when Ben dies suddenly, their worlds implode, leaving Allie a shell of her former self, and Beckham mourning not just his best friend, but the only tether he had to Allie.

Two years later, Allie is ready to go from surviving to thriving. But when she’s assigned to redesign the new headquarters for Verdant Group—a rebrand of the company she watched Ben and Beckham build from the ground up—she’s forced to face the past she’s worked so hard to outrun.

Now working side-by-side on a high-stakes project, Allie and Beckham can’t avoid each other—or the chemistry that’s always simmered beneath their sparring. As old wounds reopen and long-buried feelings surface, they’ll have to decide: will the truth destroy them, or is risking their hearts the only way to heal?