Just a Friend

Every August, Sophie and Oliver meet up in her small town for their tradition: he buys her a milkshake, they catch up, and nothing more happens. It's easier that way, since Sophie has long since accepted that Oliver only sees her as a friend — and since her grandparents can't stand him. Sophie runs a struggling mobile library she's poured her heart into; Oliver spends his life touring the world running his family's resort company with his brothers.

But this year, seeing Sophie again shifts something in Oliver, and he starts to realize his feelings have never been just friendly. Sophie isn't so sure she believes it, and neither of them is sure their very different lives leave room for anything more. Between meddling relatives, an enormous dog named Wilford, and years of built-up history, Sophie and Oliver have to figure out whether their friendship was always something else.

The first book in Deb Goodman's Tate Brothers series, this is a sweet, closed-door small-town romantic comedy.