Aurora Cross didn't plan on falling for a lighthouse.

Or the grumpy recluse living inside it.

Landing a coveted research slot at a remote Maine lighthouse, she's ready to dive into her coastal biology thesis and leave distractions behind. But her plan takes an unexpected turn when the gruff lighthouse keeper turns out to be a battle-scarred artist with a serious aversion to company.

Kit Kinkade came home from war and disappeared. Trading noise for quiet, chaos for canvas, he's built a life of routine and solitude-until a determined scientist shows up and throws off his careful balance.

Stranded together in the windswept lighthouse, Aurora and Kit have no choice but to share the space-and maybe something more. As days stretch into nights, Aurora's warmth starts to chip away at Kit's shadows, and he begins to wonder if there's still a place for him in the world outside his tower.

When her research ends, will Aurora walk away with only data, or risk her heart for the man who helped her find more than she came for?