0. Prologue

"Smoking cigarettes on the roof
You look so pretty and I love this view ..."
- girl in red

Conrad Fisher gave away the girl he thought he'd love forever. Now it's fall, and everything feels colder-his dorm room, his chest, the space that summer used to fill.

Nothing feels like it used to.

Not summer.

Not him.

Enter Rowan Ellis. She's sharp, quiet, and nothing like Belly-except maybe in the way she sees straight through him. She wasn't supposed to mean anything. But in the blur of cold mornings, late-night drives, and grief that lingers like smoke, Rowan becomes the first person who makes Conrad feel like he might survive loving someone again.

She isn't summer.
But maybe that's exactly what he needs.

#6 girl in red 09/04/25