A contemporary love story for anyone who’s ever wondered… what if?
Emma Foster has it all—success, stability, and a marriage that appears perfect. But when the pages of her latest novel remain blank, a growing emptiness threatens the life she’s carefully crafted. That void takes shape when Ben Bellini—the ER doctor she let go years ago—unexpectedly reenters her life, now living just a floor above her. Their paths cross once more, and the chemistry they’ve tried to suppress resurfaces with an intensity neither can ignore.
Emma faces a life-altering choice: hold onto the safety of her perfect world, or risk it all for a chance with the man she never truly forgot. But when she finally decides that some mistakes are worth making, she has no idea how far-reaching the consequences will be—or how they will unravel everything she thought she knew about love, loyalty, and herself.
Peak Into Emma's World
Emma Foster-Lawson
Writer
Over-thinker. Chronic perfectionist. Spends most of her time chasing deadlines and trying to keep it together. Raised by a complicated mother, still trying to be a good daughter. Behind her careful composure lies an endless romantic who feels everything too deeply. Caught between the life she planned and the one that's calling to her. Wishes to live a thousand lives in one, but is only now learning how to fully inhabit her own.
Ben Bellini
ER Doctor, the one who got away
Italian roots, New York attitude, California address. Speaks fluent sarcasm and unfiltered honesty. Moves through life with the conviction of someone who knows exactly what he wants—until he doesn't. Believes in science, family loyalty, and second chances. The kind of man who remembers your coffee order but forgets his own birthday. Doctor by profession, caretaker by nature, troublemaker by circumstance.
Lucy Kang
Painter, Emma's bestie since kinderkarten
Professional truth-teller. Calls bullshit before you even realize you're lying to yourself. Fiercely loyal but won't hesitate to tell you when you're being an idiot. Has turned emotional unavailability into an art form while somehow remaining everyone's emergency contact. Would rather die than admit she cares, but would kill for the people she loves. Emma's anchor when the waves get too high.
Richard Lawson
Investor, Emma's husband
Master of boardrooms, disaster in living rooms. Measures success in acquisitions and market share, struggling to understand what can't be quantified. Believes control equals stability. The kind of man who remembers anniversaries but forgets why they matter. Sees the world in spreadsheets while missing the story written between the lines. His greatest fear isn't failure, but irrelevance.
Mara Bellini
Emma's Friend, Ben's Sister
Family matriarch in training. Carries her Italian heritage like a battle flag—bold, unmistakable, and always leading the charge. Undeniably loves her brother, though she criticizes him often and loudly—the Bellini way of showing you care. A vault for secrets that not even the best interrogator could crack. Believes there's no problem that can't be solved with enough food, wine, and fierce loyalty. When she loves you, she'll move mountains to make sure you're fine.
Lydia Foster
Emma's Mother
Entrepreneur with a measuring tape for a scepter. Transformed herself from seamstress to boutique owner through sheer force of will and strategic social climbing. Treats people like fabric—something to be cut, shaped, and molded to suit her vision of perfection. Has built a fortress of respectability brick by brick, and expects Emma to maintain its walls at all costs.
Ben Bellini
ER Doctor, the one who got away
Italian roots, New York attitude, California address. Speaks fluent sarcasm and unfiltered honesty. Moves through life with the conviction of someone who knows exactly what he wants—until he doesn't. Believes in science, family loyalty, and second chances. The kind of man who remembers your coffee order but forgets his own birthday. Doctor by profession, caretaker by nature, troublemaker by circumstance.
Emma Foster-Lawson
Writer
Over-thinker. Chronic perfectionist. Spends most of her time chasing deadlines and trying to keep it together. Raised by a complicated mother, still trying to be a good daughter. Behind her careful composure lies an endless romantic who feels everything too deeply. Caught between the life she planned and the one that's calling to her. Wishes to live a thousand lives in one, but is only now learning how to fully inhabit her own.
Lucy Kang
Painter, Emma's bestie since kinderkarten
Professional truth-teller. Calls bullshit before you even realize you're lying to yourself. Fiercely loyal but won't hesitate to tell you when you're being an idiot. Has turned emotional unavailability into an art form while somehow remaining everyone's emergency contact. Would rather die than admit she cares, but would kill for the people she loves. Emma's anchor when the waves get too high.
Richard Lawson
Investor, Emma's husband
Master of boardrooms, disaster in living rooms. Measures success in acquisitions and market share, struggling to understand what can't be quantified. Believes control equals stability. The kind of man who remembers anniversaries but forgets why they matter. Sees the world in spreadsheets while missing the story written between the lines. His greatest fear isn't failure, but irrelevance.
Mara Bellini
Emma's Friend, Ben's Sister
Family matriarch in training. Carries her Italian heritage like a battle flag—bold, unmistakable, and always leading the charge. Undeniably loves her brother, though she criticizes him often and loudly—the Bellini way of showing you care. A vault for secrets that not even the best interrogator could crack. Believes there's no problem that can't be solved with enough food, wine, and fierce loyalty. When she loves you, she'll move mountains to make sure you're fine.
Lydia Foster
Emma's Mother
Entrepreneur with a measuring tape for a scepter. Transformed herself from seamstress to boutique owner through sheer force of will and strategic social climbing. Treats people like fabric—something to be cut, shaped, and molded to suit her vision of perfection. Has built a fortress of respectability brick by brick, and expects Emma to maintain its walls at all costs.
