She built walls. He lived by rules. Sharing a hallway made it impossible to keep either.
Sidney Miller has one rule: don’t want what you can lose. Grief taught her that.
Gavin Rogers lives by rules too—three dates, no exceptions—until the woman in 17A keeps ruining his plans.
By day, they’re just neighbors in a San Francisco high-rise—Santaland shifts, misdelivered mail, quiet hallway conversations that feel too much like hope. By night, the walls between their apartments (and their hearts) get thinner… until the one thing Sidney swore she wouldn’t do—attach—collides with the one thing Gavin swore he couldn’t—stay.
When December ends, Sidney chooses what might save her: a job in Holiday, Oregon, a cedar-and-cinnamon small town where porch lights burn late, the vet knows everyone’s pets by name, and winter gives people permission to begin again. In Holiday, she learns how to live without the armor. Back in San Francisco, Gavin has to decide whether his rules protect him—or keep him lonely.
They found each other as neighbors. To earn a future, they’ll have to find themselves first.
Tropes:
- neighbors-to-lovers
- forced proximity
- big feelings
- grief-to-healing
- small-town holiday vibes
- open door
- HEA
