READERS GUIDE

1. Brighton and Colin have a huge fight about a zipper merge that, you know, isn’t really about a zipper merge. What small things do people do (or not do) that ultimately turn into deal breakers?

2. Does love at first sight exist? How long should people know each other before making a major commitment such as marriage?

3. Are there friendships in your life that you can pick up right where you left off after months or years apart? What makes those relationships so resilient?

4. It’s karaoke night at the Whinery. What are you singing at the top of your lungs?

5. Brighton and Jake have very different perspectives on money, stability, and spending. Does the way we think about money say a lot about the way we view ourselves?

6. If you were Jake Sorensen–level rich, would you work? What would you do?

7. Do you have the equivalent of “twelve-​dollar strawberries” in your own life? What items or events are worth splurging on?

8. Brighton tells Jake she loves him, then flees when she hears him coming back up the stairs. What do you think he would have said to her that night if she’d stayed?

9. Will Genevieve and Javier have a successful marriage? How would they define “successful”?

10. If you could design a piece of jewelry to mark a significant event in your life, what would it look like and what kinds of materials would you use?

11. If you were going to write a follow‑up story about Kira, what would her story be?