While Gabby Schaefer reels in the face of crushing news that has thwarted her plans to return to work, Hayley Batchelor pursues high-risk fertility treatments and Nicole Lord fears falling in love after emerging from a divorce from a man who barely touched her heart.

"When fate brings three strangers to a charming space for lease on the California coast, the Boardwalk Bookshop is born. Part bookstore, part gift shop, part bakery, it's a dream come true for Bree, Mikki and Ashley. But while their business is thriving, their personal lives are...not. Bree, wounded by brilliant but cold parents and her late husband's ultimate betrayal, has sworn to protect her heart at all costs. Even from Ashley's brother, a writer...

Three women in fairly happy marriages, question the sacrifices they make, the choices to support their spouses, to take control of their own needs, and settle for the humdrum lifestyle they are accustomed to. Together they bond and make the changes in their lives that afford everyone some happiness and empowerment.

Divorce left Harper Szymanski with a name no one can spell, a house she can't afford and a teenage daughter who's pulling away. With her fledgling virtual-assistant business, she's scrambling to maintain her overbearing mother's ridiculous standards and still pay the bills, thanks to clients like Lucas, the annoying playboy cop who claims he hangs around for Harper's fresh-baked cookies. Spending half her life in school hasn't prepared Dr. Stacey...