54 pages • 1-hour read
By a Thread
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 47-59Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 47 Summary: “Ally”
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes references to chronic illness, mental health, physical violence, and sexual content.
Ally gets a call from Nurse Braden about her dad while she’s drywalling. On her walk to the nursing home, she passes her favorite house in the neighborhood. As a child, she dreamed of living there. The family seemed happy and healthy. Her mind drifts to her life in Colorado. She misses her independence, relationships, and job, suddenly fearing she has no future.
At the nursing home, Ally’s dad is ornery and confused. He thinks Ally is his ex-wife Claudia and accuses her of stealing his watch. Then he attacks her. Ally doesn’t want Braden to restrain her dad, so she does her best to calm him down. She then sits with him while he falls asleep. Feeling lonely, she texts Dominic about picking up breakfast the next morning. She’s thankful when he responds but feels silly for contacting him. Outside afterward, she runs into Braden. He offers her a drink and assures her the staff loves her dad no matter what Deena says.
Chapter 48 Summary: “Ally”
Ally wakes up with giant bruises on her face from where her dad struck her and calls out of work. She works on renovations all day and sneaks into the office to do some work late that night. She’s shocked when Dominic appears. Seeing her bruises, he demands to know who hurt her. She bursts out crying and he carries her into his office. Through tears, she tells Dominic about her dad and his house. Then they agree to have sex.
Chapter 49 Summary: “Dominic”
Dominic and Ally have sex in Dominic’s office. During the encounter, Dominic makes Ally promise that she now belongs to him. She obliges.
Chapter 50 Summary: “Ally”
At Dominic’s afterward, the two continue their conversation about Ally’s dad and personal life. She left Colorado when her dad’s dementia worsened. He had savings, but Claudia, who left when Ally was 11, stole the money—Claudio and Ally’s dad never formalized their divorce so Claudia still has access to his finances. Around the same time, Ally hired a contractor to renovate the house, but he was a scammer who ran off with her money. Dominic listens intently and asks if he can see the house to judge how much work it needs. Ally doesn’t want to talk about this anymore, so they have sex again on the kitchen counter.
Chapter 51 Summary: “Dominic”
Dominic and Ally lie in bed cuddling. Ally reminds Dominic that just because they’re having sex she isn’t going to quit her job. The two tease each other about their new dynamic. Then Dominic suggests they go to New Jersey so Ally can get her things and work from home with him the next day.
Dominic is horrified by the house. It’s freezing and resembles a construction site. He insists that Ally can’t live there anymore and starts packing her things. Ally protests, but Dominic insists they’re now in a relationship and he wants to take care of her. He offers to stay with her or give her a loan, but Ally doesn’t like either idea. She promised her dad she wouldn’t involve anyone else in his care after what happened with Claudia. However, she finally agrees to stay with Dominic for a few days.
Chapter 52 Summary: “Dominic”
Dominic and Ally drive back to the city. The next morning, he wakes up worried about his and Ally’s relationship in the context of work. He asks Dalessandra to come over. When she arrives, Dominic tells her he and Ally are in a relationship and that he’s going to resign so they can be together.
Chapter 53 Summary: “Ally”
Ally and Dalessandra are horrified by Dominic’s announcement. Ally insists he can’t make huge decisions like this unilaterally if they’re going to be together. When Dominic takes Brownie outside, Ally and Dalessandra resolve the issue differently: Dalessandra will reassign Ally to another department so she is no longer Dominic’s direct report. Dalessandra will also communicate with the board about their relationship.
Chapter 54 Summary: “Dominic”
After Dalessandra leaves, Dominic and Ally get into an argument about their relationship. Ally doesn’t like that Dominic expects her to accept his help but won’t let her help him. The exchange grows heated and the two become aroused. Dominic tells Ally they should let each other calm down and rest. They climb into bed and cuddle until falling asleep.
Chapter 55 Summary: “Ally”
Ally and Dominic drive to Label together the next day. En route, they discuss their respective work situations. Ally encourages Dominic to be more open about what happened with his dad and to stop hiding from the truth. At the office, the two go to see Dalessandra and Candace from HR. Candace says they can remain in a relationship and stay at Label if Ally moves to a different department. Ally is thrilled when she discovers she’s been reassigned to graphics.
Chapter 56 Summary: “Everyone”
Ally messages her colleagues about her new relationship. They’re shocked and thrilled by the news. Dominic messages Harry about Ally; he’s also excited. Then Dominic sends out an announcement to the staff about his and Ally’s relationship. Ally and Dominic text about how everyone is receiving the news.
“Ally”
Ally runs into Malina in the cafeteria. Malina, jealous that Ally is with Dominic, starts to insult Ally. Ally stands up for herself, accusing Malina of trying to use her sexuality to get ahead at work.
Chapter 57 Summary: “Ally”
Ally goes out for drinks with Ruth and Gola after dance class. They want to know everything about her relationship with Dominic. Then Dominic shows up at the same bar with his friends. Dominic and Ally introduce their friends, leave immediately afterward, and end up having sex in the bar bathroom.
Chapter 58 Summary: “Dominic”
Dominic and Ally spend the day drywalling her dad’s house. Dominic is happy to help Ally but wishes the project weren’t keeping them from having sex again. They take a break to get ice cream. On the way, they pass Ally’s favorite house and she tells him about how much she’s always loved the place. Then the topic of birthdays comes up. Ally makes Dominic promise he’ll let her celebrate his upcoming birthday.
That night, the couple works from home, makes dinner, and reads online gossip magazines. Ally is curious when she sees a piece about them that references Dominic’s ex, the model Elena Ostrovsky. Dominic dismisses the topic because he doesn’t want to talk about Elena, who used him for publicity.
Chapter 59 Summary: “Dominic”
Dominic feels happier than usual on his birthday. Linus gives him whiskey, Gola brings a cake, Dalessandra sends him flowers, and Ally throws a surprise party for him that night. He usually hates surprises but is happy to see how happy Ally is.
Chapters 47-59 Analysis
In this section, Ally and Dominic’s emotional intimacy intersects with their sexual intimacy. At the start of their relationship, Ally and Dominic try to compartmentalize their physical attraction to one another from their emotional vulnerability. While they engage in passionate banter or sexual foreplay, they remain hesitant to either fully open up to one another or have penetrative sex. The closer they become throughout these chapters, the more willing they are to share their insecurities and fears and thus to ask each other for help.
The author brackets almost all of the novel’s sex scenes with intimate dialogue—interplay between verbal and physical forms of affection that shows healthy Communication and Vulnerability in Relationships. For example, when Dominic finds Ally working late at the office and sees her bruises, the two have a revealing conversation before they have sex. Ally’s emotional vulnerability and Dominic’s investment in her well-being deepen their physical connection. When Ally first starts crying, Dominic pulls her “out of the chair and into his arms” (340). Ally’s internal monologue in this scene reveals how significant Dominic’s tenderness is to her: “It was a hug. A hard, breathless hug. And that was what broke me. The unyielding contact of his body pressed against mine, his arms wrapped around me tight enough that the only thing I knew for certain was that I was safe” (340). Ally feels physically protected and thus ready to open up emotionally. After she shares the truth about her dad and the house, Dominic asks to make Ally feel better through the physical connection and comfort of sex. The exchange explicitly depicts consent, as is fitting for a romance novel intended for a contemporary readership.
The subsequent sex scene at Dominic’s house reiterates the importance of pairing emotional and physical connection. When the two arrive at his home, they do not immediately launch into sex. Instead, they continue their conversation about Ally’s father, finances, and personal challenges. The dialogue is open and forthright, and Dominic doesn’t broach these topics again before asking Ally if it is okay to talk about her dad and their complex situation. His sensitivity proves that he isn’t trying to exploit Ally’s vulnerability but is rather showing interest in her as an individual and thus in her emotional well-being. In turn, Ally’s trust for Dominic grows, as her succession of personal revelations confirms. She tells Dominic about her mom, her dad’s finances, the scam she was involved in, and the life she left behind in Colorado. These confessions foster intimacy and lack shame, imbuing their sexual relationship with more meaning. While sexual attraction motivates their relationship at the novel’s start, by now, their connection is also inspired by deep empathy and care.
However, communication conflicts arise between Ally and Dominic once their private relationship shifts back into the work realm. Their attempts to navigate this workplace dynamic reiterate the challenges of Balancing Personal and Professional Responsibilities. Because Dominic is used to playing the heroic savior role, he immediately assumes full responsibility for resolving his and Ally’s new professional conflict. Dominic thinks that his resignation announcement proves his moral integrity, but it instead demonstrates his fear of asking for help. His unilateral decision omits talking the situation through logically with Ally and Dalessandra—a pattern of behavior he learned from his father. Overcoming Personal Demons complicates Dominic’s ability to navigate his romantic, family, and professional life healthily. Ally, a more balanced and levelheaded character, assumes a mediating role in this conflict. With her help, the new couple takes their relationship public in a less destructive and more socially acceptable way. Sharing their news with others lets the couple take joy in their relationship, instead of hiding and feeling ashamed of their feelings.
Unlock all 54 pages of this Study Guide
Get in-depth, chapter-by-chapter summaries and analysis from our literary experts.
- Grasp challenging concepts with clear, comprehensive explanations
- Revisit key plot points and ideas without rereading the book
- Share impressive insights in classes and book clubs