Peter returns from his bachelor party and tells Daphne the wedding is off because he has fallen in love with Petra.

Peter and Petra leave together on a trip abroad, giving Daphne just five days to vacate their shared home.

Miles arrives at the apartment looking for Petra, and Daphne asks if she can move in with him.

Miles shows Daphne a wedding invitation from Peter and Petra, leaving them both emotionally reeling.

Daphne lies to Peter on the phone, claiming she and Miles are already in a romantic relationship.

Miles snaps a photo of himself and Daphne and tells her to post it to launch their fake relationship online.

Miles takes Daphne to Cherry Hill Winery for the first time and introduces her as his girlfriend in front of Ashleigh.

Miles takes Daphne to a secret locals-only beach and offers to spend the summer showing her the real Waning Bay.

Miles kisses Daphne passionately on the dance floor at a senior prom fundraiser while Peter watches from across the room.

After leaving the fundraiser, Miles confesses to Daphne that he always wants to kiss her and not just for Petra's sake.

Daphne's estranged father Jason arrives at the apartment unannounced, accompanied by his new wife Starfire.

Jason and Starfire leave Waning Bay with only a brief note goodbye, reopening Daphne's deep wound of abandonment.

Miles comforts Daphne after her father's departure, and they have sex for the first time.

Peter arrives unannounced at the apartment, announces he and Petra have broken up, and asks Daphne to take him back.

After the Read-a-thon, Miles explains he drove away to confront Daphne's father, and they finally confess their love.

Daphne's world collapses when her fiancé Peter cancels their wedding to pursue Petra, leaving her stranded in a town built entirely around his life. Out of desperation, she moves in with Miles — Petra's heartbroken ex — and they devise a fake relationship scheme to attend Peter and Petra's upcoming wedding. As Miles shows Daphne hidden corners of Waning Bay, their chemistry grows far beyond their pretend romance. A passionate public kiss at a fundraiser forces them both to acknowledge real feelings, while Daphne's father's sudden arrival and cruel departure push them finally into each other's arms. Miles's unexplained disappearance afterward sends Daphne spiraling with abandonment fears, and Peter's attempt to win her back only clarifies how much she has changed. The Read-a-thon brings the whole community together, and Daphne and Miles finally confess their love as she chooses to call Waning Bay home.

The central love story between Daphne and Miles.

Daphne moves into Miles's cramped apartment, stuffing all her belongings, including her wedding gown, into a small closet.

Daphne and Miles go to a bar called the MEATLOCKER, where Miles quickly befriends a stranger named Gil heading to Las Vegas.

Daphne impulsively invites her co-worker Ashleigh out for the first time, and they visit Cherry Hill Winery together.

Miles takes Daphne to a beloved local diner for milkshakes and jalapeño fries late at night.

Miles shows up at the library during Daphne's Saturday story time, charming her and the assembled children.

Miles takes Daphne on a countryside farmstand tour that ends when they unexpectedly run into Peter at a lavender farm.

Miles takes Daphne dune-buggy riding on the beach, then they return to the apartment and make pizza together.

Daphne and Miles go kayaking at sunrise, ending up floating side by side in the water with fingers intertwined.

Julia, Ashleigh, Miles, and Daphne spend a lively night at BARn, a bar built inside an actual barn with a petting zoo.

Ashleigh asks Daphne point-blank if she and Miles are sleeping together, and Daphne admits they hooked up once.

Julia announces she is permanently moving to Waning Bay, and Daphne's stored wedding gifts accidentally tumble out of the closet.

Daphne submits a job application for a children's librarian position in the Maryland town where her mother lives.

Daphne forgets Ashleigh's birthday and misses their plans while caught up in her romance with Miles, straining their friendship.

Daphne moves out of Miles's apartment and into Ashleigh's home for the final days before the Read-a-thon.

Daphne's mother visits the home Miles and Daphne bought together, and their Waning Bay friends gather to celebrate.

After moving into Miles's cramped apartment with all her emotional baggage, Daphne slowly begins building a life she never planned for. Through Miles's guided tours of local diners, farmstands, kayaking spots, and hidden beaches, she discovers a Waning Bay that has nothing to do with Peter. Her friendship with co-worker Ashleigh grows from a spontaneous night out into a genuine bond tested by shared vulnerability and difficult conversations. When Miles's free-spirited sister Julia permanently joins their household, the apartment transforms into something resembling a found family. These relationships face real strain — a forgotten birthday, an impulsive move, and a job offer in another state — before the story closes with Daphne and her Waning Bay circle welcoming her mother to the home she ultimately chooses to share with Miles.

The friendships and adventures that reshape Daphne's life in Waning Bay.

Daphne realizes every friend and connection she has in Waning Bay belongs entirely to Peter, leaving her completely isolated.

Miles casually mentions he has a steady job at Cherry Hill Winery, contradicting Peter's portrayal of him as a jobless drifter.

Miles and Daphne drunkenly decide to RSVP to Peter and Petra's wedding and attend as a fake couple to exact revenge.

Ashleigh tells Daphne she will need to be genuinely honest and vulnerable with her before they can truly become friends.

Peter pulls Daphne aside at the lavender farm and warns her that Miles's own family refuses to speak to him.

Daphne and Miles nearly have sex on the couch during a movie night before Julia's unexpected phone call stops them.

Ashleigh brings Daphne to her weekly poker night at Harvey's home, and Daphne wonders for the first time if she could stay in Waning Bay.

Miles stops before having sex with Daphne in his truck after the fundraiser, revealing his abusive childhood and guilt about Julia.

Daphne tries on her wedding gown one last time, Miles unexpectedly finds her in it, and the stuck zipper forces an intimate moment.

The coffee shop barista knows Daphne's name and usual order by heart, and Daphne thinks she can almost see a life in Waning Bay.

Miles disappears for days without explanation, and the Ocean City Public Library calls Daphne to schedule a job interview.

Daphne secretly paints Ashleigh's bedroom as a belated birthday apology while poker friends distract her, and the two reconcile.

Julia tells Daphne that Miles cannot see himself clearly and that his childhood wounds prevent him from trusting his own heart.

Daphne's father calls on the morning of the Read-a-thon and reveals that Miles drove to Mackinac to confront him for leaving.

Daphne calls her father back and tells him honestly, for the first time, that his abandonment caused her lasting pain.

From the moment Daphne recognizes she has no identity in Waning Bay apart from Peter, she begins the difficult work of rebuilding herself from the ground up. Key revelations — that Miles is nothing like Peter described, that Ashleigh demands real vulnerability, that Peter's warnings about Miles are manipulative — gradually dismantle the walls Daphne has built since childhood. Two separate interrupted intimate moments expose how deeply both Daphne and Miles fear trusting again after trauma and family wounds. As Daphne begins to imagine staying in Waning Bay, she is repeatedly tested by her father's cruelty, Miles's mysterious disappearance, and the safe pull of a life near her mother. The pool closes with the two most cathartic acts in Daphne's journey: discovering that Miles fought for her happiness while she assumed the worst, and finally telling her father the painful truth she has carried her whole life.