47 pages • 1-hour read
It's a Love Story
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Chapters 18-26Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes sexual content.
Chapter 18 Summary
After the windy boat ride, Jane wonders how bad her hair looks. She normally dries and straightens it, but it’s a tangle of curls around her face. Dan assures Jane she looks great and suggests they head to Chippy’s Diner, where his friend has just seen Jack. However, Jane panics in the alley outside the diner. Terrified to see Jack again, she starts crying into Dan’s chest. Dan holds and comforts her, assuring her they’ll talk to Jack eventually.
Dan takes Jane out for ice cream. They joke that they’re in a scene from The Notebook as they bike to Dan’s friends Elana and Claude’s house. Dan reveals that he used to live with them and run an arts camp off their property. He leads Jane to his arts studio and suggests they make a painting together.
While working, Dan opens up about his past. He realized he needed to leave home when a short-term girlfriend, Brooke, insisted they get married after attending Aidan’s wedding. Everyone in town always saw Dan and his brothers as interchangeable, but he knew he was different and wanted to protect his individuality. Studying photography and moving to LA were his way of rebelling. Jane softens. She feels even more attracted to Dan and is surprised and confused by her unfamiliar feelings.
Jane and Dan finish their painting. Afterward, Jane texts Clem about her day with Dan, reiterating that she has feelings for him.
Chapter 19 Summary
After a nap, Jane and Dan head to the beach for a bonfire with his family and friends. Jane feels nervous when Dan reveals that Brooke will be there. She calms down when they join everyone near the water, cooking, eating, drinking, and chatting. When Brooke approaches Jane and Dan, Jane tries reminding herself that she’s “interesting and true and beautiful” (174). After Brooke steps aside, Jane and Dan engage in intimate conversation, leaning closer into each other until Jane kisses Dan. Jane is overwhelmed by emotion at the moment, but she and Dan joke about it immediately thereafter.
Chapter 20 Summary
Lying in bed that night, Jane and Dan talk about his and Brooke’s relationship. He explains their on-again-off-again dynamic and his fear that she saw him as just another Finnegan. He also stresses how important it is for him to follow his own heart. Finally, he apologizes for what happened with Star Crossed. They make amends and reveal what they’d each expected for their first date. Before falling asleep, they agree to track down Jack tomorrow.
Chapter 21 Summary
The family sits in the yard together the next morning. Jane revels in the scene, particularly moved by Dan’s niece Ruby’s playful dancing. Meanwhile, she muses on the time she and Dan spent together yesterday. Suddenly, she feels embarrassed about kissing him and insists on going in search of Jack alone. She bikes to the beach. On the way, she tells herself she has nothing to feel embarrassed about and that seeing Jack is nothing to fear. At the beach, she catches Jack speeding out of the lot. She yells and throws a drink at his vehicle.
On the sand alone afterward, Jane calls Clem and updates her on Jack and Dan. Clem assures her that everything will work out and reminds her she doesn’t have to feel ashamed of her and Dan’s kiss.
Jane texts Dan to say she’ll be home soon. Then she contacts Cormack, and he asks her to buy berries on her way home and urges her to hurry back before the impending rain. Halfway there, Jane gets caught in the storm.
Dan shows up to collect her in the car. He hugs her and professes his feelings. He reveals that he wanted to kiss her the night before and initiates another kiss. When they pull apart, Jane smiles and Dan remarks on her beauty. Jane wonders if this is what it feels like to be in love. They buy berries and head home.
Chapter 22 Summary
After cleaning up back at the house, Jane helps Maureen bake a berry pie. She’s engrossed in the process and revels in the comfort of the house as Dan lights a fire. Then the rest of the family appears, revealing they have lost power because of the storm, and they’ll all have to sleep in the same room together.
Before falling asleep, Jane texts Clem to update her on Dan. Clem suggests that Jane is falling in love. Then Jane and Dan tell each other how much they enjoyed their day.
Chapter 23 Summary
In the morning, everyone teases Jane about laughing in her sleep. Jane is surprised that she doesn’t feel embarrassed. After breakfast, she and Dan go in search of Jack again, but he isn’t on the beach as anticipated. The two lie on the sand discussing Maureen and Cormack’s anniversary party that evening and the toast Dan will give. He tells Jane how much he admires his parents’ relationship and wants a loving romance like theirs. Then he kisses Jane. She’s overwhelmed by emotion.
Chapter 24 Summary
While showering, Jane muses on her feelings for Dan. She wonders what her mom would think of him. She texts her afterward to check in.
In their bedroom, Jane and Dan prepare for the party. Dan remarks on Jane’s dress. She wants to kiss and have sex with him but doesn’t act on her feelings.
Chapter 25 Summary
Everyone convenes at a local karaoke bar for the anniversary party. Jane enjoys herself, delighting in spending the night by Dan’s side. During the toasts and speeches, her mind wanders to True Story. She realizes this is the sort of love story she’s always wanted to share with her mom. Finally, Dan gives his toast. Jane’s heart swells, and she realizes that she’s changing.
Ruby gets ready to perform a song for her grandparents but panics just beforehand. Desperate to help her, Jane ends up singing and dancing Ruby’s Frozen song, “Let It Go,” with her. Dan thanks her and asks her to dance. While dancing, he and Jane imagine how they’d spend their next dates. Jane wishes the dance would never end.
Chapter 26 Summary
Back at the house, Jane and Dan retreat to their room. They hug and kiss. Entangled on the bed, they share secrets about themselves. They start kissing again and have sex. Afterward, they lie awake chatting and remarking on how glad they are to be together.
Chapters 18-26 Analysis
The closer Jane and Dan become, the more Jane learns The Importance of Vulnerability in Intimate Relationships. Before Dan, Jane had only dated men she believed fit her exact criteria. Although she’s convinced that “Dan is not Solid Partner material, and falling for him is a recipe for disaster” (159), he consistently surprises Jane (159). Namely, Dan’s willingness to share the intimate details of his life and his self-discovery journey with Jane endears him to her. He is the first man she’s been intimate with who is capable of true vulnerability, honesty, and openness, subverting Jane’s expectations of what makes an ideal partner. The scenes of the two taking the boat ride, going out for ice cream, riding bikes, making paintings, lying in bed talking, lying on the beach talking, and working together to track down Jack draw them closer. Further, these scenes offer Jane and Dan prime opportunities to open up to each other about themselves. The more they share, the better they understand and trust each other.
These chapters also continue to develop and fulfill romance genre conventions. As is typical of intimate relationships in contemporary romance novels, Dan’s care for Jane contributes to Jane’s personal growth journey. Jane is still in the process of Reconciling Past and Present Identities. She still feels caught between the youthful, awkward teenage version of herself and the strong, capable, talented woman she wants to become. The more time she spends with Dan, the more she overcomes her insecurities and gains confidence, a journey that parallels her increasing faith in their new relationship.
The author uses distinct imagery to reify the internal and emotional strides Jane is making. Shifts in Jane’s behavior and appearance are one way Monaghan conveys her personal growth. For example, she hasn’t “blown [her hair] straight since [she’s] been” on Long Island (154). The wind and humidity “have it completely out of control” (154), but Jane doesn’t obsess over perfecting this aspect of her appearance. Her waving, sea-blown hair symbolizes looseness, relaxation, and freedom. Her hair is as untamed as her spirit is becoming. Jane also allows herself to cry and show vulnerability when she’s upset about Jack. The image of her resting her head against Dan’s chest in the alley and “listen[ing] to the thrum of his heart” conveys Jane’s newfound ability to show vulnerability and her longing to be loved and taken care of (157). This image also shows Jane loosening control of her emotions, just as she’s loosened up on her normally meticulous style. Jane also paints with Dan, and this artistic form of expression helps her acknowledge her emotions and share space with Dan without her typically rigid curation of language. The less controlled Jane becomes, the more open she is to letting Dan into her heart and to claiming her desire for love and acceptance. Further, her vulnerability is a way for her to own her emotional experience without shame. These are all aspects of the new, adult identity Jane is pursuing. Jane is learning to discard the metaphoric scripts and costumes of her youth and to live in a freer, uninhibited manner that represents her true self.
Meanwhile, Jane’s continued involvement with the Finnegans and her ongoing communications with Clem underscore The Transformative Power of Friendship and Family. With the Finnegans, Jane participates in family events, buys groceries, bakes food, plays with the children, contributes to their parties and events, and shares space and time. She is integrating into this family structure, and from it, she derives a sense of peace and balance. At the same time, she maintains her longtime friendship with Clem—in fact, Jane communicates with Clem regularly throughout her time away. She shares each of her feelings with Clem as they come up, be they negative or positive, familiar or unfamiliar. Her consistent phone calls with Clem reiterate the important, supportive role Clem plays in Jane’s life. She is the classic best friend; although a secondary character, she offers insight into Jane because she understands her in a way none of the other characters do. Monaghan uses Clem as a touchstone for the reader—whatever Jane tells Clem is true and unguarded. Further, Clem’s critiques of Jane’s experience offer perspective on her character and personal growth journey.
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