Nana greets them enthusiastically at Gage’s place. Gage starts Zoey’s laundry while she feeds the dog, then they head to his parents’ farm together to tend the animals while his parents are out. Despite claiming to dislike animals, Zoey interacts comfortably with them, particularly the miniature donkey Pepe.

Back at his house, Gage begins meal prepping for the week. Zoey is amazed that he cooks multiple meals in advance, and reveals she typically survives on snacks and takeout. Gage mentally notes to double his portions. Rather than eating at the table, Zoey insists they eat on the couch and teaches Gage about building a cozy nest. They watch sitcom reruns followed by his preferred farming content, and learn small things about each other along the way.

Gage shares that he recognized Story Lake as home the moment he saw it. When Zoey climbs into his lap, he tries to establish the parameters of their relationship—how long it will last, whether they will go out in public, what they will tell people—but Zoey points out he never plays anything by ear, and they kiss before anything is resolved.

Zoey wakes at six in the morning to Nana’s insistence and lets the dog outside. She soon discovers Nana has been sprayed by a skunk. Gage runs out and stops Zoey from touching the dog. They bathe Nana in a solution of hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, and baking soda—stripping off their own contaminated clothes in the process—before showering and eating breakfast on the deck.

Zoey reviews her calendar and tallies her obligations: hiring someone to digitize Opal’s manuscripts, attending a planning meeting for Reader Weekend, convincing Opal to join a call with an editor, and hosting an accessibility panel. Gage shares his own stress about representing Valerie. Zoey tells him to stop trying to make sense of it and just focus on doing his job. He appreciates the perspective. The chapter ends with Hazel texting Zoey repeatedly, eventually realizing she is with Gage and demanding details later.

Zoey arrives at Felicity’s house for a Sunday planning meeting for Reader Weekend, surprised by the large turnout of business owners who previously refused to participate. Felicity explains that reminding everyone about Dominion’s interference motivated them to come.

The meeting is efficient and productive. Scooter volunteers as communications officer, Harriet creates a shared spreadsheet, and various businesses announce special offerings. Story Lake Haven announces they are hosting Family Day during Reader Weekend. Hana describes the lodge’s plans, and Chevy explains a ticketing system for Hazel’s book signing that lets readers explore downtown while they wait. Felicity introduces a project management site for task tracking, and Garland volunteers to spy on Dominion’s camp.

After the meeting, Felicity confides in Zoey about her anxiety and agoraphobia, explaining how panic attacks in college made her world increasingly small. Zoey shares her own struggles with feeling not good enough and like a burden. They bond over their shared challenges.

Zoey texts Gage about finding Opal for their missed meeting. Gage creates a family group chat to help locate her, which spirals into chaos before Laura reports Opal is at the general store.

Zoey confronts Opal, who assumed the meeting was to tell her the manuscripts were unpublishable. Zoey reveals she actually scheduled it to arrange a call with an acquisitions editor who wants to make an offer. Opal grudgingly agrees to meet the next day.

Realizing she forgot to order snacks for that evening’s accessibility panel, Zoey accepts help from Laura and her dog Melvin. Laura suggests one of her brothers could fix Zoey’s car problems, but Zoey declines, feeling it would be too much to ask, given her casual relationship with Gage. Laura suggests that if Gage will not do favors outside the bedroom, Zoey is not doing sex right, and recommends three boxes of wine for the event.

Gage arrives at the accessibility panel at Pushing Up Daisies funeral home to find the room nearly full. A woman named Maria leads the presentation alongside Benjamin, a young boy with autism who uses a speech tablet. Maria describes how autistic individuals experience overstimulation differently from neurotypical people and suggests ways to create more inclusive spaces. The presentation ends with everyone signing “thank you” in ASL. Zoey receives enthusiastic applause for organizing the event.

As people leave, the Kick Dominion’s Ass committee gives Zoey an envelope of cash from T-shirt sales. Gage suggests dinner, but Zoey is exhausted from peopling all day. He planned for this and takes her to his brother Levi’s empty lakeside cabin. After a fire and the meal Gage prepared, Zoey spontaneously suggests skinny-dipping. Though Gage protests the cold, he follows her into the lake.

Headlights suddenly appear in the driveway—Levi has returned early. They hide naked in the neighboring overgrown property, then make a naked dash to Gage’s vehicle and speed away, accidentally leaving Nana behind. The family group chat erupts with teasing messages, with Levi threatening to hold the dog for questioning.

Zoey is getting ready for a mystery date with Gage when Opal arrives unexpectedly. Zoey reveals there are now three publishers interested in Opal’s fantasy series and insists on waiting for all three best-and-final offers before moving forward, explaining that an auction will get Opal the best deal. When Opal asks whether her stories are worth all this effort, Zoey firmly says yes.

Opal shares that she wrote the books for her late wife Alice, a biologist she was married to for 40 years. After Alice’s eyesight failed, Opal would read her daily writing aloud each evening. Alice died four years ago, and Opal has not written since. Zoey tells her Alice would want her to share the stories with the world.

Gage arrives with flowers and insists Zoey looks beautiful. She is touched but unsettled by how date-like the gesture feels, and notices a strange warm sensation in her chest that she dismisses.

The mystery date turns out to be chaperoning the high school prom, themed “Literally Under the Sea.” Zoey finds a crying student named Ruby in the bathroom—she asked a boy named Gregory to prom, only for him to show up with friends instead. Zoey helps fix her hair, gets the DJ to play her requested songs, and organizes her friends on the dance floor. She also manages to dump coleslaw on Gregory.

Gage dances with Zoey and tells her she is beautiful, exciting, and smart—that for the first time, he is not worried about tomorrow because he is having such a good time today. Zoey asks for antacids. Mrs. Blumenthal tells Zoey that Gage is clearly falling for her and describes recognizing her own husband as the right person because no one else gave her that warm, glowy feeling in her chest. Zoey realizes with growing alarm that she is experiencing that exact feeling.

At the gym, Zoey and Hazel suffer through a brutal workout with Laura’s trainer, Manny. They watch Laura attempt pull-ups from her wheelchair and successfully complete seven, bringing the entire gym to a standstill. Zoey notices Manny’s obvious affection for Laura throughout.

During cooldown, Zoey and Hazel point out that Manny is clearly interested in Laura romantically. Laura is shocked and resistant, explaining she has not been with anyone since her late husband Miller and does not know how to date again. She describes how they met—he gave her a dime and called himself a perfect 10—and how he continued leaving her dimes as a romantic gesture throughout their relationship.

Zoey suddenly realizes that Gage has been quietly leaving dimes for Laura to remind her of Miller and that she is not alone. The revelation hits her so hard she loses control on the treadmill and falls off painfully. In that moment, she understands she has fallen in love with Gage—and is horrified by it.

At midnight, Hazel knocks on Zoey’s bedroom door for their annual birthday tradition. Gage, naked in bed with Zoey, answers the door before she can stop him. Hazel cheerfully admires his anatomy, which she declares inspiration for a meet-cute. Gage is confused about why Zoey never mentioned her birthday; she explains she hates the day and prefers not to acknowledge it.

In the living room, Hazel lights a candle on a cupcake and sings happy birthday—their annual ritual of a private celebration before the day tends to become difficult due to Zoey’s parents. Hazel grows emotional about how much she loves having Zoey nearby and fears losing her when she returns to New York, both personally and professionally.

Zoey reassures her and, citing their tradition of honesty on her birthday, grudgingly admits she has not hated her time in Story Lake as much as she expected. Hazel suggests Gage would want her to stay, but Zoey dismisses this, citing their fundamental differences.

Zoey asks how Hazel knew her fiancé Cam was worth the risk. Hazel explains he showed up for her the way Zoey always has, and promises to always be in Zoey’s corner in return. Zoey brushes off the sentiment with a joke.