Reckless

“And nothing makes a man’s masculinity shrivel up and die for me quite like complaining about a woman exercising her professional independence. He might as well stomp his foot and storm out like a tiny chauvinist toddler.”

Winter Hamilton’s internal monologue about her husband Rob Valentine conveys her deep longing for authentic love. The way she describes her frustration with Rob also underscores his flimsy character. His insecurity drives him to put Winter down and question her strength. This emotionally abusive relationship comes to background Winter’s own self-doubt and her ongoing challenges to believe in herself.

“I was ready to crack a joke about how objectified I felt by the way she was ogling me. But then she licked her lips once, blinked, and shot off. Which is a shame because I liked the way she gawked at me. I wasn’t feeling objectified at all. If she’d looked me in the eye, all bets would have been off. I could have given her something to really stare at.”

Theo Silva falls in love with Winter at first sight when they encounter each other at the Chestnut Springs gas station. This romance trope instigates their connection and foreshadows how their relationship will develop from enmity to friendship to love. Theo’s internal monologue during this scene also establishes his immediate physical and sexual attraction to Winter—both of which lead to their first sexual encounter, the conception of their daughter, and their forthcoming family life together.

“I look over at her, wondering how two people raised in the same household could have turned out so differently. Opposites. Winter and Summer. Our names weren’t just a stupid gimmick, they actually represented us somehow. But I know the answer. Our parents never split from each other, they just split up everything around them instead. One team versus another.”

Winter’s musings on her relationship with her sister Summer Hamilton reveal Winter’s fraught familial past. Winter lives with wounds from her past which often threaten her well-being in the present. In the context of her sister, Winter has learned that love is fickle and competition is the only way to survive.