In a flashback to 11 years ago on Long Island, Katie and Tyler are writing together on the beach. Katie tells Tyler she enjoys their shared creative time. After some initial awkwardness, Tyler admits he feels the same way. He shifts closer, and his knee touches hers.

In present-day New York City, Katie, a ghostwriter for the famous romance author Meredith Bradford, waits at a café for her new collaborator, Abigail Stephens. Katie’s roommate, Lola, works at the café, Georgina’s. An email from Meredith’s agent, Selma, informs Katie that Abigail has taken another job and will be replaced by a local literary fiction author. The new partner arrives and is revealed to be Tyler McNally, the former best friend of Katie’s deceased brother. She has not seen him in eight years. The shock triggers an undisclosed painful memory of a funeral, and Katie flees. That night, unable to sleep, Katie reads a text from Selma asking what she thought of Tyler and requesting an outline within a week.

Tyler discusses the chaotic reunion with Katie with his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, Arthur. He explains he unknowingly accepted the job to work with Katie. Arthur advises him to quit and leave her alone. Tyler argues that he desperately needs the money and the career opportunity, as Selma is a high-profile agent who could sell his own novel. He also insists that Katie believes he is a terrible person and wishes she would let him explain what happened after the funeral. Arthur remains firm, telling Tyler to find another way.

After an intense cycling workout, Katie goes to the café. Lola warns her that Tyler McNally is inside and has been waiting for her. Visibly distressed by his presence, Katie is encouraged by Lola to handle the situation professionally. She confronts Tyler, who explains he didn’t know she would be there and desperately needs the job because he is now a teacher without a summer paycheck. When he tries to offer an explanation about what happened after a funeral, Katie cuts him off. She declares that she has moved on and demands he quit the job, which she considers her “one good thing” (16). To her surprise, Tyler immediately agrees, packs his laptop, and leaves. As he exits, Katie overhears him mutter a single, ambiguous word: “You.”

Tyler calls Selma to quit, but she refuses, citing a binding contract and threatening his professional reputation. She then offers him a deal: If he completes the ghostwriting project, she will take his personal manuscript to market. Compelled to agree, Tyler texts Katie to inform her. After a tense exchange in which Katie refuses to see him, he insists they must work together professionally. She reluctantly agrees to collaborate remotely.

For a week, Katie and Tyler attempt to work together online, but their collaboration is tense and unproductive. Selma sends Katie a harsh email scolding her for the unacceptable work, acknowledging she knows they are from the same hometown and demanding they resolve their personal issues to meet the deadline. They begin working together in earnest.

This interlude establishes the contrasting personalities of Henry Cooper and Willa, the characters from Tyler and Katie’s novel. Henry is presented as a multi-talented but grumpy, serious, and closed-off individual. Each night, he and Willa share the space on the Inn’s dock. While Willa is cheerful, sketching and enjoying the fireflies, Henry purposefully isolates himself, frowning as he reads a book of poetry. Henry does not know how to engage with her or “let the light in” (22).

Katie and Tyler meet at the café, where she is dressed for a date. She gives him a stack of romance novels as homework to familiarize him with the genre, then leaves. Tyler spends the rest of the day at the café, reading.

Katie returns from her date to find Tyler engrossed in the books. He jokingly asks, “Am I a Gus?” after comparing himself to the brooding hero in Beach Read, leading to a discussion about romance tropes (25). They get pizza, and Tyler again apologizes for their past, but she avoids the topic. Later, on a date with her casual boyfriend, Danny, Katie is upset by a text from her mother about the annual gala for her late brother’s foundation. The chapter ends on Sunday with Katie and Lola at a pool, where Lola remarks that Tyler clearly still has feelings for Katie.

Katie arrives at Tyler’s apartment early one morning, announcing that Meredith Bradford, the reclusive author, has sent a car to take them to her estate in Southampton. A tense moment follows when Katie realizes Tyler is only wearing a pair of boxers. On the drive, Tyler reflects on Meredith’s mysterious reputation and privately notices both Katie’s nervous excitement and his own lingering attraction to her. When they arrive at the lavish home, Meredith serves them a beachside brunch. She questions Tyler’s disinterest in romance and reveals she is writing her own novel set in Southampton. She wants their ghostwritten book to also be set there, with the two projects in conversation. To determine the plot, she has her cat, Pinot, randomly select tropes written on paper slips from a bowl. Pinot selects numerous tropes throughout the scene, with the final two—“Girl next door” and “Brother’s best friend” (43)—leaving both Katie and Tyler unsettled.

That evening, Katie assists her mother, Carolyn, by phone with seating arrangements for the annual gala—a foundation her mother runs in memory of Katie’s late brother Mikey—as Carolyn becomes overwhelmed with grief. The next day, Tyler notices Katie’s sadness. She admits her mother is struggling. Katie thinks to herself how easy it would be to let Tyler back in. By the end of the week, they have a solid outline. As they part amid playful banter, Tyler says, “Good night, Katie Caruso” (49), which triggers a bittersweet memory of him saying the same words through his bedroom window as teenagers, shadowed by the knowledge that two weeks later everything would shatter.

This interlude is a reflection from Henry about his changing feelings for Willa, the younger sister of his friend, Eric. Henry recounts how he always perceived Willa as nothing more than an annoying pest. This perception is suddenly replaced by a deep realization: He is completely captivated by her. He is unable to look away from Willa, seeing her as perfect. The section concludes by musing that this experience is a classic example of falling for the girl who has been there all along.

A flashback to 11 years ago depicts a Sunday dinner at the Caruso house. Tyler and Mikey goof around, and Katie suddenly asks to be excused. Later that night, Tyler talks to Katie through their bedroom windows. He sees she has covered her wall in sticky notes, and she explains she is plotting a novel.

Tyler has his regular Friday night dinner with Arthur and their friends, Pedro and Cal, who tease him about writing a romance novel. On the following Monday, Tyler tries to formally apologize to Katie for his past behavior. Katie stops him, insisting they cannot dwell on the past and should instead “start over” as friends. He agrees.

Katie and Tyler’s friendship and writing partnership quickly improve. They work so late one Friday that Tyler misses his A.A. meeting. He mentions that his usual Friday ritual is a meeting followed by Chinese food with friends and invites Katie to join him for the food portion. He takes her to a late-night dumpling shop in Chinatown, a place he considers a personal sanctuary. Tyler admits, “There’s a part of me that thought maybe this place would feel safe for you too” (68). Katie feels a renewed sense of attraction.

In another flashback to 11 years ago, Tyler finds Katie reading a romance novel with a “brother’s best friend” plot. She blushes, and the moment is charged with unspoken attraction. Mikey interrupts them from the patio. An hour later, Mikey warns Tyler to stay away from his sister.

Tyler tells Arthur about his fresh start with Katie. Arthur advises him to respect her boundaries about not discussing the past but warns him to address his own unresolved guilt. Later, Katie invites Tyler to a Mets game with her and Danny, telling him to bring a date.

At the baseball game, Tyler arrives with a model named Naomi, making Katie jealous. While playfully demonstrating how women flirt with him, Tyler and Katie are put on the stadium’s kiss cam. They awkwardly refuse to participate. The camera operator continues to focus on them until Danny, returning with a beer and a new pink Mets cap for Katie, possessively kisses her. Tyler is visibly unhappy.

In this interlude, Henry declines to accompany Willa on her errands, dismissing her ambitious plans to update the Inn’s garden with a maze as a frivolous whim. While Henry stays behind to work on his cabinetry, Willa proceeds to Main Street. She enters the office of a man who, in contrast to Henry, is ready to take her wants and needs seriously.

Tyler reads Katie’s latest chapter, in which Willa goes into a landscape architect’s greenhouse, removes her dress, and engages in heavy petting with him. Furious because Willa is supposed to be pining for Henry, Tyler confronts Katie in the café’s storage closet. Katie defends Willa’s freedom to explore her sexuality while she is single, pointing out that Henry has been sexually promiscuous without receiving the same criticism. Their argument becomes so loud that Lola intervenes and sides with Katie, prompting Tyler to insist, “There was heavy petting! Do not minimize this!” (85). After Lola leaves, Tyler and Katie are left alone in tense silence in the small storage closet.

Katie tells Danny about her fight with Tyler. Danny is dismissive and jealous, insisting Tyler wants to sleep with her. Later, Tyler texts an apology, and they share a flirty exchange. The next day, they are driven to Meredith’s house, but she walks inside and shuts the door after they cannot produce a printed copy of their outline. They discover they have no cell service. After panicking about where to print their outline, they find that Meredith has left them a picnic basket and a hand-drawn map with a note encouraging them to explore Southampton.

After printing their pages at the local library and leaving them in Meredith’s mailbox, Tyler and Katie have their picnic by a pond. Tyler insists Meredith is manipulating them, pointing to the suspiciously relevant tropes she had the cat choose. Tyler also finds the cat creepy. Katie dismisses his theory as confirmation bias and accuses him of being snobbish about the genre. He agrees to enjoy their unconventional workday.

On the drive back to the city, Tyler watches the movie The Notebook, which Katie recommended. That weekend, Katie visits her parents’ house in Westchester and finds it neglected and cold. Her father is withdrawn as he watches television, and her mother is away. The home feels more like a shrine to her late brother than a family home. The next morning at a diner, she tries to connect with her father by mentioning she is working with Tyler, but he remains emotionally distant. The visit leaves her feeling deeply alone.