Cassidy Trevor is the backbone of her family's quilt shop, the one everyone relies on, the person who makes the trains run on time. She has a good life with loving parents and sisters, a job-for-life that she enjoys, and respect as a capable businesswoman within the community. Still, she can't help wondering . . . is there something more out there?

Matt Wolfe has spent his entire life living down to everyone's expectations. He's the body, the workhorse, the guy who always says yes. As a member of a firefighting family, he's also seen too many people lose everything they hold dear within the space of a heartbeat. He knows it's easier to let go of things if you never really wanted them in the first place.

When Cassidy and Matt are volunteered to co-chair a holiday event, their working relationship slides into a secret friendship . . . with benefits. For Matt, a fling with Cassidy is perfect-the built-in expiration date means no messy breakup and no disappointment when expectations aren't fulfilled. It's perfect for Cassidy, too. She doesn't want anything-or anyone-tying her down. But now the one person who "gets" her, who supports her dream to leave St. Caroline, is the one person Cassidy can't bear the thought of leaving. And, for the first time in his life, Matt is discovering expectations he wants to live up to . . . his own.