Signing Off for the Summer is a new adult romance novel about an overwhelmed radio journalist who withdraws from her toxic workplace, a bad relationship, and city life and escapes to her family’s cottage for the summer where she rediscovers her own voice and the magic of falling in love.
When Maggie Taylor, an up-and-coming journalist, suddenly quits a prestigious radio internship at 880 News in Toronto, she infuriates her close-knit family. Unbeknownst to her overbearing parents and controlling boyfriend, Maggie suffered a traumatic abuse of power when her boss propositioned her, and she is too ashamed to talk about it. She escapes to her grandmother’s cottage on Cedar Lake for the summer. There she finds solace and healing and begins to develop a close friendship with her cottage neighbour, Thomas. Everything takes a turn for the worse when Maggie’s aunt shows up with surprising news. More trouble follows when her former boss makes an unexpected return to her life, threatening everything Maggie has built with Thomas. In order to move forward, Maggie must face her past and learn to use her voice.
Excerpt:
Maggie turned off the water and wrapped herself in an old beach towel. There was something about Thomas that her heart was drawn to, but she refused to think of him as anything more than a friend. Maggie used a wide-tooth comb to brush out her long, brown hair. She spritzed a detangling spray through her wet locks, which helped achieve chunky beach waves. She opened her makeup bag and grabbed her mascara. Starting at the roots of her eyelashes, Maggie wiggled the wand and swept through the tips. She applied a coat of high-shine lip gloss that made her lips appear full and plump. Pleased with what she saw in the mirror, Maggie adjusted the faded and frayed towel wrapped under her arms and headed for her bedroom to get dressed. As she walked out of the bathroom, she passed the front door and saw a strange figure lurking there. Maggie shrieked, bringing her hands to her mouth. Her towel dropped to her feet. It took her a second to realize that the creep staring at her through the window of the front door was Thomas. And there she was, giving him a free show.
Thomas brought his hand to his brow and adverted his eyes. “I’m sorry! I—uh—”
“What are you doing here?” Maggie yelled. She picked up her towel and haphazardly wrapped it around her naked body.
“I, uh… You told me to come over to help you fix your deck.”
Maggie caught a glimpse of the clock in the kitchen. Thomas was five minutes early. “Yes, of course. I just wasn’t expecting you yet. Um, why don’t you head around back, and I’ll be out in just a minute.”
Still covering his eyes like a gentleman, Thomas tripped over a broken board on the deck as he made his way to the back with his tools and supplies. “I’ll fix that one, too!” he called out.
Maggie broke into a smile as she watched him stumble his way around to the back deck. Through the sliding glass door, Maggie looked on as Thomas organized his tools. When he lifted his head, she averted her eyes and rushed to her bedroom to change into a white, knee-length, cotton summer dress. As Thomas hammered outside, Maggie went to the kitchen and whipped up a charcuterie board with cheese, crackers, and grapes. She grabbed the chilled bottle of champagne from the fridge and went to the sliding glass door. When Thomas saw her standing there with her hands full, he got up and opened the door for her.
“Your deck is as good as new,” he said, pointing to the replaced board. “I’ll show you how to fix the one out front.”
Maggie placed the food down on the picnic table. “I really appreciate your help,” she said, handing Thomas the bottle of champagne. “Will you do the honors?”
Maggie quickly ran back inside to retrieve a cloth napkin and champagne flutes. When she couldn’t find any, she grabbed a dish towel and a couple of mason jars instead.
Thomas removed the foil from the bottle to expose the cork and the cage. He untwisted the cage counterclockwise and then used the dishtowel to gently pull the cork away from the bottle. When she heard the sound of the cork popping, Maggie clapped her hands in glee.
“To new beginnings!” Thomas said as he handed Maggie a glass.
She smiled, clinking her mason jar against his. The sparkling bubbles exploded in her mouth, releasing pleasing flavors of peach and vanilla.
“You sprang for the good stuff,” Thomas said, relaxing into a lounge chair that overlooked the lake.
Maggie sat down on the bench of the picnic table. “My grandma says champagne is the only wine that leaves a woman beautiful after drinking it.”
Thomas stole a glance at Maggie, his eyes soft with admiration. “You’d look beautiful no matter what you were drink—”
“Shit!” Maggie said as champagne dribbled down her chin and onto her clean summer dress. Heat rose to her cheeks as she remembered all the times Brody got angry with her for spilling things accidentally. “I’m sorry.”
Thomas grabbed the dish towel wrapped around the neck of the champagne bottle and handed it to Maggie. “What are you apologizing for?”
“Thank you,” she said, ignoring his question. She dabbed at the wet spot against her chest. “I can be so clumsy. You were saying something?”
Thomas coughed. “Oh, uh, it was nothing.” He relaxed back into his chair and stared straight ahead.
The sun was beginning to set. A glowing circle in a grapefruit-pink sky, illuminating a quivering path across the lake. The view from the deck was stunning. Maggie took a moment to soak up her surroundings. She still couldn’t believe she was going to spend her entire summer at the cottage. It was almost too good to be true.
