Emma Sinclair has always believed that the best classroom is one with dirt under your fingernails and wonder in your eyes. As a third-grade teacher with a passion for nature education, she's determined to bring the outdoors inside—even if it means battling skeptical parents and a risk-averse principal.
Then there's Jack Morrison.
Handsome, overprotective, and utterly infuriating, Jack is the single father of one of Emma's students, eight-year-old Lily. When Emma announces her ambitious outdoor learning program, Jack becomes her most vocal opponent. He has his reasons—Lily struggles with sensory issues and selective mutism, scars left behind when her mother walked out. The last thing he needs is a well-meaning teacher pushing his daughter out of her comfort zone.
But as Emma works to adapt her program for Lily's needs, something unexpected blooms between her and Jack. The chemistry is undeniable. The timing is impossible. With school policy, gossiping parents, and professional boundaries standing between them, Emma and Jack must play it safe, or risk everything for a chance at love?
Just when they think they've found a way forward, Jack's ex-wife reappears with accusations that could cost Emma her career—and any future they might have together.
Can love survive when the whole world is watching?