Garth and Juliette
Juliette escaped a toxic relationship, and has been hiding from her ex for the last 10 years. She doesn't want anyone letting him know where she is, because he threatened to kill her if she ever left. She cuts Garth off when she realizes that he knows her ex.
Garth lost his wife, and the only one who has truly caught his attention since is Juliette. He doesn't know or understand that he is a connection to her past at the opening of the book, but he knows that their chemistry is undeniable.
I love that Juliette is wildly smart, and that she can truly support herself. Allowing herself to lean on Garth is not something that comes naturally to her. When she finally opens up to him, you can almost see her trauma response kick in. This is not something easy to depict on page, and Isaacson does a fantastic job of it. Being someone who has been in a situation (not quite this intense though,) before, I related deeply to it.
The reveal to Garth about who she really was hurt to read, but was done so well. Garth's reaction was better than I expected, but loved it all the more.
Isaacson gives you time to breathe along with the characters, which gives you time to process it all.
The final confrontation with the ex was difficult to read in the best way. It was gritty and hopeful all at the same time, and I adored it. Garth gave Juliette the time she needed to process things afterwards, while being there to support her, but not push what he wanted onto her.
For how short this book is, it packed a punch, and I'm not mad that I read it! Would recommend, and excited for the next installment in the series.