Chapter 7 Summary, Analysis, and Study Notes

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens at the bar where Nora and Charlie have been talking. Charlie proposes a game of pool with a wager: if he wins, Nora must explain why she's really in Sunshine Falls; if she wins, he'll tell her about his day. Nora initially claims she doesn't play, but she's actually a skilled player from her college days when she and her roommate used to hustle frat boys. After some banter, she agrees, and Charlie offers to play left-handed as a handicap.

They move to the only open table. Nora pretends to be a novice, asking Charlie to teach her the rules. He positions himself behind her to guide her grip, and she feels a spark of attraction. She then reveals she used to play by sinking a ball. Charlie, in turn, reveals he's left-handed, having played with his dominant hand all along. They trade wins: Charlie wins the first game, Nora wins the second, and Charlie wins the third. When Nora tries to demand a fourth, Charlie insists they had a deal. He writes a mock contract on a napkin, joking about an NDA, and signs it.

Nora, loosened by alcohol, begins to explain her presence. She tells him she's there for her sister Libby, who wanted a getaway before her baby arrives. They have a list of small-town activities from romance novels, including wearing flannel, baking, getting makeovers, building something, and dating locals. Nora then vents about her ex-boyfriends who all left her for rural lives: Aaron, who moved to Prince Edward Island; Grant, who left for a woman named Chastity; Luca, who married a cherry farmer in Michigan; and Jakob, a novelist turned rancher, whom she calls