Not the Way it Ends

A slow-burn, age-gap romance set in the publishing world, perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Colleen Hoover.

What feels like the end is just the start of a different story.

Anastasios Martis has built a life of responsibility. As he enters his mid-fifties, he’s running a successful publishing house, navigating a messy divorce, and trying to be the best dad he can for thirteen-year-old Elena, who’s dealing with preteen drama and a recent type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

After spending too many years in an emotionally abusive relationship, thirty-six-year-old Caitlin Johnson swears she’ll never risk dating again. She’s happy teaching dance and living a simple life, even if that means struggling to make ends meet as her own diabetes care expenses rise.

As Elena’s dance teacher, Caitlin has become the steady presence Anastasios can’t always be. He’s doing his best, but he’s struggling to keep up with all the teenage emotions and health concerns. So when a family wedding in Greece offers a lifeline for a father and daughter in need of bonding, Anastasios makes a desperate ask of Caitlin—go with them.

When she agrees, Anastasios doesn’t expect how easily he and Caitlin fall in step with each other, or how her quiet strength awakens feelings he had assumed were dormant.

Both Anastasios and Caitlin thought their chance at love had passed them by, but maybe their next chapter is just beginning.