Daddy Issues

"Sam did everything right; she worked hard, went to college, then to graduate school; she was driven, career focused, and successful. She had always been told to follow her dreams, and she did. But when the pandemic hit just as she graduated with her master's in art restoration, and her perfect internship that would lead to her ideal career is cancelled, she did what everyone was doing: moved back in with her parents. But now, two years later, she's still sleeping on the pull-out couch in the office-slash-yoga room in her mother's condo, crowded with boxes of vintage comics she can't seem to part with, and applying for the few entry level jobs that seem relevant to her training. In the meantime, she begrudgingly waits tables and for her life to change. At least the condo complex has a pool. When Nick and his eight-year-old daughter move in next door, Sam's mother volunteers her as a babysitter; she's got abundant free time, after all. Sam reluctantly agrees, though she struggles to relate to Nick. He's not much older than her, but he's a single dad, working overtime to raise his daughter, having chosen stability over passion a long time ago. Their worlds couldn't be more different, even if they're currently sharing a too-thin wall. But as Sam spends more time with Nick and his imaginative, veracious daughter, she begins to see Nick, and her own priorities, differently. So what if Nick's life and career isn't how he always imagined; he's a happy, caring parent who provides for his daughter, whereas Sam's own dad has been MIA for years. As their connection grows, Sam imagines new paths for herself, and starts to wonder if finding happiness means abandoning the "dream" she envisioned for herself"-- Provided by publisher.