Chapter 7

At the bar, Charlie proposes a pool game with stakes: if Nora loses, she explains why she’s in Sunshine Falls; if he loses, he shares his bad day. They flirt through setup, with Charlie offering hands-on "lessons" as Nora pretends inexperience, then reveals she used to play. Charlie counters by revealing he’s left-handed, and they split wins across several games.

Afterward, Charlie jokingly drafts an NDA to coax Nora’s truth. Dusty’s pages about a “Shark” agent spark Nora’s frustration about female ambition stereotypes. Loosened by drinks, Nora unloads her dating history: multiple exes leaving her for small-town, back-to-the-land lives, which she frames as a recurring trope or curse.

Pressed for why she’s in town, Nora admits Libby wanted a break and a small-town “experience,” complete with a checklist (flannel, baking, makeovers, building something, dating locals). Charlie teases that Libby is steering Nora toward a barn-wedding ending; Nora insists the trip is about sister time, not abandoning New York or publishing.

Nora demands her payment: why Charlie was catching a flight the day they first met. He reveals his father had a stroke then, and another recently; he’s home to help. This candor leads Nora to share pieces of her unsettled upbringing and her protectiveness of Libby. Their conversation deepens into mutual recognition and charged attraction.

As rain pounds the roof, the tension crests—touches linger, looks lock—but Nora pulls back. Declining a shared cab, she decides to walk. Charlie offers his umbrella; she chooses to leave anyway, despite the storm and their palpable chemistry.