We'll Always Have Summer

Isabel “Belly” Conklin begins the story at Finch University, finishing freshman year with her friends Taylor Jewel and Anika Johnson. Her boyfriend, Jeremiah Fisher, is a sophomore there, and their relationship feels familiar and inevitable because they have known each other since childhood. Belly has built much of her college life around him, even choosing Finch partly to stay close. As the school year ends, she and Jeremiah look forward to summer plans, including work, family time, and a possible return to the Cousins beach house that has shaped their lives.

At Jeremiah’s fraternity party, Belly’s confidence in their relationship shatters. After beer is spilled on her dress, she goes upstairs and overhears Lacie Barone talking about a Cabo hookup. Belly confronts Jeremiah, who admits that during their brief spring breakup he had sex with Lacie. Jeremiah insists they were broken up and that he loves only Belly, but Belly feels betrayed not only by the act but by his secrecy. She leaves devastated, later reinterpreting the puka shell bracelet Jeremiah gave her after spring break as a gift motivated by guilt rather than love.

Belly withdraws, confiding first in Anika and then Taylor. Her hurt is complicated by the fact that she still treasures memories of Conrad Fisher, Jeremiah’s older brother and Belly’s first great love. A flashback reveals that over Christmas, Belly secretly went to Cousins and unexpectedly met Conrad there. They spent a quiet day together, and Belly realized she still loved him, though she resolved to choose Jeremiah as her future. She never told Jeremiah about that trip, creating a secret that parallels the concealment she resents in him.

Missing Jeremiah and unable to let go, Belly invites him over. Instead of simply asking for forgiveness, Jeremiah proposes marriage, promising to earn back her trust and build a life with her. Belly worries that he is trying to erase the betrayal, but she still loves him and accepts. Soon after, they plan to announce their engagement when both families gather in Cousins for a garden dedication honoring Jeremiah and Conrad’s late mother, Susannah Fisher.

The announcement goes badly. At the dedication, Belly expects Conrad not to come, but he arrives late and watches from the back, feeling guilt over his distance from Susannah’s work and pain when Jeremiah takes Belly’s hand. At lunch afterward, Jeremiah announces that he and Belly plan to marry in August. Laurel Conklin, Belly’s mother, is horrified and asks if Belly is pregnant. Adam Fisher, Jeremiah’s father, also urges delay. Laurel forbids the wedding and later says she will not attend. Belly’s father proposes that the couple live together instead, but Belly refuses to postpone, convinced her mother will eventually relent.

As planning begins, Belly relies on Taylor, who becomes her maid of honor, and tells Anika that she will not room with her because she plans to live with Jeremiah. Dress shopping without Laurel hurts, but Belly finds a simple beach wedding gown. When Jeremiah visits Laurel with flowers to ask for her blessing, Laurel again refuses. Hurt and angry, Belly leaves home for Cousins, quits her job at Behrs, and decides to plan the wedding from the summer house.

At Cousins, Belly discovers Conrad has been staying at the house. The three settle into an uneasy rhythm. Jeremiah comes and goes because of work, while Conrad remains nearby, cooking, repairing the house, surfing, and helping Belly with errands. Conrad privately confronts Jeremiah while surfing, saying the wedding is too rushed, but Jeremiah tells him to stay out of it. Conrad admits to himself that Jeremiah is marrying the girl he loves, yet he feels bound by a deathbed promise to Susannah to take care of Jeremiah.

Conrad’s point of view reveals more of his past. He dated Agnes, a pre-med classmate, but never loved her and admitted that his one real love was Belly. He stayed away because being near Belly made restraint impossible, and because he believed protecting Jeremiah meant suppressing his own feelings. He also reflects on his strained relationship with Adam, recognizing both resentment and similarity. Meanwhile, Adam begins indirectly supporting the wedding through his secretary, Denise Coletti, who expands the guest list and arranges catering, overwhelming Belly. What Belly wants most is not money or logistics, but Laurel’s guidance.

Conrad secretly meets Laurel after hearing Belly cry about a bridal shower without her mother. He urges Laurel to attend because Belly needs her. Laurel questions his motives, but she softens. At Taylor’s shower, Laurel appears, embraces Belly, and gives her a comforter. Their reconciliation restores Belly’s confidence and makes the wedding feel possible again.

Yet Belly and Conrad continue to share charged moments. He drives her to the florist, where she changes the flowers to peonies, Susannah’s favorite. At a peach stand, Conrad wipes juice from Belly’s chin, and Belly feels the pull between them. Later, after Conrad is injured surfing, Belly tends his bleeding leg; the intimacy nearly becomes a kiss. Belly insists nothing happened, but her feelings grow harder to deny. In another flashback, Belly recalls Conrad’s childhood protectiveness and the glass unicorn he gave her, a symbol she still keeps. She also remembers a Valentine’s night when Conrad brought cocoa, Twinkies, and a blanket so they could watch the stars, a memory tied to their private idea of “infinity.”

On the night before the wedding, Conrad drives Jeremiah, Steven Conklin, Tom, and Josh to a bar. There he overhears Josh and Tom crudely discussing Jeremiah’s Cabo hookup with Lacie and revealing that Belly and Jeremiah have not slept together. Furious, Conrad tries to confront Jeremiah but finds him drunk and vomiting. Later, Belly finds Conrad alone on the beach. Conrad tells her about Cabo, only to learn she already knew. The argument turns into confession: Conrad tells Belly he still loves her, explains that he let her go after Susannah’s death because he was too angry and broken to love her properly, and begs her not to marry Jeremiah. Belly rejects him, saying Jeremiah is her best friend and that she chooses him, but afterward she breaks down, admitting privately that she loves both brothers.

The next day, Conrad first tries to dismiss his confession as drunkenness, then admits again that he still loves Belly. Belly decides that although Conrad has a hold on her, choosing him would mean losing Jeremiah and destabilizing already wounded families. Taylor confronts Conrad and warns him not to destroy Belly’s life unless he is absolutely certain. That night, Laurel comforts Conrad as he admits the situation is killing him and they grieve Susannah together.

Unable to sleep, Belly wakes Jeremiah and tells him Conrad confessed his feelings. Jeremiah reveals that he already knew about Belly’s secret Christmas meeting with Conrad and the later Cousins encounter. He says her secrecy undercut the trust she demanded from him after Cabo. Angry and shaken, he leaves to think. On the wedding morning, Jeremiah is missing. Conrad searches for him and finds him at Susannah’s shelter garden. The brothers argue brutally: Conrad admits he still loves Belly, Jeremiah punches him, and Conrad gives him a letter from Susannah that Laurel believed was meant for Jeremiah. Jeremiah reads it, then realizes it actually belongs to Conrad. He returns to the house but disowns Conrad and says Conrad is dead to him.

Before the ceremony, Conrad visits Belly, bruised and exhausted. He returns the infinity necklace he bought for her years earlier but was too afraid to give, apologizes, says loving her was worth it, and leaves instead of attending the wedding. When Jeremiah comes to Belly, he demands the truth. Belly admits she still loves Conrad but says she chooses Jeremiah. Jeremiah refuses to accept only part of her heart. He tells her Susannah’s letter said she had seen Conrad truly in love only once—with Belly—and he refuses to be Belly’s excuse for avoiding her feelings. They both realize marrying would be wrong. The rain never comes, but the wedding is called off.

Years later, Belly has lived with Anika, studied abroad in Spain, and expanded her life beyond the Fisher family. During her time in Spain, Conrad sends monthly handwritten letters; Belly does not answer at first, but the letters keep their connection alive. They reunite at Belly’s college graduation, and eventually Belly marries Conrad at twenty-three. Jeremiah attends with a date and shares a peaceful acknowledgment with them. In the rain, Belly and Conrad run barefoot to the beach and into the ocean, claiming their true beginning together: they are infinite.