He builds walls to keep the world out. She breaks them down to let the light in. Julian Vance lives his life by the ruler: precise, predictable, and entirely under control. As one of Seattle’s premier restoration architects, his passion is taking broken, historic structures and bringing them back to structural perfection. People, on the other hand, are far too unpredictable. Aria Thorne — a wildly creative landscape designer who views nature not as something to be tamed, but as an unruly force of beauty. When both are hired to lead the multi-million-dollar restoration of St. Jude’s Estate, their philosophies clash immediately. He wants order and strict historical preservation; she wants organic chaotic gardens and living walls. Forced to work side-by-side in the crumbling halls of the historic manor, the friction between them ignites a heat neither can ignore. But as long-buried secrets of the estate surface — along with the emotional scars both have spent years hiding — Julian and Aria must decide if they are building something meant to last, or if their fragile connection will crumble under pressure.