Kate Hopper can list a million reasons why she doesn’t have kids. No, more like reasons why she shouldn’t have genetics, a dysfunctional family, and ultimately, the fear that she wasn’t cut out to be June Cleaver or Carol Brady or Claire Huxtable. TV moms always made it look so easy, but Kate knows better. When Kate’s little sister, Joely, refuses a medical treatment because it will leave her infertile, Kate is willing to say anything to save her sister’s life—even promising to have a baby. Kate decides to keep her rash words a secret from her husband until she can figure out whether she really wants to be a mother. Especially since they agreed their marriage would remain childless. A sister’s promise and a wife’s Kate must break one. Should she risk everything she has for the unknown?

Joely Shupe had a vision of what her thirties would look like: she’d be the mother of two, finger painting with her kids during the day and cooking dinner for her loving husband at night. Instead she’s a single mother struggling to provide for her only child. To make matters worse, her ex-fiancé, Jake, shows up—unemployed and reeling from a personal tragedy. He claims he’s ready to parent the daughter he abandoned five years ago. Joely is more interested in Dalton, a devoted father to his own son, who offers to take care of her the way no man ever has. Should Joely risk her daughter bonding with someone new or with the man who broke her heart? Meanwhile, Joely’s sister, Kate, has the husband and the home, but no baby. After several failed attempts at fertility treatments, Kate’s husband is ready to give up. Kate believes his solution to their problems will tear them apart. For Joely and Kate, one thing is for sure: this is not the life they expected. Is it time to adjust their idea of what happiness looks like? BONUS: Book club discussion questions are included at the end.

Interior decorator Val Taylor loves three her fiancé, her seven-year-old-son and houses with character. Soon after she marries Nathan, a man who hopes to be as good a father as he is husband, he falls down a flight of stairs. As Nathan recovers physically, it becomes apparent that he is no longer the same man. On impulse, he brings home a puppy even though their landlord doesn't allow pets. Then he buys a 1920's fixer-upper they cannot afford. Together they try to repair their once grand home as they struggle to rebuild their relationship. When Val’s husband changes into someone completely different, how long should she wait for her true love to return? What if he never does?