**He didn't do small talk. She didn't do trust. They didn't stand a chance.**Jasmine Lowe thought she knew what success looked like. Three years of late nights and sacrificed weekends, all building toward a promotion that was finally within reach—until her trusted colleague stole her work and her career crumbled overnight. Desperate for escape, she books a remote cabin in Marten Creek, Montana. No cell service. No plan. Just a week to fall apart in peace. She didn't count on Alex. Her gruff landlord is an ex-military furniture maker who speaks in short sentences and keeps the world at arm's length. He chops her firewood, rescues her from a frozen woodstove, and looks at her like he's seeing something she forgot existed. When a blizzard strands them together, the walls they've both built start to crack. But Jasmine's week is almost up. Her old life is calling—with an unexpected second chance at everything she thought she wanted. Now she has to go back to the woman she was, or stay and become someone new. Tropes (w/ Spoilers) Grumpy/Sunshine (he's gruff, she brings out his warmth)Forced Proximity (cabin rental, then snowed in together)Hurt/Comfort (both healing from their pasts)Found Family (the town embraces her)City Girl/Mountain ManSlow BurnOnly One Bed Adjacent (she stays at his house during the storm)He Falls First (quietly, reluctantly)Competence Kink (him with the woodstove, the furniture, the survival skills)Healing Through Art/Craft (both of them)Small Town Romance****Second Chance at Life (not second chance romance, but reinventing herself)The Dog Knows (Knox sees everything)Grand Gesture (she turns the car around)