A barista's three-year secret. An illustrator who never saw it. One Valentine's Festival to change everything.

Maisy Quinn has spent three years at Morningside Coffee, working on her children's book illustrations, surviving 39 terrible first dates, and drinking perfectly crafted lattes topped with intricate foam art. What she hasn't done? Noticed that her barista—Owen Shepard—has been drawing her love letters every morning.

Owen has been in love with Maisy since the day she walked into his shop with paint in her hair and a sketchbook under her arm. For three years, he's memorized her order, saved her table, and poured his heart into tiny foam foxes and rain clouds and carefully drawn hearts. But Maisy photographs the art, drinks the coffee, and never reads the message underneath.

Now Owen is leaving. He's signed a lease for a new coffee shop in Burlington, and in two weeks, he'll be gone. When the town's Valentine's Festival needs emergency co-chairs, Maisy and Owen are thrown together for one last project—rebuilding vendor booths, stringing lights in the gazebo, and trying not to notice how good they are at working side by side.

But somewhere between the festival planning and Owen's impending departure, Maisy finally sees what's been in front of her all along. The man she's been searching for through 39 failed dates has been behind the counter the entire time, drawing pictures in her coffee and loving her quietly, generously, without asking for anything in return.

With Owen's departure date closing in and her heart finally catching up to what everyone in town already knew, Maisy has one chance to tell him the truth—through the only language that's ever mattered to them both: pictures. Eight watercolor paintings. One trail through the Valentine's Festival. And the bravest confession she's ever made.

Perfect for readers who love the cozy small-town charm of Hallmark movies, the friends-to-lovers pining of Emily Henry, and the sweet coffee shop romance vibes of Christina Lauren's books. Fall in love with this heartwarming small-town romance—click now to discover why three years of latte art was really a love story in the making.

🔥 Heat Level: Closed Door / Sweet
💭 Tone: Light, Funny, Emotional
📚 Series: Complete Standalone
💕 Ending: Happily Ever After (HEA)
👁️ POV: Third Person, Dual POV
⚠️ Content: Clean romance, no explicit content, small-town Vermont setting, Valentine's Day timeline