Giving Me Butterflies by Katy Michele

Drew, a young teacher, lives alone in her apartment outside Milwaukee. In her free time, she likes to read and resist the nagging urge to text her ex-boyfriend who she just can’t seem to shake.

She focuses most of her time on her students as she continues to find her groove during her second year of teaching. And, she finally feels like she’s finding her way when someone uninvited turns her “happy place” into a reminder of the worst day of her life.

Drew lives above Emmett, an older, newly-single bartender. After his bad breakup, Emmett’s patience is low, and he’s quick to anger, making him a hard neighbor to please. Emmett finds every possible excuse to let Drew know when she’s bothering him, secretly liking the way their interactions fluster her.

After a few months of trying to break through Emmett, Drew finally decides to give up, coming to the conclusion that he doesn’t like her and never will. That is until Emmett comes across Drew in a time of need and shows her a side to him she never thought was there.

Their relationship goes from neighbors to something more, their intense and passionate love blooming from an unspeakable tragedy and the shared understanding of what it means to recover in the aftermath of everything you thought you knew being ripped away.