Summer Fridays

National tragedy prompts the heroine of this heartrending romance from Rindell (The Two Mrs. Carlyles) to reflect on a summer spent with a man she never expected to love. In October 2001, New Yorker Sawyer reexamines her life and priorities, along with the rest of the city. What stands out most is the summer of 1999, when she was in her early 20s, just starting a career in publishing, and engaged to her college sweetheart. Then her fiancé starts spending too much time with a woman from work. The woman’s boyfriend, Nick, believes the two are having an affair and reaches out to Sawyer with his suspicions. Though Nick and Sawyer get off to a bumpy start, when Nick learns that Sawyer’s new to New York and always home alone, he pushes her to spend her summer Fridays, when both their offices let workers out at noon, having fun and exploring the city with him. As the pair develop a deep friendship, Sawyer finds herself torn between what others want for her and what she wants for herself. The frame narrative adds emotional heft to this lovely, nostalgia-tinged romance. Readers will be entranced. Agent: Liz Parker, Verve Talent & Literary. (May)