Savvy, determined Ivy Marshall discovers that her husband has cheated on her on the very same day her sister's perfect boyfriend proposes on national television. Can she hold it together while she plans the wedding?

When Ivy's mother asks her to return to her family's beach home to plan her sister's upcoming wedding, she decides to use the excuse to escape from the pain of her broken heart.

When her return to Sunset Beach, North Carolina, she begins to question her choice to marry her husband Elliot, rather than her childhood sweetheart (and jilted ex-fiancé) Michael. However, when Ivy refuses to talk to her estranged husband, he resorts to tweeting to her, expressing his remorse and making it clear he doesn't want to give up on their marriage. Her friends seem to be on Elliot's side, pressuring her to forgive him and move on. But how can she?

As she helps prepare the wishing tree for her sister's wedding, she must examine her dreams for her own future and what true love should be.

• Poignant contemporary women's fiction
• Part of the Sunset Beach series, but can be read on its own
  • Book 1: The Mailbox
  • Book 2: The Guest Book
  • Book 3: The Wishing Tree
  • Book 4: The Bridge Tender
• Includes discussion questions for book clubs

Whalen, Marybeth

Marybeth Mayhew Whalen is the author of This Secret Thing, as well as Only Ever Her, When We Were Worthy, The Things We Wish Were True and five previous novels, which have sold over half a million copies. Marybeth received a BA degree in English with a concentration in writing and editing from North Carolina State University a long time ago and has been writing ever since. Marybeth and her husband, Curt, are the parents of six children, ranging in age from young adult to teen. A native of Charlotte, NC, Marybeth now calls Sunset Beach, NC, home. You can find out more about her, read her regular posts on Substack, or even find a link to the commercial she starred in at the age of five, at linktr.ee/Marybethwhalen.