The Art We Made: Feeling Lucky In Madison River

Margot Green
I needed a fresh start.
Freshly single and a little lost, I packed up everything I owned and moved to Madison River, Michigan—a cozy tourist town where my best friend lives and my love for art might actually stand a chance at coming back to life.
No distractions. No detours. Just me, some paint, and figuring out what comes next.

Enter Brooks Luck. My best friend’s older, brooding brother who is so not part of the plan.
He’s quiet. Grumpy. Blue-eyed and maddeningly helpful. And when he all but dares me to move into the loft above his garage, I do it.
When he starts showing up for me—without expecting anything in return—I ask him for one more thing.

Lessons. About sex.
One summer. Just neighbors with benefits.

But Brooks doesn’t treat me like a temporary thing. And even though I keep saying I’m not ready, every lesson pulls me closer.
Closer to trust. Closer to hope. Closer to him.

It was only supposed to be lessons.
It was only supposed to be summer.
But somewhere between the brushstrokes and the kisses, I started to believe in something again.
Maybe even love.

Brooks Luck
I met her once.
A sad, twenty-one-year-old who hid behind a careful smile and eyes that had already seen too much. I never forgot Margot Green.

So when she shows up five years later—newly single, freshly heartbroken, and trying to rebuild—I notice.
Of course I notice. And as Madison River’s newest resident, I can’t help but offer up the loft above my garage.
It’s just being neighborly, right?

She says she’s not ready. Says it’s just lessons—about pleasure and intimacy. Nothing more.

But from the first taste, I know I’m in trouble.
Because Margot Green is trouble.
The kind you never want to recover from.

She didn’t need to be ready.
I’d wait.
Not just for the summer.
For as long as it takes.
Forever.


Forced proximity (loft living), “Teach me” lessons, Sister's best friend, Best friend’s older brother, Grumpy x sunshine, Found family, Small-town summer romance, Neighbors with benefits, Hidden feelings, Slow burn to steamy, Emotional healing through love and art, Only supposed to be temporary, He falls first (and hard)

The Art We Made is a 62,000-word romance novel set in the cozy, fictional town of Madison River in northern Michigan. It follows Brooks Luck, a broody, quiet contractor, and Margot Green, a freshly single artist turned teacher trying to find her footing again.

Their story is one of rediscovering passion, rebuilding trust, and learning that sometimes love shows up when you least expect it—and refuses to let go.

Equal parts steam and sweetness, The Art We Made is the first book in the Feeling Lucky in Madison River series and introduces readers to the heart, heat, and found-family chaos that define this small-town romance world.

Content Notes (18+):
Past emotional manipulation / toxic ex (off-page), Parental neglect / strained family dynamics (lightly referenced), Grief over lost passion / creative burnout, Sexually explicit scenes with consensual power dynamics, Mild alcohol use