The Comeback Summer

Praise for THE BEACH TRAP “Full of beauty, and hope, and reminders that it’s never too late to roll up our sleeves and rise above the mistakes we made. I cheered, I cried, I swooned while reading about Blake and Kat, and their journeys to finding love, to finding themselves, and to becoming the sisters they were always meant to be. Take this book on vacation with you, and let its heart and humor sweep you off your feet!” —Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis “A unique and fun twist on the enemies-to-lovers trope, The Beach Trap features two half sisters who hate each other, but are thrown together one fateful summer to save their family’s beach house. It’s The Parent Trap meets Flip or Flop (with not one, but two hot handymen). In other words—the ultimate vacation read.” —Colleen Oakley, USA Today bestselling author of The Invisible Husband of Frick Island “The Beach Trap is both a celebration of sisterhood and an unflinching examination of how where we come from shapes who we become. . . . With an HGTV-worthy plot, heaps of family drama, and a side of romance, The Beach Trap hits the nail on the head when it comes to the perfect summer read. Don’t forget to pack this one in your beach bag!” —Sarah Grunder Ruiz, author of Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships “From the deft manner in which the authors shift the narrative between their two protagonists to the dual romances that unfold with just the right dash of snarky wit and sexy sizzle, readers will find The Beach Trap to be an absolute delight.” —Booklist “A juicy beach read!” —Motherly “Ali Brady . . . hit the ball out of the park with their debut—the story is just so well-done. The writing is vivid, and I felt like I was transported to the beach or living in the beach house. The Beach Trap is a sweet and uplifting story that had me cheering for Kat and Blake to resolve their differences and come to terms with their family’s sordid past. It will be the perfect book to take to the pool or the beach this summer.” —The Buzz Magazines “If you’re a fool for HGTV and sibling rivalry novels, toss The Beach Trap into your bag.” —The Augusta Chronicle BERKLEY TITLES BY ALI BRADY The Beach Trap The Comeback Summer BERKLEY An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC penguinrandomhouse.com Copyright © 2023 by Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey Readers Guide copyright © 2023 by Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey Excerpt from Camp People by Ali Brady copyright © 2023 by Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader. BERKLEY and the BERKLEY & B colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Brady, Ali, author. Title: The comeback summer / Ali Brady. Description: First Edition. | New York: Berkley, 2023. Identifiers: LCCN 2022054124 (print) | LCCN 2022054125 (ebook) | ISBN 9780593440179 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780593440186 (ebook) Classification: LCC PS3602.R342875 C66 2023 (print) | LCC PS3602.R342875 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022054124 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022054125 First Edition: May 2023 Cover design by Sarah Oberrender Cover illustration by Michael Crampton Book design by Ashley Tucker, adapted for ebook by Kelly Brennan This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. pid_prh_6.0_143430453_c0_r0 To our sisters, Elizabeth and Ellie We can choose courage, or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time. —BRENÉ BROWN One LIBBY I was two years old when my sister, Hannah, was born, so in theory I shouldn’t remember that day, but I do. Or maybe I’ve just been told the story so many times that it’s cemented itself in my memory. Whatever the reason, I can still see it clearly in my mind: Walking down the long hall at the hospital, my black patent-leather Mary Janes clicking on the linoleum and my sweaty hand holding tightly to my grandmother’s. GiGi led me into the room, where my mom sat on the bed holding a little bundle in her arms. My dad stood next to her, a proud smile on his face as he gazed at his new daughter. And it hit me: this small person had just replaced me. But then GiGi helped me hold the baby, and something swelled inside me, warm and bright, as I stared down at her little red face and big brown eyes. My dad said, What do you think of your new sister? And I smiled and said, I’m gonna take such good care of her. Not that I’ve been doing such a good job of it lately. In fact, I’ve been struggling to manage all my responsibilities. Take this morning: not only did I sleep through both of my alarms and wake up to find a present on the floor from Mr. Darcy, my cat, but thanks to the lead foot of the 146 bus driver, there’s a coffee stain the size of Lake Michigan on my shirt. Not a good look for the dreaded “we need to talk” video call that I’m supposed to be leading in less than fifteen minutes with Mr. Rooney, CEO of a multimillion-dollar underwear company and one of our last remaining clients. I wonder what GiGi would do—not that she’d ever be so clumsy as to spill. Although, knowing