The Story of Us

Jamie Vaughn owns and operates True Love Bookstore and Cafe in the historic business district of Waterford, Oregon. She has wanted to own this establishment since she was a child; it was the place that made her love books and reading. The store seems to be a magnet for true love as it is where many couples meet and fall in love, although Jamie's childhood friend Rick, an executive chef, is having trouble telling Jamie's friend and employee Lucy that he's loved her ever since she moved to town and started working in the cafe two years ago; he was dating someone else at the time but knew they had a spark upon meeting, and they have become friends. The district itself isn't doing as well; many businesses have pulled up stakes in the last few months, and city council is contemplating a modern redevelopment which not only means that it will lose its small-town and historic charm, but also that most of the existing business owners won't survive the redevelopment. With this news arrives Sawyer O'Dell, Jamie's high-school sweetheart; they met in the bookstore as preteens and professed their mutual love, but broke up after high-school graduation and he moved away for college and has never returned until now. He focused on work as a freelance architect that required him to travel. Jamie doesn't realize that he's back in town because he is the architect the Portland-based property-development firm Ridley hired for the redevelopment; they hired him partly because he used to live in Waterford and knows the town and its citizens. A permanent job with the firm is on the line for him pending the affirmative vote by city council for the redevelopment. Jamie will do whatever it takes to fight the redevelopment. She finds a keepsake box by the store's previous owner, Harris Ogilvie, that he's labeled "Story of Us" which may provide her with the ammunition to block the redevelopment. While both Jamie and Sawyer can admit to themselves that there are still romantic sparks between them, their reunion might not survive the professional battle. Especially when Jamie's last serious boyfriend, Matt Van Horne, returns; she had considered going with him when he left for a job in Austin, Texas.