Meet Me at the Lake (2023) is a modern romance novel by Carley Fortune. It is Fortune’s second book after her New York Times bestselling debut, Every Summer After (2022). Meet Me at the Lake quickly topped The New York Times bestseller list, duplicating the success of Every Summer After. Meet Me at the Lake follows the love story of Fern Brookbanks, a 32-year-old woman who inherits her family lake resort after her mother’s sudden death, and Will Baxter, whom Fern first fell in love with 10 years prior. This novel explores The Gap Between Plans and Reality, Grief and Sentimentality, and Making the Most of Second Chances.

This study guide follows the paperback, May 2023 Berkeley Romance first edition of the book.

Plot Summary

Fern Brookbanks, 32, finds herself in charge of her family’s lake resort after her mother’s sudden death. Fern chose long ago to not be a part of the family business, but her plans change with her mother’s passing. She is unsure whether she wants to keep the resort, and experiences grief related to her complicated relationship with her mother. While staffing the front desk, Fern encounters 32-year-old Will Baxter, dressed in an expensive suit. It takes her a moment, but she realizes that it’s the same Will Baxter she fell in love with a decade earlier and has constantly thought about over the years.

When Fern and Will were 22, they met while Will painted a mural in the coffee shop where Fern worked. Fern was fresh out of college and preparing to move home from Toronto to the lake resort to begin working with her mother. Fern didn’t want this life, but she resigned herself to it, feeling it’s expected of her. Fern and Will spend a whirlwind day together that changed the course of Fern’s life. They’d planned to meet again one year later on the docks of Brookbanks Resort, but Will never showed.

Will shows up 10 years later because he made an agreement with Fern’s mother: his services as a business consultant for a free stay at the resort. Fern is shocked at how much Will has changed from the artsy 22-year-old she knew. Will’s presence brings back intense emotions for Fern, which she must learn to manage if they’re going to work together. Fern confronts Will about his abandonment, but he only offers vague explanations. Will convinces Fern to trust him as a businessperson, and they agree to make two plans: one for if Fern keeps the resort and one for if Fern sells. Fern isn’t sure what she wants to do. The resort brings back bad memories of her destructive teenage years, but her emotional attachment makes her uncomfortable with selling.

Will and Fern work side by side. They begin making up for lost time, fulfilling some of their broken plans from the day Will didn’t show. They take a canoe on the lake to discuss the resort’s future. It rains, and Will and Fern return to shore, taking shelter in the storage shed. They almost kiss, but Fern pulls away, scared that Will doesn’t know her anymore. Will delivers an album Fern mentioned wanting to own on their first day together to show that he remembers who she is.

Will invites Fern to his cabin for dinner and cooks for her. He tells her that he got his job when taking on responsibility for his sister and her daughter, and that he wants to provide for them. His life changed a lot after he met Fern, and his mental health was impacted. They discuss Fern’s future, and Will points out how much he feels Fern loves the resort. He thinks she wants to keep it but won’t admit it. Fern becomes upset and feels that Will is overstepping. She leaves angrily but returns hours later to apologize. She tells Will she wants him, and they have sex for the first time. Fern and Will begin to see each other more regularly, becoming involved romantically and sexually.

Fern confronts her grief by reading her mother’s old diaries, which she last read as a teen. The diaries contained information about Fern’s biological dad that made her rebel. She decides to peruse them again to feel closer to her mother. Fern also spends time visiting her family dock, where she and her mother used to sit together. Fern realizes she wants to keep the resort. Her friends and Will help her celebrate the decision.

Will decides to stay two extra weeks, putting him there for the end-of-summer dance. Fern decides she’ll confess her feelings to Will at the dance. She’s not sure what will happen when he returns home to Toronto, but she wants him to let her into his life. Will has been secretive about his family back home, and Fern feels he isn’t giving all of himself to her. She fears he’s going to abandon her again.

In the past, Will stayed the night at her apartment during a blackout. He sketched her as she posed on the bed, and Fern explained her fears about moving home to run the resort. Fern confessed that she almost died due to her destructive teen years. Her mother saved her life, and she felt she owed it to her mother to follow her plans. Will helped Fern realize it’s her own life to do what she wants with, and she shouldn’t squander her second chance. He helps her make a one-year plan. Fern helps him do the same.

In the present, Fern and Will are the opposites of who they wanted to be in their one-year plans.

Fern finishes reading her mother’s diaries the night before the dance, while Will sleeps next to her. She cries about her love for her mother and Will wakes to comfort her. The next morning, she wakes up and Will is gone with no notes or texts. She cannot get in touch with him. Fern attends the dance alone, hoping he’ll show. Being surrounded by people at the resort makes Fern feel at home, but she knows something is wrong without Will. Fern learns Will checked out and arranged to send for his things.

She calls him until he answers. His niece is in the hospital. He says their relationship was a mistake. Fern confesses her love, but he doesn’t verbalize his own. Furious, Fern decides to burn Will’s things but discovers a sketch of herself from the day Will didn’t show up for their one-year reunion. She feels betrayed, realizing he was there all along.

Will’s sister contacts Fern. Will’s niece is recovering. With the help of Will’s sister, Fern confronts Will, who explains that he feels selfish when he indulges in things that make him happy because of his mom’s abandonment. He also has an anxiety disorder, which he takes medication for. He explains that he was too scared to face Fern nine years ago because he was already a changed person after his niece’s birth. Fern and Will agree to build a life together and not keep things from one another. Will eventually moves to the lake to be with Fern, and he proposes to her. In the Epilogue, Fern begins a diary for her own daughter to read.