She’s hiding from scandal. He’s hiding from her. And this small town isn’t big enough for both of their secrets.

Benny Rhodes is perfectly happy with his quiet, small-town life in Bodega Bay. No paparazzi, no screaming fans—just his music, his surfboard, and his well-earned reputation as the guy who always brings the best muffins to town meetings. Most importantly, no one here cares that he used to be a teenage heartthrob. And no one knows that he’s secretly been ghostwriting hit songs for his ex, pop sensation Bree Belacourt.

Bree has built a career out of catchy, uplifting womens’ empowerment anthems, but her latest song—a scathing diss track—might be too good. Now, thanks to her label’s relentless marketing team, it’s set to drop any day, and when it does? The internet is going to explode. Desperate to dodge the fallout, she ditches New York for a sleepy beach town—only to accidentally break into the wrong house and come face-to-face with the guy who disappeared from her life without a goodbye.

When Bree needs to write a new song to fix the mess she made, she joins forces with the only person who’s ever really understood her, completely unaware that she’s been singing his words for years. It’s just like old times again, but the longer she stays, the harder it is for Benny to keep his secret, and the harder it is for Bree to ignore the fact that everything she sings still sounds like him.He needs her out of the house next door before she unravels his entire life. Because neither of them can bear to let history repeat itself.

First in The Belacourts, The Ex-Best Thing is a second-chance closed door romantic comedy set in a small town on the Northern California coast.