Chemical Reaction. Nerds of Paradise, #6

She's finally ready to stop being the third wheel. Too bad her past just came back to town. Calliope Clutterbuck has always been the heart of every room she walks into-funny, social, and the first person her friends call when life gets messy. But lately, life has started to feel like one long reminder that everyone else is moving forward. and she's stuck watching from the sidelines. Then Kathy Standish returns to Haskell.
The same girl who stole her best friend's boyfriend in eighth grade is suddenly back in Calliope's orbit-and stirring up memories she thought she'd outgrown. The last thing Calliope needs is more complication. Enter Jonathan Cross. Brilliant, steady, and effortlessly charming, Jonathan has been quietly falling for Calliope since the day he arrived in Haskell to work for Paradise Space Flight. As Howie's trusted event coordinator and problem-solver, he's built a life around structure and control-but Calliope has always been the one variable he can't calculate.
When Jonathan is assigned to lead a high-stakes town renovation project, he knows exactly who he wants by his side: Calliope. What he doesn't expect is for Kathy to be part of the same project-or for old wounds to crack open just as something new and fragile begins to bloom between him and Calliope. As professional pressure mounts and personal history collides with present-day desire, Calliope and Jonathan find themselves pulled into a whirlwind of rivalry, jealousy, and undeniable chemistry.
But when insecurity and the past threaten to derail everything, they'll have to decide if love is worth risking heartbreak. or if some chemical reactions are better left unfinished. Filled with heart, humor, small-town chaos, and sizzling slow-burn chemistry, Chemical Reaction is a friends-to-lovers romance about finding your person, facing your past, and discovering that love doesn't always follow the rules.