Barefoot is a fictional romance novel written by American writer Elin Hilderbrand, originally published in 2007. It tells the story of four peculiar individuals—Vicki, Brenda, Melanie and Josh, who meet by accident and quickly and unexpectedly become a part of each other's lives.

One of the three women is 31-year-old Melanie Patchen, who has been trying to get pregnant for a long time and has undergone several fertility treatments; after 7 failed in vitro attempts, she finally succeeds in becoming pregnant, but she finds out that her husband Peter is cheating on her with his coworker. She decides to leave him and doesn't tell him that she's going to have a baby. She joins her new friend Vicki and Vicki's sister Brenda on their vacation in Nantucket, where she meets Josh Flynn—a local college student and aspiring author, who soon becomes her new love interest.

Despite their obvious and deep attraction to one another, Melanie and Josh do not become a couple in the end. Instead, she gets back together with her husband, tries to work on their marriage, and gives birth to a beautiful baby girl whom she loves and adores. Sometimes, when she thinks about life and when she needs a dose of instant happiness, she remembers Josh and his irresistible charm and charisma and even admits that she misses him.