A Booklist Top 10 Romance Novel of 2026

A botched promotion, an awkward reunion, and a fake-dating scheme they never planned to fall for.

Kenya Stewart is so close to getting her dream position at an event agency. When a scheduling blunder risks her promotion, she hopes an upcoming pitch will allow her a second chance. Then an accident at her cousin's wedding sends her to the emergency room in the care of another wedding guest, Solomon Anruchi, the handsome doctor who ghosted her after their first date.

Solomon's parents are eager for him to find a business-savvy wife and make the move to New York to take over a recent acquisition by their family's company. But he needs to buy more time to finish his residency and convince them that staying in Hope Springs is the best path for him. He realizes that Kenya is the perfect person to help, and she needs his connections to land a high-profile client and save her career. Their solution? A fake-dating relationship.

As attractions increase amid their ruse, secrets they've kept from each other and the weight of others' expectations begin to unravel their scheme. Will their carefully constructed plans crumble when the truth comes out?

This charming Southern contemporary Christian romance features humorous banter, second chances, faking dating, and neurodiverse characters in small-town Alabama for fans of Toni Shiloh, Pepper Basham, and Courtney Walsh.