Kit Forrest is officially the saddest man in Cedar Falls. A year after his boyfriend turned down his proposal and left town, Kit's beloved bookstore is falling down around him. The old brick firehouse has overstuffed shelves, a resident orange cat with an attitude problem... and repairs Kit can't begin to afford.
Sage Ballard is a hometown boy who got famous, then became a tabloid disaster, and now urgently needs a nice, ordinary boyfriend to convince one very rich investor he's a changed man. Three months of fake dating, and Sawyer's Books will get the cash injection it needs to survive. And it's not like he has to actually be nice to the guy, right?
Kit thinks Sage is a rude, sunglasses-indoors diva. Sage thinks Kit is an earnest nerd who talks too much. But then something shifts. Sage starts turning up at the bookstore for no particular reason. Kit starts saving him the good armchair. And the cat--who bites everyone--won't leave Sage alone.
By the time the first snow falls, pretending has begun to feel a bit too real. Which would be wonderful, if the whole thing weren't built on lies. You know what they say about small towns and secrets...
Perfect for fans of KJ Charles, Alexis Hall and Zarah Detand, you can expect:
- Fake dating
- Celebrity x ordinary guy
- Grumpy x sunshine
- Small-town romance
- Forced proximity / only one bed
- Cozy bookstore setting
- Slow burn romance
- Autumn vibes