Pretending with my Best Friend: A Later-in-Life Best Friends To Lovers Clean Romance

Sometimes the sweetest love stories start with a little white lie...

Alina Brooks has always been content with her quiet life managing Timeless Reads, the charming vintage bookshop nestled in the heart of Willow Ridge. She has her books, her cat, and her standing coffee dates with Luke Carter—town heartthrob, skilled contractor, and her best friend since forever. Their friendship is the one constant she can count on, even if sometimes she catches herself wondering what his strong hands would feel like intertwined with hers.

But when Alina's glamorous cousin announces she's opening a competing modern bookstore across town, old insecurities come rushing back. Suddenly Alina's cozy shop feels hopelessly outdated, and her single status becomes another target for her cousin's pitying glances.

Meanwhile, Luke is facing his own his ex-girlfriend is returning to town for the annual Maple Harvest Festival, determined to rekindle their relationship.

In a moment of desperation (and perhaps a touch of madness), they strike a for the duration of the festival, they'll pretend to be madly in love. It's the perfect solution—Alina gets to impress her smug cousin, and Luke gets a shield against his persistent ex.

What could possibly go wrong?

As they navigate pie-baking contests, maple syrup tastings, and slow dances beneath twinkling lights, their pretend romance starts feeling anything but fake. The lines blur with every lingering glance and casual touch, threatening the friendship they both cherish.

Now they face the ultimate confess their true feelings and potentially lose everything, or return to being "just friends" and wonder forever what might have been.

What to

Friends to LoversFake relationshipSlow burn romanceOver 40 CharactersSmall Town Setting In Willow Ridge, where everyone knows everyone's business, the sweetest secret might be the one you've been keeping from yourself all along...