It features recipes as shared by the characters in each of the stories, with a small introduction for each on how they fit in. Not only do I want to spend time in the kitchen trying out the recipes, but I want to read the stories as well. Recipes like Scottish Shortbread, Almond Chews, Rocky Road Treats.
In Following His Heart by Donna Fasano, Sara Carson has a busy life with her business, her two best friends and her ill mother. But things are about to change for her and get a little crazy, beginning with a broken pipe thanks to a cookie sheet that hit it just wrong, causing chaos in her kitchen, and almost destroying her cookies. So she calls one of her best friends to shut down the water, only she is busy cooking for the people at her restaurant and can’t shut it down since it would mean she can’t make coffee.
Landon Richards is in Ocean City because of a feeling that he needs to be close to the ocean. After his surgery strange things happened to him, things that no one in his family understood. But after they sold the ranch and he no longer had ties to home, he decided to go on a road trip and follow his feelings, which is how he finds himself in Ocean City where he meets three very close friends with some maintenance troubles that he feels he can help with. Starting with Sara, the woman he cannot get out of his head after first seeing her soaking wet after saving her cookies. Read More...
I enjoy Donna Fasano's writing. Her books draw you in with raw human emotion. The story can have you laughing one minute and crying the 
When it comes to business, Aaron Chase knows how to succeed. But when his daughter, Izzie, asks him for the perfect family Christmas, the handsome widower feels at a loss about how to make his little girl's dream come true.
Pediatric Nurse Christy Cooper has dedicated her life to taking care of children. She agrees to act as Izzie's stand-in mom for this special holiday and throws herself into making the child's Christmas wish a reality. Maybe this selfless act will somehow alleviate her secret regrets and failures of the past.
The holiday is filled with fun and laughter, and it's amazing how three short days can be so life-changing. When the impish eight-year-old talks the adults into acting out a silly, make-believe wedding, young Izzie is certain the magic of the season will turn the pretend vows into the real thing. The little girl wants her daddy to have Christmas in his life--every single day.
These couples don't go all the way...they just pretend to be dating. A matchmaking mother, a date for a wedding, an undercover assignment, a jerk ex to make jealous are all good reasons to have a fake boyfriend or girlfriend.
Enjoy these romances with the Pretending Dating theme that turns into real love.
1. A Lot Like Love by Julie James
As the daughter of a billionaire and the owner of the city’s top wine store, Jordan Rhodes is invited to the most exclusive parties in Chicago. But there’s only one party the FBI wants to crash: the charity fund-raiser of a famous restaurateur, who also happens to launder money for the mob. In exchange for her brother’s release from prison, Jordan is going to be there—with a date supplied by the Bureau.
As the top undercover agent in Chicago, Nick McCall has one rule: never get personal. This “date” with Jordan Rhodes is merely an assignment—one they’re both determined to pull off even if they can’t be together for five minutes before the sarcasm and sparks begin to fly. But when Nick’s investigation is compromised, he and Jordan have no choice but to pretend they’re a couple, and what starts out as a simple assignment begins to feel a lot like something more…
2. Four Weddings and a Break Up by Elyssa Patrick
Ginny Michaels has always been a good girl and--ever since surviving a school shooting a little over a year ago--hailed a hero. Except she doesn't feel like a hero. She can't even have a one-night stand with sexy Wes Dalton properly. When her big city fling resurfaces in her hometown with an intriguing proposition, she's powerless to resist. A fake relationship is exactly what's needed to keep her small town's matchmakers at bay during the upcoming wedding season. If only her attraction to Wes were as easy to ignore.
Wes Dalton doesn't have many regrets, and that includes his night with Ginny. But he's always hoped to strengthen his relationship with his estranged family. When his father's health takes a bad turn, Wes puts his life on hold and moves to the meddling seaside town of Cape Hope. With his barriers in place--and a beautiful woman to help him hold them up--he's prepared for anything. Or so he thinks. Despite his determination to leave as soon as the summer is over, those fake kisses are starting to feel an awful lot like the real thing.
3. Play (Stage Dive Series Book 2) by Kylie Scott
Mal Ericson, drummer for the world famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast—at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn’t plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn’t count on finding the one right girl.
Anne Rollins never thought she’d ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls—especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn’t end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?
4. Plain Jane in the Spotlight by Lucy Gordon
Travis Falcon, TV heartthrob, has given the press one too many salacious headlines and his management team wants him to clean up his reputation… So when plain-Jane Charlene Wilkins ends up on set, she's perfect "fake girlfriend" material!
Charlene suddenly finds herself on the arm of the star himself. She may not be a professional actress, but she's proving very adept at hiding the truth behind her visit to L.A.… And, with her feelings for Travis becoming all too real, her life is about to get complicated!
5. Let Me Be The One by Bella Andre
When Vicki Bennett saved Ryan Sullivan’s life as a teenager, it was the beginning of a close friendship that never wavered despite her failed marriage to someone else and Ryan’s well-earned reputation as a ladies man. So when she suddenly needs a pretend boyfriend to protect herself and her career from a powerful man’s advances, he is the only person she can imagine asking.
Ryan will do anything to protect Vicki from harm, but when their “fake” kisses and caresses lead to an incredibly sensual night that neither of them can resist, will he have made the biggest mistake of all by irreparably jeopardizing their friendship? Or is it possible that what they’ve both been looking for has been right there the whole time…and the perfect combination of wicked and sweet, friendship and love, is finally within reach?
6. The Rebound Guy by Farrah Rochon
Leave that to Dexter Bryant. The self-declared relationship advisor specializes in “counseling” women who have just ended long-term relationships. He wines them. He dines them. He treats them like queens, all with the purpose of rebuilding their self-confidence. Most importantly, he excels in the fine art of making ex-boyfriends jealous. But Dexter is trying to shake off the stud-for-hire persona in hopes of turning his service into a legitimate consulting business.
However, a stud-for-hire is exactly what Asia Carpenter is looking for. The career-minded PR Crisis Manager is completely blindsided when her ideal man dumps her for another woman, leaving her with a broken heart...and the bill for her engagement ring. Humiliated and dreading the looks of pity from her friends and co-workers, Asia hires Dexter as her pretend love interest, to show her ex-fiancé that she can land a sexy man—and keep him. What Asia doesn’t anticipate is how quickly their pretend love turns into the real thing.
7. Temporarily Yours (A Shillings Agency Novel) by Diane Alberts
Stats whiz Kayla Moriarity knows her way around numbers and algorithms. Men, on the other hand, are unsolvable equations. Now Kayla's en route to her sister's wedding--without the fictional boyfriend she invented for her family. Fortunately, her plane comes complete with complimentary cocktails and a ridiculously hot ex-marine in the seat beside her. And that's all it takes for Kayla's inhibitions to go sailing out the airlock...
Cooper Shillings has soft spot for people in trouble, but he certainly wasn't expecting to land in it himself--and definitely not while getting naughty mid-air with a sexy southern belle. When he hears Kayla's predicament, however, he offers his services as a stand-in boyfriend. After all, he's heading overseas soon...and how could he refuse a little no-strings wickedness?
It's the perfect plan. And all Kayla has to do is ensure her family falls for the ultimate bluff, without falling for it--and Cooper--in the process...
8. Faking It (Losing It) by Cora Carmack
Mackenzie "Max" Miller has a problem. Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. Even worse, they’re expecting to meet a nice wholesome boyfriend, not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, but then she meets Cade.
Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. So far though, he’s kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. But when Cade plays the role a little too well, they’re forced to keep the ruse going. And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel.
9. Always on My Mind (Lucky Harbor Book 8) by Jill Shalvis
After dropping out of pastry school and messing up her big break on a reality cooking show, Leah Sullivan needs to accomplish something in her life. But when she returns home to Lucky Harbor, she finds herself distracted by her best friend, Jack Harper. In an effort to cheer up Jack's ailing mother, Dee, Leah tells a little fib - that she and Jack are more than just friends. Soon pretending to be hot-and-heavy with this hunky firefighter feels too real to handle . . .
No-strings attachments suit Jack just fine - perfect for keeping the risk of heartbreak away. But as Jack and Leah break every one of their "just friends" rules, he longs to turn their pretend relationship into something permanent. Do best friends know too much about each other to risk falling in love? Or will Jack and Leah discover something new about each other in a little town called Lucky Harbor?
10. Her Fake Romance by Donna Fasano
Her teenage daughter's words are daunting. True, struggling single mom Julia Jones hasn't had a date in over a decade, but she could still catch a man--if she needed to! So Julia, who claims not to want a husband, finds herself entangled in a fake romance.
Ryan Shane is tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome. And he just so happens to need a no-strings date himself. Their plan is perfectly thought out. Until a conveniently staged good-night kiss turns into very inconvenient passion...
Do you love pretend relationships, check out last week's blog post in the series: Fake Fiancee in Contempory Romance
Coming up in the Series: Fake Engagements in Historical Romance.
Did I not name your favorite Pretending Dating Romance? Let me know!
To get more Pretend Relationship Romance Recommendations, check out my Pinterest Board. Pretend.
To vote for the best of the best in Pretend Dating Romance, visit the Goodreads list: Best Pretend Boyfriend/Girlfriend Romance Plot.
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