The Summer We Played Pretend

After being dumped by her longtime boyfriend via text, Chloe is humiliated, heartbroken, and dreading every shift at the restaurant where he now flaunts his new romance. Enter Jackson Hawthorne—her older brother’s best friend, the town’s quiet bad boy with grease-stained hands and a guarded heart. When Jackson offers to pose as her fake boyfriend to save face, it seems like the perfect plan to get through the summer unscathed.

But the longer they pretend, the harder it becomes to separate what’s real from what’s not. Jackson sees Chloe in a way no one else does—fierce, brilliant, and far stronger than she realizes. And Chloe begins to notice the cracks in Jackson’s tough exterior, glimpsing the boy who never quite believed he was worthy of love.

As old wounds resurface, secrets come to light, and hearts get tangled in the lines they swore not to cross, Chloe and Jackson must ask themselves one terrifying question: What if their fake relationship was the most real thing either of them has ever had?

Perfect for fans of heartfelt slow burns, he falls first, complicated feelings, and the boy who’s off-limits—until he isn’t.