The Real Thing

Will pretending to be in love lead to the real thing?Frustrated with her lackluster love life, Lauren is determined to make some changes. For years, she's harbored feelings for her friend Elliot, but he seems content to keep her in the friend zone. If only he would see her as a woman and not just a friend...

Max has been hired to paint Lauren's house. But when she laments about Elliot, he offers to help her get Elliot's attention by posing as her pretend boyfriend. As Max and Lauren become closer, the game they're playing starts to feel real. If only she'd look at him the way she looks at Elliot...

In time, Lauren begins to see both Elliot and Max in a different light, and it has her questioning everything. Maybe she and Elliot were never meant to be more than friends. And why does pretending to be in love with Max feel so good?

The Real Thing is book three of the Village of Holly series, a sweet and sexy small-town romance. All three books can be read as standalones, but to learn more about Lauren and Max, check out Then Came You and Worth the Risk.