PRETENDING TO BE US

Annabelle Scott's got 99 problems, and pretending to still be married to her estranged husband is all of them.

When their daughter announces her whirlwind wedding, Annabelle and Graham Scott decide to hit pause on their separation. The plan? Fake marital bliss for one week in St. Michaels, Maryland. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, glad you asked.

Between a hotel room mix-up that lands them in their old honeymoon suite, a sailboat phobia, a nude soap-making class (don’t ask), and an electric attraction that’s all sizzle and no fizzle, they've got a recipe for disaster. Or love. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.

For Annabelle, a former foster child who never found her forever family, this facade is a painful reminder of the stability she's always craved. Between fake smiles and real sparks that threaten to consume them both, Annabelle’s desperate to stand on her own two feet and not depend on Graham’s CEO salary post-divorce. She jumpstarts her long-dormant writing career, a dream he never fully supported, and is determined to do it without her publishing mogul husband's help.
With her queried memoir collecting rejections, Annabelle finds unexpected inspiration in her current predicament along the backdrop of the sapphire waters of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. She begins penning a new novel about a couple in a similar situation, unsure if she's writing a romance or a tragedy. As her fictional characters navigate their own rocky path, Annabelle grapples with the ending of both her novel and her real-life story.

As if the charade wasn't complicated enough, enter Celine: Graham's flirtatious, Mrs. Robinson-esque board member with an agenda of her own. Suddenly, Annabelle's fighting more than just old feelings—she's battling jealousy, too.
As old wounds reopen and new secrets threaten to surface, Annabelle must navigate not just a week of lies and a terrible poker face, but also the inkling of hope for a real reconciliation, even as she’s unconvinced that Graham’s perpetual absence and prioritization of work over their marriage could ever really change.

Amid sunset sails, beachside bonfires, and a hurricane of emotions (oh, and an actual hurricane), Annabelle must decide: is this fake relationship worth fighting for, or is it time to write "The End" on their marriage for good? One thing's for sure—this wedding weekend will keep everyone guessing until the very last page.

Set against the charming backdrop of the Chesapeake Bay, PRETENDING TO BE US is a second-chance romance that proves love is messy, enduring, and occasionally requires a cold shower. Perfect for fans of Annabelle Monaghan and Emily Henry, this story navigates the choppy waters of love and family, showing that sometimes the most meaningful happily-ever-afters are the ones you have to fight for – and rewrite along the way.