Author(s): Steph Vizard

Romance

The funny new debut 2023 rom-com novel perfect for fans of bestselling TikTok favourites Sally Thorne, Beth O'Leary and Emily Henry. Can she (pretend to) love her neighbour? An award-winning modern rom-com for all fans of fake dating, enemies-to-lovers stories. I didn't know the guy next door. And given he was now my daughter's manny, the person apart from me she'd be spending most of her waking hours with, and my fake boyfriend, I needed to find out. Zoe had a plan - love, marriage and a baby carriage. But when she's ghosted by her boyfriend of seven years (note to self: don't think about Adam), she decides to have a baby sans partner. There's just one sticky issue: Zoe has to return to work and there's a childcare drought. Enter Will, Zoe's nemesis and frustratingly handsome neighbour. When Will isn't shutting down thirtieth birthday parties or overseeing the world's longest renovation, he's a corporate lawyer angling to make partner. After Will's boss mistakenly assumes Will is the father of Zoe's baby and insists he take parental leave (to make the firm look progressive), it seems like a simple white lie could help both Zoe and Will to get ahead. But life with an adorable toddler - and a growing attraction between Will and Zoe - is never as tidy as their agreement's bullet points and dry clauses suggest. As they get deeper into the lie, the lines between truth and fiction blur. But Zoe's hiding a secret and when it comes out, the consequences for all of them could be devastating.