No woman wants a pity proposal.


Just because I’m turning forty, dealing with perimenopause, and recently dumped another loser doesn’t mean I need rescuing—especially not by my best friend.

But when Dallas Gamble blurts out that we’re engaged in a very public attempt at protecting me, there’s not much I can do but play along. Bless his dumb, beautiful heart.

The man has always been impulsive. Protective. Flirty. And able to fill out a pair of Levi’s like nobody’s business. In no time at all, he slides a ring on my finger, moves me into his house, and swears it’s no big deal.

But then things get complicated.

Because suddenly, he’s trying—as in, really trying.
And even though every clumsy romantic gesture ends in disaster, it’s getting harder to pretend this isn’t real.

Dallas Gamble was never supposed to be my happily ever after. If we do this, I risk losing my best friend.

And if we don’t… I might lose the great love story I’ve been chasing my whole life.

But I’m starting to think it’s about bucking time we go for it.