The Counterfeit Fiancé - eBook
Tessa Brooks opens Sugar & Steam before dawn, keeping a whole block fed and a tiny town honest. When a glossy developer rolls in with “stability optics” and a clause that could shut her doors for sixty days, stability starts to look like a moving target.
Nathan Cole, the town’s numbers‑first CFO, is built for boring—until a memo, a market, and one last cardamom knot put him on a collision course with Tessa’s fight to keep Main Street local. The town wants a picture of “engaged owners.”
What they get is a pact: a limited‑scope fake engagement that buys time while the real battle happens on paper.
Public hand‑holding turns into private trust as vendor briefings, library runs, and a very public two‑step prove frame matters more than flash. But with a developer pushing hard and a rumor mill hungry for scandal, one well‑timed leak could cost them their credibility—and the future they’re not supposed to be planning.
Closed‑door, big‑heart romance with a baker heroine, a quietly principled civic hero, found‑family vibes, and a town worth fighting for. Fade‑to‑black heat, zero on‑page profanity, guaranteed HEA.
