{"product_id":"the-plus-one-playbook-a-cozy-slow-burn-small-town-romance-with-fake-dating-and-a-single-dad","title":"The Plus-One Playbook: A cozy, slow-burn small-town romance with fake dating and a single dad.","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen thirty-year-old event stylist Lena Brooks returns to Seabrook, the sleepy Atlantic town she once fled, she expects a quick turnaround: style her mother’s beachside wedding in four weeks, dodge small-town gossip, and get out. One problem—everyone expects her to show up with a date. Enter Evan Cole, the gruff, golden-hearted carpenter whose workshop shares a wall with Lena’s tiny studio…and whose six-year-old daughter, Maya, owns more dinosaur stickers than shame.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat starts as a barter becomes “The Plus-One Playbook”: she’ll rebrand Evan’s bespoke furniture line; he’ll be her respectable plus-one. Practice “meet-cutes,” staged hand-holding, and low-stakes dinners are supposed to sell the illusion. Instead, a farmers’ market mishap turns into a tender kiss that goes locally viral, catalyzing real inquiries for Evan—and real scrutiny for Lena. As Lena curates his look and names his line “Second Tide,” Evan planes ash and walnut into pieces that feel like home. Their banter softens. Their rules matter less.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eComplications roll in with the tide. Evan’s polished ex, Kara, dangles a glossy showroom pilot—at the cost of “stabilizing the narrative” and sanding down what makes his work human. Lena is offered a prestigious, travel-heavy stylist role out of town—safety wrapped as opportunity. A clipped conversation in the alley (“stability,” “optics”) detonates old wounds; she hears I used you, he hears Don’t make me choose. They call off the Playbook and retreat to separate rooms, each naming the fear beneath the fight.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen they choose differently. Evan rejects the unit-making contract and builds the world he wants: a one-night community pop-up in the old cannery, spotlighting local makers. Lena, sleepless but clear, writes the line she’s never said aloud—I want to be chosen when no one’s watching—and shows up anyway. Under string lights and sawdust, she narrates his craft like a vow—“Leave a place for hands”—and the town listens. Evan thanks “the woman who taught me how to show up” and asks for a real first date—no labels, no stunts—after the wedding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn wedding day, presence trumps performance: messy, warm, right. Evan closes the loop with Kara—no drama, just closure. At the beach bonfire, Lena and Evan feed the kraft-paper Playbook to the flames. Maya presses her dinosaur sticker onto Lena’s wrist like a seal. They agree on steady dating, kind boundaries, and dreams big enough for three. Six months later, Second Tide and Lena’s Lark \u0026amp; Linen share a courtyard; joinery classes and micro-weddings spill joy into the street. Their signatures live under varnish on the once-unfinished table, a tiny raw strip left as a ritual reminder: some places should always invite touch.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy this story matters (your “extra value”)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBody-positive, seen-not-performed love:\u003c\/strong\u003e A plus-size heroine who chooses visibility over perfectionism—and is loved in the light.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHealthy conflict, real closure:\u003c\/strong\u003e No manufactured drama; misunderstandings resolve through accountability, not grandstanding.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaking \u0026gt; marketing:\u003c\/strong\u003e A love letter to craft, small business, and building community instead of chasing optics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGentle co-parenting vibes:\u003c\/strong\u003e A single dad whose devotion isn’t a trope—it’s the plot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTakeaway you can keep:\u003c\/strong\u003e “Leave a place for hands.” In craft, in relationships, in the life you’re building—make room for the human touch.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYou’ll finish smiling, with a few new questions in your pocket:\u003c\/strong\u003e Where am I performing instead of showing up? What small, honest thing can I build today?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWho it’s for\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAge group:\u003c\/strong\u003e Adult romance readers (18+)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHeat level:\u003c\/strong\u003e Slow-burn, swoony, closed-door intimacy; lots of chemistry, banter, and tenderness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContent guarantees:\u003c\/strong\u003e No cheating. Found family. Happily-ever-after.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"None","offers":[{"title":"Kobo eBook","offer_id":46717831971026,"sku":"fe466774-ec36-34ac-bed1-d54d5948fcab","price":1.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0655\/8980\/5233\/files\/image_8e9e7d23-41b6-4708-a468-4baee500d27f.jpg?v=1761146771","url":"https:\/\/www.indigo.ca\/products\/the-plus-one-playbook-a-cozy-slow-burn-small-town-romance-with-fake-dating-and-a-single-dad","provider":"Indigo","version":"1.0","type":"link"}