The Wedding Pact
Ten years ago, Emma and her college friends made a pact: if any of them were still single at thirty, they would marry each other. It was a joke. A silly, wine-fueled joke that Emma forgot about entirely. Until her thirtieth birthday, when Jack — the boy she had crushed on through all four years of college — shows up at her door with a proposal. Literally. Jack is a veterinarian in small-town Vermont, content with his life, and tired of his mother's matchmaking. He proposes a deal: a fake engagement to get their respective families off their backs, to be called off after the wedding season. Emma agrees, thinking it will be easy. It is not. Fake dating Jack is confusing. He is kind, funny, and annoyingly attractive. And as wedding season approaches, Emma begins to wonder if the joke pact was not a joke at all, but a prophecy she was too young to recognize.
📖 Story Synopsis
Ten years ago, Emma and her college friends made a pact: if any of them were still single at thirty, they would marry each other. It was a joke. A silly, wine-fueled joke that Emma forgot about entirely. Until her thirtieth birthday, when Jack — the boy she had crushed on through all four years of college — shows up at her door with a proposal. Literally. Jack is a veterinarian in small-town Vermont, content with his life, and tired of his mother's matchmaking. He proposes a deal: a fake engagement to get their respective families off their backs, to be called off after the wedding season. Emma agrees, thinking it will be easy. It is not. Fake dating Jack is confusing. He is kind, funny, and annoyingly attractive. And as wedding season approaches, Emma begins to wonder if the joke pact was not a joke at all, but a prophecy she was too young to recognize.
✎ Editor's Review
Jessica Cole's fake-dating romance is a delight from start to finish. Emma and Jack have genuine chemistry, and their college backstory adds depth to the fake-engagement setup. The small-town Vermont setting is charming, and the supporting cast of friends and family adds humor without overwhelming the central romance. The novel knows exactly what it is — a fun, clean romance — and executes it with skill and warmth. Perfect for readers looking for a comfort read that does not take itself too seriously.
