Better Together — Jessie Gussman

Love kindles when a fake engagement brings best friends together.
World Champion snowboarder, Wyatt Fernandez, should be hitting the slopes in the Andes and spending his days teaching as the new ski instructor. But an emergency means he's heading off the family's tree farm with his best friend, Harper. She's too busy with her books and earning tenure to notice his hopes for more than friendship.

Homebody and nutritionist, Dr. Harper Bright, must let go of her coveted summer research position so she can help on the tree farm...with Wyatt. He might push past her comfort zone, but he has always “gotten” her. She doesn't want to scare off her best friend just because he is suddenly far more interesting than the nutritional benefits of broccoli. In order to keep their friendship intact, Harper has to pretend she is not infatuated with her best friend.

When Wyatt names Harper as his fiancé to appease his father and prevent returning to Chile early, he never dreams Harper might actually have to play the part. Wyatt wants more than a reluctant fake fiancé. And he has one last summer to convince Harper that they're better together.

"An author I can always count upon to engage my mind and warm my heart." - Ramla Zareen Ahmad, Author of Light-Hearted Romance.
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AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Q: Why do you write?
A: I was not on the school newspaper team, but because my mother was the advisor for it, when someone didn't turn in their assigned article, I often got selected as a volunteer to fill that spot. The school administrators liked to see articles about the aquaculture project the district had gotten a grant for, but everyone hated writing about the boring, smelly fish. One February, the assigned student went AWOL and I sat in my last period study hall trying to figure out how I could combine tilapia and Valentine's day into an article that would make my mother happy. The resulting article, which started off with a line that included, "Could there be love lurking beneath the murky depths?" won an award from the county paper, and ran on the front page of the school newspaper. I sat in the school cafeteria and watched people read my article and laugh. It was a great feeling, not winning the award or having my article lead, but because I had made people smile. That's why I write.

Q: What books do you write?
A: I write clean and wholesome contemporary romance with humor set in small towns and rural areas. I'm back on the straight and narrow from my wild high school days; no more fish er*tica. The reading order for my series follows below.

SWEET HAVEN FARM
1. HARVEST MOON HOMECOMING (novella)
2. BETTER TOGETHER (book 1)

Q: Why should readers pick up your books?
A: You'll get all the feel-good tingles of a great love story with no graphic sex, swearing or violence. You'll laugh along with relatable heroines and hunky heroes as they weather life's storms and fall in love. I enjoy throwing in some fun science, history and local, rural trivia (Did you know that you can hold an egg in the palm of your hand and squeeze as hard as you can and it won't crack?) so you might learn something. I hope my books are uplifting and encouraging. You'll laugh, maybe cry, but you'll finish the book with a great feeling of satisfaction. To quote St. Paul, "Love never fails."
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