From the author of THE UNMATCHMAKERS and THE STAND-UP GROOMSMAN comes a chocolate-filled love story starring a heroine who is convinced she knows what will make her happy and a hero who seizes the opportunity to prove her wrong.——————————Helen Tsang is tired of the pitying looks. From her parents, her friends, and even the bubble tea shop guy, who recognized her from the video. Almost one year ago, some loser couldn't mind their own damn business and filmed an unsuspecting Helen's very public break-up during what was supposed to be a romantic Valentine's Day dinner. A video of her ex-boyfriend saying, "It's not me, it's you. You're holding me back" went viral.Desperate to give everyone something else to talk about and with Valentine's Day approaching once again, she asks her long-time friend Taylor Li to be her fake boyfriend, just to prove that she's moved on and hasn't sworn off love. (Spoiler alert: She's totally sworn off love.)...

Advertising executive Nick Wong enjoys living in Toronto. He loves late nights partying and taking women back to his penthouse. And so it is with great reluctance that he returns to his boring hometown of Mosquito Bay for Thanksgiving.This year, however, is even worse than usual. His interfering parents and grandparents, frustrated with the lack of weddings in the family, have invited blind dates for him and his three siblings. Nick's brother Greg has been set up with Lily Tseng, who just so happens to be Nick's latest one-night stand, the one he can't get out of his mind.Although Nick has never been interested in settling down, Lily has him reconsidering. Perhaps he's good for more than a single night of sex, dumplings, and bubble tea after all. But first, he has to get through this painful weekend with his family and convince her that she should be with him, not Greg…

When small-town engineer Amy Sharpe inherits a house in Toronto, she decides it's the perfect opportunity to start over and go back to school. Away from the family that takes her for granted, away from the ex who expected so much and gave little in return. The new Amy enjoys wandering around the city and frequenting bubble tea shops, German beer halls, dim sum restaurants, and coffee bars serving Japanese pastries. She has a roommate with the same name as her favorite fictional character, and a group of friends who meet at a cider bar every couple of weeks. The new Amy is also in lust with her brooding, tattooed next-door neighbor, Victor Choi, who is far from friendly but looks really hot cutting the grass without a shirt. Too bad the grass doesn't grow faster. As she starts telling him about her daily adventures—and as a little kissing in the garden becomes a regular activity—Amy begins to feel more than lust. But she fears she's falling into her old patterns in relationships and refuses to let herself be underappreciated again. Is Victor really more than a hot fling? And what's he hiding behind that grumpy exterior?

I've got a pretty great life, if I do say so myself. I made a fortune when I sold my tech start-up, and I've spent the years since partying, drinking, and inviting a parade of women into my bed. I should be happy, but I feel an annoying lack of fulfillment, and there's no way I'm going back to the work I did before. At a friend's party, I meet Marissa. We have hot sex against the door and agree to spend the weekend together. Just one weekend. I never expect to see her again. Except now she's pregnant with my baby…and I think this is the solution to all my problems. This is what will bring meaning to my life. I'm going to be a devoted father and husband. Marissa—whose last name I still don't know—wants me to be involved, though she rejects my marriage proposal. But before the baby arrives, I'm going to prove to her that I can be something other than a playboy. And the rare times I set my mind to something, I don't fail…

Friendly neighbors can have their benefits… Nicole Louie-Edwards enjoys the nightlife and bringing men back to her apartment, although lately, she's gotten tired of the chase. Her quiet new neighbor, David Cho, isn't her type, but after they get trapped in an elevator together on her birthday, she develops a friendship with the kind geology professor. Then, blushing, he tells her that he can hear her having sex but tries not to listen. Except it's clear he'd like to, and she's surprisingly turned on. They embark on a friends-with-benefits arrangement hotter than any she's had before. She didn't expect him to be so naughty between the sheets. David becomes a bigger part of her life outside of the bedroom, too, bringing her desserts and going viral on TikTok with her grandmother, but she can't imagine he wants to be her boyfriend, and it's not like she wants that, either. She's convinced she'd lose her identity in a relationship, like she did ten years ago. Yet she can't help getting more and more attached to the professor next door…

Data scientist Robyn Au keeps seeing a cute guy at her neighborhood coffee shop. When she encounters him at a bar, she talks to him on a dare, and they enjoy a hot night together. The next morning, she's shocked to find his picture in a listicle. Did she just sleep with Ethan Park, an actor on Chu's Restaurant? She panics, leaves without saying goodbye, and starts avoiding the coffee shop. But when she sees him again—and somehow manages not to die of embarrassment—he asks her out. Robyn hesitantly agrees, deciding she won't sleep with Canada's newest heartthrob again until they've been dating for more than a month. She can't imagine that happening, though—it's longer than she's ever dated anyone. Men always get frustrated with her and don't appreciate her for who she is. But grumpy Ethan, who's completely unlike his himbo character on the sitcom, might end up changing her mind about...

Now that her cousin has tied the knot, Iris Chin—structural engineer, party girl, and queen of kitchen disasters—is the last single grandchild. Her mother and grandmother are desperate to play matchmaker, though Iris doesn't understand why. They had miserable marriages, and she doesn't want to be like them. She enjoys her independence, thank you very much. One-night stands are more her style. Unfortunately, she soon discovers that her latest one-night stand, Alex Kwong, is employed by a general contractor that does projects with the engineering firm she works for. And she'll have to see him every week as they work together on a hospital addition. She's determined to stay professional on the construction site, but things get off to a bad start when Alex lets slip to a co-worker that they slept together. To make matters worse, Iris is now living with her grandmother, who keeps stealthily setting her up on dates and sticking her nose...

Greg Wong hates when things don't go according to plan, so he definitely doesn't appreciate it when his mother insists he drive Tasha Edwards back to Mosquito Bay for the Christmas holidays. He likes peace and quiet when he's in the car, and that's the opposite of what he'll get with Tasha, his high school sweetheart. The first woman he ever loved.Not that he has feelings for her now. Of course not. Though while he's trying not to smile at her laughter and terrible singing, he can't help noticing how beautiful she is.And then his plans veer further off course when a snowstorm forces them to spend the night in an unheated motel room with only one bed…

Amber Wong has landed her dream job at the Stratford Festival, and life is looking good. Sure, she hasn't had sex in so long that her condoms have expired, but she'll just pick up some new ones, along with discounted Christmas chocolate, at the grocery store.And that's where she runs into Dr. Sebastian Lam, the son of her parents' close friends, whom she hasn't seen in years. He's moved back to Ontario, newly single, and... Oh my God. He's really hot.The attraction is mutual and no-strings-attached sex is the perfect arrangement for both of them, since Amber has sworn off dating after a string of terrible boyfriends.But what if their families find out they're spending time together and start interfering in their lives? That would be a disaster.Even worse? If they develop feelings for each other, given a relationship is the last thing Amber wants right now...

I hate ice cream. Ever since my fiancée left me at the altar and skewered me in her bestseller "Embrace Your Inner Ice Cream Sandwich: Finding the Positive You in a World of Negativity," I haven't been able to stomach the stuff.Unfortunately, my five-year-old niece is a budding foodie and her favorite place in the world is Ginger Scoops, a cutesy Asian ice cream shop. Since I've been looking after my niece a lot lately, I've spent too much time there, sipping black coffee, refusing to eat ice cream, and trying not to look at the owner, Chloe Jenkins. Chloe is obnoxiously cheerful, and I can't stand her.Naturally, I end up kissing her.But I've sworn off women after the fiasco with my ex-fiancée, and I'm convinced I'm no good at relationships. Still, with Chloe I'm tempted to do the impossible: give love and ice cream another chance…

Adrian Ma hasn't seen his childhood crush in years—until she appears on his TV screen. Maddie Ng, the co-creator and star of Chu's Restaurant, clearly has a different life from Adrian, an easygoing web developer who spends his free time hanging out with friends, babysitting his nephew, and eating fried chicken. Sure, it might not be Hollywood, but Maddie's gorgeous face appears in ads for Canada's hit sitcom all over Toronto. He doesn't expect to see her in real life. He certainly doesn't expect to spill bubble tea all over her.Their chance encounter leads to him teaching an overworked Maddie how to relax, and to his surprise, the attraction isn't one-sided. Yet as things heat up between them, Adrian wonders how long this can last. He wants to be the man who loves and supports her behind the scenes, but he's not sure that's possible. After all, she's Maddie Ng, the sitcom star, and he's...

If there's one thing that might get my dad, a retired math teacher, to visit Toronto and have a real conversation with me for the first time in seventeen years, it's a big nerdy Pi Day party. And hopefully this party—and seeing the tech company I built from nothing—will finally be enough to impress him and make him forgive me for everything I did when I was a teenager.But it's got to be a really great party.That's where Sarah Winters comes in. She owns Happy As Pie, a sweet and savory pie shop, and wants to get into catering.  She makes an amazing lamb-rosemary pie, cherry pie, lemon-lime torte…you get the idea. She'll provide the food and help me plan the party, nothing more. No matter how much time we spend together, I'm not going to fall in love with her.At least, that's what I tell myself…

Durian is my nemesis. We have a long, painful history. In my opinion, the spiky fruit smells like natural gas and rotten onions with eau de vomit. Bleh.So when Valerie Chow spills her durian ice cream all over me, I shouldn't fall in love.But despite her fondness for durian, Valerie is beautiful and delightfully prickly and stares at me when I take off my soiled shirt. And somehow, this chance encounter leads to me agreeing to be her fake boyfriend to get her mom off her back about her dating life. Her supposed boyfriend is a pediatric resident, but no big deal, right? My job's in landscaping, but I can pretend to be a doctor.I'll charm Valerie and her family, and I'll figure out why she's scared of relationships and gave up her career in software development. I'll even take her to a durian dessert shop. And if I do a great job at being her fake boyfriend, maybe she'll want me to be her real one…

Leo Mok isn't expecting a runaway bride... When I arrive late to my cousin's wedding—thanks to my first speeding ticket—I'm surprised to see his fiancée, Yvonne Siu, fleeing the scene. She's in distress, having realized that my cousin isn't good enough for her and she agreed to the wedding mainly to make her family happy. I have to come to her rescue, right? I've always had a thing for Yvonne, and when this beautiful pushover gets angry, it's irresistible. I move her stuff out of the apartment she shared with her ex, and I help her discover who she really is. And when she reveals that she's never particularly enjoyed herself in bed...well, I know it's a terrible idea to assist with that problem, but I can't hold back forever. Our lives are getting more entangled, especially since she's temporarily moved in with my parents, and I'm not sure how I'll ever walk away from her....

Let me be clear: I've been friends with Caitlin Ng for more than a decade, and I've had a crush on her for just as long. And I've known, all that time, that I wasn't her type.When we met, we were both studying computer engineering at university. She was near the top of the class, and I was in danger of flunking out. Now, she's a CEO, and I, well…I'm wearing an inflatable T-Rex costume and dancing along to Christmas carols sung by an elderly barbershop quartet.Yes, I'm being paid to do this.And that's how Caitlin finds me when she leaves work late in the middle of a snowstorm. She asks to stay with me because her house is farther away and her power is out. Of course, I say yes.When the heat goes out in my apartment and she asks me to join her in bed to snuggle for warmth, I say yes, too.But being so close to her is dangerous for my heart…or could a weekend of Christmas fun actually...