Pretend You're Mine PDF - Lucy Score

Pretend You're Mine by Lucy Score is the first book in the Benevolence series, a warm, emotional, and deeply engaging small-town contemporary romance built around the irresistible tension of a fake relationship that becomes far more complicated than either character expects. Set in the close-knit town of Benevolence, Maryland, the novel brings together two people who appear to need something simple from each other: protection from gossip, a temporary arrangement, a way to get through the next few weeks without asking too many questions. But beneath that convenient agreement lies a story about grief, trust, belonging, second chances, and the kind of love that slowly turns a house into a home.

At the heart of the story is Harper, a woman trying to start over after heartbreak and instability have left her searching for somewhere safe to land. She is strong, impulsive, compassionate, and determined to keep moving forward even when life has given her every reason to become guarded. When she arrives in Benevolence, she does not plan to become part of the town’s daily rhythm, and she certainly does not plan to become emotionally entangled with Luke Garrison. Yet Harper has a way of walking into chaos and responding with courage, and that quality immediately sets the tone for a romance filled with humor, vulnerability, and emotional intensity.

Luke Garrison is a hometown hero, a soldier in the National Guard, and a man carrying wounds he would rather keep hidden. He is protective, disciplined, and respected by everyone around him, but his quiet strength hides a grief that has shaped the way he sees love and commitment. Luke does not want complications, and he definitely does not want a real relationship. When Harper appears at exactly the wrong time, he convinces himself she can serve as the perfect temporary solution: a pretend girlfriend who will keep his family from interfering in his life before he deploys again. The plan sounds simple, but in true Lucy Score fashion, the emotional consequences are anything but.

A Fake Relationship with Real Emotional Stakes

One of the strongest appeals of Pretend You're Mine is its use of the beloved fake dating romance trope. The arrangement between Harper and Luke begins with practical motives, but the novel understands that pretend intimacy can quickly expose real longing. Shared space, public affection, private conversations, and the comfort of being seen by another person all begin to blur the line between performance and truth. What starts as a temporary agreement becomes a slow unraveling of fear, desire, and emotional resistance.

This is not a light, surface-level fake relationship story where the characters simply pretend for convenience. Pretend You're Mine gives the trope emotional weight by making both Harper and Luke people with histories, defenses, and reasons to be afraid of wanting too much. Harper wants stability but has learned not to depend too easily. Luke wants control but is drawn to the warmth and unpredictability Harper brings into his life. Their chemistry is immediate, but the deeper satisfaction of the book comes from watching them challenge each other’s assumptions about safety, love, and what it means to let someone stay.

The romance is passionate, slow-building, and filled with tension, but it is also rooted in tenderness. Lucy Score gives readers the familiar pleasures of a small-town romance novel—protective families, nosy neighbors, community connection, and heartfelt banter—while also exploring heavier emotional themes. The result is a story that feels comforting without being shallow, dramatic without losing warmth, and romantic without ignoring the complicated pasts that both characters carry.

Benevolence, Maryland: A Small Town Full of Heart

The town of Benevolence plays an important role in the reading experience. It is more than a backdrop; it is the kind of setting that gives the novel its sense of community, charm, and emotional grounding. For readers who enjoy small-town love stories, Benevolence offers the familiar appeal of a place where everyone knows everyone, secrets rarely stay hidden, and friendship can appear in unexpected forms. The town’s people, families, and everyday routines help create the feeling that Harper is not only falling for Luke but also discovering a place where she might finally belong.

This sense of found home is central to the book’s emotional impact. Harper’s journey is not only about romance; it is also about finding safety, connection, and a future that does not feel temporary. Luke’s journey, meanwhile, involves confronting the difference between protecting himself and shutting himself away from happiness. The small-town setting makes these personal changes feel visible and meaningful because every relationship, every conversation, and every act of kindness contributes to the larger emotional world of the story.

Readers who search for romance books about found family, military romance, protective hero romance, or emotional contemporary romance will find many of those elements woven naturally into the novel. The book balances passion with domestic warmth, intense attraction with everyday intimacy, and personal pain with the hope of healing. It is a romance that understands how powerful ordinary moments can become when two people are slowly learning to trust each other.

Themes of Healing, Belonging, and Second Chances

While Pretend You're Mine delivers the chemistry and romantic tension readers expect from Lucy Score, its lasting strength comes from its emotional themes. The novel explores how people carry grief, how past hurt can shape present choices, and how difficult it can be to accept love when vulnerability feels dangerous. Luke’s guarded nature and Harper’s longing for belonging create a relationship that is tender, messy, and believable because both characters must grow before they can fully understand what they mean to each other.

The book also examines the idea of home in a deeply emotional way. Home is not presented only as a physical place but as a feeling of acceptance, safety, and being wanted. For Harper, Benevolence represents the possibility of finally staying somewhere long enough to build a life. For Luke, Harper represents a disruption to the careful emotional distance he has maintained. Their relationship asks whether two people with painful pasts can create something honest together, even when their first agreement was built on pretending.

The second-chance-at-happiness theme gives the novel its emotional pull. This is not necessarily a story about getting back together with a past love; it is about allowing life to offer joy again after loss, disappointment, and fear. Lucy Score writes romance with humor and heat, but she also gives space to the quieter emotional work of learning to believe in a future. That combination makes the book especially appealing to readers who want a romance with both escapist pleasure and genuine heart.

Who Should Read Pretend You're Mine?

Pretend You're Mine is a strong choice for readers who enjoy emotional romance novels with memorable characters, heartfelt conflict, and a satisfying blend of humor, heat, and healing. Fans of fake dating romance, small-town contemporary romance, and military hero romance will appreciate the dynamic between Harper and Luke, especially the way their temporary arrangement grows into something neither of them can easily control. The story offers protective family energy, community warmth, romantic tension, and a heroine who brings light into places that have been closed off for too long.

The book will also appeal to readers who like romance with a strong sense of place. Benevolence feels lived-in and emotionally inviting, making it easy to become invested not only in the central couple but also in the world around them. As the first book in the Benevolence series, it introduces the tone and atmosphere of Lucy Score’s small-town romance world while still offering a complete and emotionally satisfying love story focused on Harper and Luke.

Readers looking for a purely light romantic comedy should know that the novel includes emotional depth and heavier personal histories alongside its charm and chemistry. That emotional richness is part of what makes the story memorable. It is romantic, passionate, and often comforting, but it also takes seriously the pain its characters have survived and the courage required to choose love again.

A Compelling Start to Lucy Score’s Benevolence Series

With Pretend You're Mine, Lucy Score creates a romance that combines beloved genre elements with sincere emotional storytelling. The fake relationship premise gives the book its immediate hook, but the deeper appeal lies in the transformation that follows: two guarded people discovering that what began as pretend may be the most honest thing either of them has found in a long time. Harper and Luke’s story is filled with attraction, conflict, tenderness, and the slow realization that love can arrive unexpectedly, even when it is the last thing someone planned to need.

For readers searching for a Lucy Score romance book with small-town charm, emotional stakes, a broody protective hero, a resilient heroine, and a love story built on both passion and healing, Pretend You're Mine offers a rich and absorbing reading experience. It is a story about pretending until the truth becomes impossible to ignore, about finding family in unlikely places, and about the brave, fragile hope of making a home with someone who sees you clearly and still chooses to stay.