Regret and Everything After

After fleeing her family's condemnation, Samantha Reynolds finds herself trapped again - this time, by a stalker. She's moved, switched jobs, even dyed her hair, but she still lives in fear of discovery until she applies for her dream job managing a trendy new restaurant. Garden & Gather becomes her oasis, and her boss is basically a Saks Fifth Avenue menswear ad. Too bad she'll only ever just be his employee. Blake Fairchild wrestles with regret daily.
It's his own fault that his life fell apart, but surely he can find belonging outside the church. After two years of looking, he built his own home base. Garden & Gather was his purpose in life until he started to fall for one of his employees. Blake knows he shouldn't pursue Samantha. He's too broken. She's too young. She works for him. But when she offers to fake being his girlfriend, he can't turn her down.
Besides, it can't turn out worse than the last time he had a secret. Can it? Regret and Everything After is a fake relationship, workplace, slow burn romance that highlights deconstruction and healing from religious trauma. Because even ex-vangelicals deserve an HEA.