Synopsis

Meeting during senior week, on the very day of their birthdays, was pure coincidence. For Lola Larson and TJ Kingston it was only supposed to be three days of pretending to be a couple before going back to their normal lives. Sure they would never see each other again, they say goodbye without even knowing each other's last names or swapping numbers.

Two years later, they're both in college, where they cross paths again. But their priorities are no longer what they were the last time they saw each other.

All TJ wants is to enter the draft and play in the NBA. He has worked his whole life for that dream and made sure nothing and no one gets in his way. Until he sees Lola again, finds out he has a kid and realizes that basketball is no longer his only priority.

The protagonists

My review

Besties, I really liked this book 🤍 It was my first E. Salvador book and I'm already itching to keep going with the series 🧡

Lola and TJ meet by pure chance and spend a few dreamy days playing at being a couple 🥹 But reality kicks in, and convinced they'll never see each other again, they decide not to share anything important, no last names, no numbers 😓

Two years later they run into each other again in college, and the thing is, those days left behind a tiny consequence 👶🏻 While Lola has been raising her baby on her own, TJ doesn't take the news of being a dad well at all, especially now that he's focused on entering the draft and making it onto the team of his dreams 🏀

I feel like the love story between Lola and TJ is so natural. It's not an instant spark that fixes everything, it's something that builds little by little, through conversations, mistrust and the daily routine with the baby. And that's what I loved most, that they're still young people figuring life out, with fears, mistakes and dreams that suddenly have to make room for something much bigger.

Having a kid at that age can be really complicated, and I feel like the author managed to show how hard motherhood and fatherhood can be without romanticizing it. Lola is independent, strong and knows her son is her priority. TJ, on the other hand, gets off on the wrong foot 😤 but watching him learn to be a dad and earn his place in that little family will melt anyone 🥹 And Phoenix is an absolute sweetheart who steals every scene he's in.

It's a secret baby story, and on top of that, TJ's friends and teammates are so lovely with Lola and the baby, giving the book that found family touch I adore 💕

It has hot scenes 🔥 and a happily ever after they truly earn.

Content warnings: parental abandonment, mentions of panic attacks, the hero's harsh initial reaction to finding out he's a dad (including doubting his paternity), single motherhood at a very young age and explicit sexual scenes.

This book is the start of a series, and I'm already waiting for the next ones 🤍🧡

Who is this for?

Where to buy it?