A Shore Thing by Portia Macintosh

Cleo knows how to make romance happen—on camera, on cue, and on schedule. As a casting producer for the hit reality show Welcome to Singledom, her job is to find the perfect singles, stir the perfect drama, and deliver the perfect island love story. Easy. Controlled. Professional.

Then there’s Lockie: her infuriatingly charming co-casting producer who has been getting under her skin since day one. They can’t agree on anything—except that the other one is a problem. Unfortunately, they also have to work together in close quarters, on a Caribbean island, with cameras everywhere. What could possibly go wrong?

Launch night, for starters. A tropical storm delays half the cast, the show is seconds from disaster, and there’s no Plan B—until someone has the bright idea that Cleo and Lockie should step in as contestants. Just for 24 hours. Just until the real stars arrive. Just long enough to couple up, get voted off, and go back to pulling strings behind the scenes.

Except the island has other plans. Tensions are already sky-high, the storm is rolling in, and their forced proximity turns their bickering into sparks that look a little too convincing on camera—and feel a little too real when the cameras stop. Cleo’s used to producing the drama, not starring in it… and definitely not falling headfirst into a fake fling with her workplace rival.

With paradise as the backdrop and reality TV chaos as the pressure cooker, A Shore Thing serves up enemies-to-lovers banter, forced proximity heat, and the kind of showmance that might just be Cleo’s most unexpected plot twist yet.