Real Love

Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Dedication Acknowledgments Other Titles About the Author Random House Book Club Landmarks Cover Cover Title Page Contents Start Copyright Print Page List v vi 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 vii 299 300 ii 309 301 303 304 305 306 307 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Real Love is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
 Copyright © 2023 by Rachel L. Lindsay
 Book club guide copyright © 2023 by Penguin Random House LLC
 All rights reserved.
 Published in the United States by Dell, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
 Dell is a registered trademark and the D colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
 Random House Book Club and colophon are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
 ISBN 9780593357125
 Ebook ISBN 9780593357118
 randomhousebooks.com
 randomhousebookclub.com
 Cover illustration: Katie Smith Illustration
 Cover design: Ella Laytham
 ep_prh_6.0_142781534_c0_r1
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 Cover
 Title Page
 Copyright
 
 
 Prologue
 
 
 Chapter 1
 
 
 Chapter 2
 
 
 Chapter 3
 
 
 Chapter 4
 
 
 Chapter 5
 
 
 Chapter 6
 
 
 Chapter 7
 
 
 Chapter 8
 
 
 Chapter 9
 
 
 Chapter 10
 
 
 Chapter 11
 
 
 Chapter 12
 
 
 Chapter 13
 
 
 Chapter 14
 
 
 Chapter 15
 
 
 Chapter 16
 
 
 Chapter 17
 
 
 Chapter 18
 
 
 Chapter 19
 
 
 Chapter 20
 
 
 Chapter 21
 
 
 Chapter 22
 
 
 Chapter 23
 
 
 Chapter 24
 
 
 Chapter 25
 
 
 Chapter 26
 
 
 Chapter 27
 
 
 Dedication
 Acknowledgments
 By Rachel Lindsay
 About the Author
 Random House Book Club
 
 
 _142781534_
 
 
 
 Prologue
 Moving to Miami was never on my list of things to do in life.
 Sure, I used to imbibe the occasional tequila shot or two, but I had plans. Real plans. Like becoming a director at an investment firm, getting married, and having one child—not two, and definitely not three—before I turned thirty-five. Living someplace with a raging party scene and people who think animal print is proper business attire had never appealed to me.
 But as time passed, my hair and skin adjusted to the rain and humidity, and hope settled in. Miami nights were never on my vision board, but that could be a good thing. Miami wasn’t what I expected and maybe that’s the exact reason it’s what I needed.
 Unfortunately, not even Simone Biles–level mental gymnastics could make me say the same about the ridiculous offer disrupting my lunch hour.
 “Maya?” The telegenic face on the other end of my phone is drastically less enthusiastic than it was moments ago. “Are you there?”
 “Yes, I’m sorry. I’m here.” I hold up a finger to my impatient friend outside of my camera’s view. Delilah is always cool and collected, but she’s looked like she’s about to come out of her skin since the second I told her who was calling. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little—well, a lot—surprised. When I auditioned for Real Love, I never actually thought I’d be chosen.”
 “That’s one of the reasons we fell in love with you, Maya, and we just know America will feel the same way.” The host’s eagerness is back in his voice and the smile on his face grows wider, which only makes the dread I feel grow heavier in my stomach. “You’ll have to fly—”
 “I’m so sorry, Paul.” The people pleaser in me wants to die, but there’s not a chance in hell I would ever agree to this. And if my life as a woman in investment banking has taught me anything, it’s