Bridesmaid for Hire (bridesmaid for Hire, #1)

Maggie Mitchell, a driven event planner who runs Magical Moments by Maggie in San Francisco, and Brody McFadden, her older brother Gary's best friend, have shared a contentious relationship for years. At Gary's wedding, Brody kissed Maggie passionately before abruptly pulling away and walking off without explanation, leaving her humiliated.

When both end up at the Saint Hopper resort in Bora-Bora, neither is pleased. Brody is there on a work mission: his manager, Jaleesa Richards, gave him her invitation to the destination wedding of Haisley Hopper, daughter of Hopper Industries CEO Reginald Hopper, so Brody could make a personal impression on Reginald before a crucial proposal review. Brody's plan to convert empty storefronts into rentable pop-up boutique spaces competes against rival coworker Deanna's proposal to expand Hopper Industries into the wedding venue business. If Deanna wins, Brody will be placed under her management.

Maggie learns the Hopper wedding is at her resort and sees an opportunity: A partnership with Hopper Hotels could transform her struggling business. When she overhears that the wedding party needs a replacement bridesmaid, she spots Brody in the lobby and approaches him mid-conversation with Reginald, introducing herself as Brody's girlfriend and a professional wedding planner. Reginald is charmed and invites Maggie to fill in as bridesmaid. Brody is blindsided but plays along. Haisley warmly greets them and recalls that Brody helped her develop her independent vacation rental business, a detail that impresses Reginald.

That evening, Brody reveals he has no accommodations and insists on sharing Maggie's bungalow. With neither able to expose the other without ruining their own plans, they draft a handwritten contract: no sexual interactions, no embarrassing each other in front of the Hoppers, and a consistent cover story.

In public, the act works. Maggie charms the entire Hopper family, quickly bonding with Haisley, her fiancé Jude Galloway, and Haisley's brothers Hudson and Hardy. She helps with seating arrangements and later solves a floral crisis by suggesting leaf-folded bouquets, earning admiration from the family. Hudson compliments Brody's boutique proposal. Brody, by contrast, stumbles through embarrassments: During beach games, Maggie accidentally pants him in a three-legged race and throws a ball into his groin, causing him to vomit in the sand.

Despite the mishaps, forced proximity dissolves their defenses. By the firepit one evening, Maggie describes her dream wedding at a small white chapel in her hometown; Brody says he would marry there too and kisses her for the first time since Gary's wedding. On a hike the next day, Brody faints after mistaking a branch scratch for a snakebite. During a ceremony later on the trail, however, the couple performs a traditional stick-tossing game in perfect synchronization, surprising them both. Over mai tais that evening, they exchange genuine apologies and begin opening up. Back in the bungalow, physical boundaries collapse. When Brody tries to pull away as he did at Gary's wedding, Maggie refuses to let the pattern repeat.

On a yacht trip to a private island, Brody takes nausea pills that leave him uninhibited. Hudson reveals that Reginald has been deliberately targeting Brody since learning Brody helped Haisley leave the family business. On the island, Brody confesses he has liked Maggie since her 21st birthday and only pulled away at Gary's wedding because Gary told him to stay away from his sister. Maggie reveals the rejection destroyed her confidence for years. That evening, Brody asks whether she wants him. Maggie asks him to promise he will not hurt her, and he swears it. They sleep together for the first time, spending the following days inseparable. Brody calls Gary to tell him they are dating; Gary reacts with confusion and hurt.

At dinner one evening, Maggie shares her dream of offering intimate "pocket weddings," small, customized ceremonies as an alternative to impersonal courthouse services. Brody reveals that Deanna's competing proposal could corner the San Francisco wedding market and threaten Maggie's business. Maggie is concerned but does not blame him.

Everything falls apart the night before the wedding. At the bachelor party, Reginald forces Brody to drink shot after shot of local moonshine while everyone else merely sips. Once Brody is heavily intoxicated, Reginald publicly calls him out for infiltrating the wedding for professional gain and dismisses his proposal as mediocre. In his drunken state, Brody blurts out Maggie's pocket wedding concept. Reginald seizes the idea, assigns it to Deanna's proposal, fires Brody, uninvites him from the wedding, and bills him for nearly $8,000. Jude stands up for Brody and leaves the party in protest.

Hardy and Hudson carry an unconscious Brody back to the bungalow and tell Maggie what happened, including that Brody gave away her pocket wedding idea. Devastated, Maggie packs her belongings and leaves a note calling their relationship a mistake. The next morning, Jude visits Brody to explain that Reginald manipulated him all week, planting staff to learn his weaknesses and getting him drunk to humiliate him publicly. Jude gives Brody his business card and offers to help. Brody decides to leave the island rather than disrupt the wedding.

Maggie serves as bridesmaid at the beachside ceremony, surrounded by the leaf-folded bouquets she helped design. At the reception, Reginald delivers an ultimatum: She must convince Haisley to bring her vacation rental business back under Hopper Industries, or he will use his new wedding branch to destroy Magical Moments by Maggie. He reveals he knew about the scheme from the start.

Back in San Francisco, Brody is formally fired and moves in with Gary and Gary's wife, Patricia. He spirals into despair, unable to function. When Patricia forces Gary to call Maggie on speakerphone while Brody secretly listens, he hears Maggie say she will never betray Haisley but does not know how to save her business. Her pain snaps Brody out of his despair. He remembers Jude's business card and contacts him immediately.

At a coffee shop, Jude arrives with Hudson and Hardy. They reveal they have been secretly negotiating with the Cane brothers, Hopper Industries' main competitor, to form the Cane-Hopper Cooperative, a new venture focused on sustainable development and supporting small businesses, entirely separate from Reginald's company. Brody confesses the pocket wedding was Maggie's idea, begs them to remove it from Deanna's proposal, and tells them about Reginald's blackmail. They agree. When they also offer to invest in Brody's boutique concept, he declines, insisting they focus on Maggie.

Days later, the three men meet Maggie under the guise of a client inquiry. They apologize for Reginald, confirm they have returned the pocket wedding concept to her, and offer to invest in her business through the cooperative, providing the capital for her storefront and a partnership with Haisley's brand. They reveal that Brody orchestrated everything and refused anything for himself. Maggie accepts, overwhelmed.

Gary invites Brody over to watch a baseball game, then leads him to a candlelit patio where Maggie is waiting. She tells him she knows he was manipulated, that he fought for her, and that she should have let him explain. They kiss while Gary watches through the curtain, crying. In the epilogue, Brody accepts a position with the Cane-Hopper Cooperative to develop his boutique concept. The couple visits Maggie's best friend, Hattie, and Hattie's boyfriend, Hayes Farrow, in the small town of Almond Bay, where Hattie accidentally reveals that Maggie told her she loves Brody. He declares his love, and she says it back for the first time.