If the Shoe Fits (meant to Be, #1)

The first installment in the Meant to Be series, this novel reimagines the Cinderella fairy tale as a contemporary romance set against the backdrop of a reality television dating competition.

A prologue introduces ten-year-old Cindy Eleanor Woods, living in Burbank, California, with her father, Simon. Cindy's mother, Ilene, died of ovarian cancer when Cindy was young, leaving behind a closet of fancy shoes, including the faded blue satin heels from her wedding. When Simon tells Cindy he is dating someone with two daughters her age, she feels torn: She has always wanted sisters, but accepting this new family means accepting that her mother is truly gone. That same night, Cindy discovers Before Midnight, a reality dating show produced by Erica Tremaine, and is captivated by the contestants' glamorous shoes and gowns.

Twelve years later, twenty-two-year-old Cindy leaves New York after graduating from Parsons School of Design with no job prospects. Her father died in a car accident during her senior year of high school, and the grief she suppressed for years finally caught up with her, destroying her ability to create. At JFK, she stumbles near the gate and is steadied by a handsome stranger she dubs Prince Charming. On the flight, he swaps seats to sit beside her, and they bond over witty banter and a shared reluctance about where they are headed. At LAX, they exchange names: Cindy and Henry.

Erica Tremaine is Cindy's stepmother, a household name who created Before Midnight and its franchise of dating spinoffs. Before Simon's death, he convinced Erica to have children via surrogate. She went through with the surrogacy after his death, and the surprise was triplets: Gus, Jack, and Mary. Cindy has returned to Los Angeles as a temporary nanny. Her stepsisters, Anna and Drew, are YouTube influencers whose relationship with Cindy was rocky in high school but deepened through shared grief.

When two contestants drop out of the upcoming season, Erica volunteers Anna and Drew. Her junior executive producer, Beck, suggests adding Cindy, but Erica refuses, later admitting she fears Cindy will be targeted online for being plus-size. Cindy resists the notion that she should hide. After Beck pitches the show as a career launchpad, Cindy insists on joining, framing it as a matter of respect: If her stepsisters deserve a chance, so does she. Erica reluctantly agrees.

A fake stepmom is cast to conceal Cindy's connection to Erica, and Anna and Drew will not be presented as her sisters on the show. At the château where filming takes place, Cindy rooms with Sara Claire, a sharp hedge fund analyst from Texas; Stacy, a witty Black librarian and makeup artist from Chicago; and Addison, a prickly actress. On the first night, Cindy steps out of a Rolls-Royce and gasps: The suitor is Henry, the stranger from her flight. During a power outage, he pulls her to his guesthouse and gives her a walkie-talkie so they can communicate in secret. At the elimination ceremony, Cindy is the last name called and boldly kisses Henry on the cheek, putting a target on her back.

A bio reveals Henry is the son of Lucy Mackenzie, founder of LuMac, a fashion brand famous for the '90s slip dress. Through late-night walkie-talkie conversations, Henry confides that his mother has rheumatoid arthritis and that LuMac is in dire financial shape; he came on the show to save the brand. Sara Claire earns the first solo date and afterward confides in Cindy about the awkwardness of competing for the same man while wanting to remain friends. Addison delivers constant backhanded compliments, telling Cindy she is "so brave" for wearing a fitted dress, a remark Cindy recognizes as a thinly veiled insult about her weight.

At a boxing-themed group date, Cindy wins a pillow fight against Addison and initiates a bold public kiss with Henry. Beck reveals that America loves Cindy: Social media is ablaze with praise, and People magazine names her a top-five pick. Drew is eliminated, and Anna voluntarily leaves after her secret romance with a junior producer is nearly exposed. Cindy is now alone in the competition.

The show moves to New York City. At a LuMac runway challenge, Cindy faces a recurring problem: no clothing in her size. She deconstructs two LuMac pieces into a new outfit, and the act of creating under pressure reignites her dormant creative spark. She wins the challenge and argues to Jay, LuMac's nonbinary creative director, that expanding the brand's size range is not just ethical but good business. On her official solo date, she and Henry share an emotional dinner before ditching the crew to run through the streets of Manhattan. They later sneak out for an off-camera date in Chinatown, talking until sunrise.

The final six contestants move to villas in Punta Mita, Mexico. On Cindy's date, she confesses she originally came on the show for career exposure, not love. Henry says they surprised each other. He stays the night.

The next morning, Beck delivers devastating news: The predetermined winner has been Sara Claire all along. Henry agreed to choose Sara Claire in exchange for network deals that could save LuMac. Cindy will not be invited to the finale. She boards her flight home with one overwhelming thought: America might love her, but Henry does not.

Back in Los Angeles, Cindy opens a box of her parents' belongings she has been avoiding. Inside are their wedding rings and a sealed letter from her mother, urging Cindy to choose herself and choose joy. Days later, Chad Winkle, the show's host, arrives with a scroll: Henry has insisted Cindy attend the live finale. But Cindy has already booked a red-eye to New York for a meeting with Crowley Vincent, president of Gossamer, a prestigious footwear company expanding into women's shoes. She catches her flight without telling anyone.

That evening, Cindy watches the live finale with Sierra, her best friend from Parsons. The Rolls-Royce meant for Cindy arrives at the château empty, and Henry is visibly devastated before vanishing from the set. No winner is chosen, and the show devolves into chaos on live television.

Three weeks later, Cindy is working at Gossamer, designing again, and living in Brooklyn. Her creative block has broken; she has designed a men's loafer called "The Henry," inspired by him. On her last day before a work trip to Italy, she returns to the office and finds Henry at her desk with a Jimmy Choo shoe box. He explains that he fought the network and never wanted to choose Sara Claire; saving his mother's company had to be on his own terms. He tells Cindy it was always her, from the moment they met at JFK.

Cindy apologizes for missing the finale, explaining she could not risk losing the Gossamer opportunity when she believed he would not pick her. Henry kneels to try on the prototype of "The Henry." It fits. They kiss, and Cindy invites him to meet her in Italy. When she asks about the shoe box, he whispers, "If the shoe fits."