Pretend You're Mine

Harper Wilde is having the worst day of her adult life. After catching her boyfriend and boss, Ted, with a delivery girl, she storms out with nothing but her car keys. She drives for hours, believing she is heading toward her college roommate Hannah's house in Fremont, Maryland, but travels in the wrong direction. Her car runs out of gas at Remo's, a bar in the small town of Benevolence, Maryland.

In the parking lot, Harper witnesses Glenn Diller, a large, drunk man, choking a local woman named Gloria, his girlfriend. Harper throws herself onto Glenn's back to intervene. Glenn punches her unconscious before Luke Garrison, a captain in the Army National Guard, breaks Glenn's nose and takes him down. Deputy Ty Adler arrests Glenn. When Harper wakes, she is immediately drawn to Luke. His sister Sophie, a bartender at Remo's and Ty's wife, offers them free drinks. Over the evening, Harper discovers she has no money, phone, or place to stay. After Sophie deliberately suggests only unsuitable alternatives, Luke reluctantly invites Harper to his house for the night.

Luke bought the house from his grandmother's estate; it is large and nearly empty. They share the only bed. The next morning, X-rays reveal old healed fractures from Harper's childhood that she deflects questions about. Luke drives her to the city to collect her belongings, which fit into two suitcases and three boxes. Harper reveals her parents died in a car accident when she was seven and that she grew up in foster care.

Sophie proposes an arrangement: Harper will pretend to be Luke's girlfriend in exchange for a temporary job at Garrison Construction and a place to live. The charade will last one month until Luke's unit deploys to Afghanistan, relieving his family's obsessive matchmaking. At Sunday dinner with the Garrisons, Harper wins everyone over, though she notices Luke's abrupt mood shift when she finds a homecoming photo of him with a beautiful brunette he refuses to discuss.

Harper organizes the neglected office and earns the grudging respect of Frank Barry, a gruff longtime employee. Luke, inspired by Harper's presence, begins reconnecting with his family. The physical tension between them escalates: on a dinner date, they dance to "Angel Eyes" by the Jeff Healey Band and share their first kiss. Luke pulls back, saying he is not ready. Days later, a near-naked kitchen encounter shatters his restraint, and when the town's charity lake plunge puts Harper in the arms of Lincoln Reed, the flirtatious fire chief, Luke's jealousy erupts. That evening, during a thunderstorm, they consummate their relationship.

Their bond deepens as Harper reveals cigarette burn scars from an abusive foster father. She brings home a rescue dog named Lola; Luke pretends annoyance but secretly runs with the dog every morning. When Harper discovers Luke holds a lucrative patent he never mentioned, she confronts his pattern of withholding. They reconcile, and Harper tells Luke she thinks she loves him. He cannot say it back, but they agree to enjoy their remaining time.

At a farewell dinner before deployment, Luke announces he and Harper are parting ways. On deployment day, she tells him she loves him. He boards the bus, and she drives away sobbing. Then a text arrives from Luke: "Stay." He explains that he wants to come home to her. Harper cancels her plans and commits to Benevolence.

During Luke's six-month deployment, Harper transforms the house into a home, takes a waitressing shift at Remo's, and deepens friendships with Gloria and Aldo Moretta, Luke's best friend and fellow guardsman. When Aldo is critically injured by an IED (improvised explosive device), Harper supports the home front alongside Luke's mother, Claire, sitting with Aldo's mother while Aldo undergoes surgery. She later learns from Aldo, not Luke, that Luke dragged Aldo from the firefight under enemy fire. One night, Glenn Diller, out on bail, breaks into the house with a hunting knife during a girls' weekend. Gloria knocks him unconscious with a cast iron skillet, and Glenn is arrested again.

While clearing groundcover outside, Harper discovers a locked basement room containing Luke's hidden past: photo albums of his relationship with a woman named Karen from childhood through their wedding, and a letter announcing Karen was pregnant. Newspaper clippings reveal that Karen was killed in a head-on collision while driving to meet Luke's homecoming bus. The pregnancy was never publicly mentioned. Harper calls Sophie, who reveals Karen's mother, Joni, blamed Luke at the funeral. Harper tracks down Joni, shows her the basement, and helps her reconcile with the Garrisons.

Luke returns home early and is stunned to find Joni with his family. They share their first real conversation since the funeral. Luke tells Harper he cannot love her but wants her.

On Thanksgiving, Luke's grief erupts. Waking from a nightmare in which Harper dies in the crash, he lashes out and tells Harper he does not love her and cannot replace Karen. He asks her to leave. Harper tries to warn him about a threatening letter from Clive Perry, the foster father who burned her, who is due for release from prison, but Luke cuts her off. She walks out.

Harper retreats to Joni's house and submits her notice at work. Luke discovers Perry's letters among Harper's belongings and investigates with Ty and Detective Melissa Rameson, the officer who worked Harper's original abuse case. Glenn confesses from jail that Perry paid his bail and sent him to kill Harper; the break-in was never about Gloria. Luke visits Perry in prison wearing camera-equipped sunglasses and goads him into confessing on video to orchestrating the attack and planning Harper's murder. The recording secures a conspiracy charge ensuring Perry will never be released.

Interventions from Aldo and Joni finally break through Luke's resistance. Aldo argues the human heart can love more than one person. At Karen's grave, Joni tells Luke that Karen sent Harper to him and warns that Harper is leaving Saturday.

On the eve of Harper's departure, Sophie lures her to Remo's for karaoke night, where the entire town has gathered. In a series of musical dedications, Aldo and Gloria reveal their engagement and ask Harper to be maid of honor. The Garrison family sings "We Are Family" in matching Christmas sweaters. Then Luke takes the stage and sings "Angel Eyes," the song from their first date, telling the crowd he loves Harper. He holds out his hand, and she is lifted to him.

At home, Luke apologizes, reveals he and Aldo have retired from the Guard, and assures Harper that Perry will never threaten her again. Inside, she sees two framed photos: Karen laughing in the sunshine, and Harper with her parents, the picture she has carried her whole life, now hung in a home. Luke drops to one knee with an eternity band. Harper says yes.

In an epilogue set years later, Harper and Luke attend a Little League game with their three adopted children, Robbie, Henry, and Ava, all formerly in foster care at Mrs. Agosta's house. Harper is pregnant with their fourth child. Robbie hits a home run and sprints into Luke's arms. Luke walks toward Harper, kisses her, and says, "Let's go home."