Written in the Stars (written in the Stars, #1)

The novel follows two women in Seattle whose disastrous blind date leads to a fake-dating arrangement that slowly becomes real.

Elle Jones, a bisexual astrologer and co-creator of the popular social media horoscope account Oh My Stars, arrives late to a blind date at an upscale restaurant with Darcy Lowell. Darcy is the older sister of Brendon Lowell, founder of a dating app called OTP, who has been in early talks with Elle and her roommate and business partner, Margot, about a consulting deal. Despite an immediate physical spark, the date sours quickly. Darcy, a reserved actuary, dismisses astrology and scoffs at the idea of soul mates. Elle spills wine all over the table and Darcy's vintage dress, and on her way to the restroom, she overhears Darcy on the phone describing her as chaotic and disorganized. Humiliated, Elle pays the bill and leaves.

At home, Darcy settles into her solitary routine, but Brendon arrives and pushes her to stop isolating herself after her broken engagement two years earlier. When he insists she attend a speed-dating event, Darcy panics and lies, telling him she and Elle actually hit it off. She makes Brendon promise not to mention it to Elle.

The lie immediately backfires. Brendon runs into Elle the next morning at a restaurant where she is having brunch with her mother, Linda, and enthusiastically tells them both that Darcy is taken with Elle. Unable to contradict him without embarrassing herself, Elle is furious. She confronts Darcy at her apartment, and Darcy apologizes, explaining that Brendon has been relentlessly setting her up on dates. Darcy proposes they pretend to date for a month or two so Brendon will back off. In exchange, Darcy will attend Elle's family Thanksgiving as a devoted girlfriend, helping Elle prove to her family that she has her life together. Despite Margot's objections, Elle agrees, and they set December 31 as the termination date.

To make the ruse believable, they begin spending time together and exchanging personal histories. Darcy reveals that her parents divorced when she was 16 and she essentially raised Brendon after their mother emotionally withdrew. Elle shares her struggles to earn respect from a family that views her career as a passing phase. Their physical chemistry intensifies, though both try to keep it in check.

A double date with Brendon at a séance-themed escape room deepens their connection. Elle's knowledge of tarot and Darcy's math skills combine to crack the puzzles, and when Elle's intuition tells her the obvious answer is wrong, Darcy chooses to trust her. At a trivia night afterward, Darcy's secret passion for soap operas, inherited from her late grandmother, wins the final question, and Elle throws her arms around Darcy in celebration. That night in a shared ride home, they hold hands in the dark backseat. At Elle's door, Darcy suggests they kiss because Brendon is watching, but the kiss becomes something passionate and real.

Their dynamic continues to shift. Darcy brings Elle a box of her favorite cheap wine to celebrate the finalized OTP contract, and over burgers and sake bombs, they trade deeper stories about their families. At a thrift store, Elle finds a hideous Grinch sweater for Darcy to wear to Thanksgiving, and Darcy secretly buys Elle a vintage jacket she admires. Elle begins to hope something real is growing.

Thanksgiving at the Jones family home brings things to a head. When Elle mentions the OTP deal, Linda responds with polite indifference, calling it "a neat opportunity" (181). Darcy intervenes with a passionate, researched defense of Elle's career. But Elle's younger sister, Lydia, announces her own engagement, eclipsing Elle's moment, then compares Elle to cilantro, suggesting people either love her or find her off-putting. Linda dismisses Elle's interests as "an acquired taste" (189). Elle snaps, confronting her mother about years of feeling inadequate, and retreats to the kitchen in tears. Darcy follows, wipes her tears, and tells her she likes cilantro and liked how Elle tasted when they kissed. Elle asks Darcy to spend the weekend together with no pretense, and Darcy agrees.

Elle takes Darcy to the Jacobsen Observatory at her alma mater. Beneath the stars, she reveals she has a master's in astronomy and dropped out of a PhD program to pursue Oh My Stars when graduate school drained the wonder from learning. Darcy shares that her drive for stability stems from watching her mother become financially devastated when her father left. They kiss on the balcony and sleep together for the first time.

The next morning, Elle spots the termination date still marked on Darcy's phone calendar, and her happiness wavers. Darcy senses Elle's distress and asks her to attend Brendon's Christmas party, not as part of their deal but because she genuinely wants Elle there. She admits she is not ready for what they have to be over. Relieved, Elle grows even closer to Darcy over the following weeks.

Darcy's equilibrium is shaken when her mother, Gillian, arrives in Seattle unannounced, revealing she is selling the family home and has donated Darcy's grandmother's irreplaceable Christmas ornaments. Gillian warns Darcy against getting too involved with Elle. Darcy calls Elle and breaks down on the phone. Elle immediately goes to a thrift store and shows up at Darcy's door with a secondhand Christmas tree and mismatched ornaments. They decorate it together, share childhood memories, and grow more intimate. Elle privately realizes she is in love with Darcy but decides to wait for a better moment to say it.

At Brendon's Christmas party, Elle and Darcy dance together. When Elle goes to find Darcy afterward, she overhears Gillian pressing Darcy about whether she is in love. Darcy scoffs and says she is "just having fun" (303) and that being in love would be ridiculous. Heartbroken, Elle walks out into the freezing night. Darcy follows, and Elle demands to know what their relationship means. Darcy retreats into vagueness, saying she did not plan for any of this. Elle tells Darcy that she wears her heart on her sleeve but at least she has one, and walks away into the snow. Darcy breaks down, confessing to Brendon that the relationship started out fake and that she lied because she was terrified of falling in love.

Elle spirals into heartbreak. Brendon meets with her and reveals the full story behind Darcy's fear: Darcy found her fiancée, Natasha, in bed with a mutual friend a month before their wedding. Elle listens but tells Brendon that Darcy should say it herself. Elle also finally answers her mother's calls. Linda apologizes, admitting Lydia confronted her about putting too much pressure on her children, and promises to listen more.

Meanwhile, Darcy tries to purge her apartment of every trace of Elle but cannot bring herself to discard her notebook of facts about Elle or take down the Christmas tree. Brendon finds her and coaxes her into admitting she loves Elle. He tells her it is not too late.

On Christmas Eve, Darcy goes to Elle's apartment carrying a potted cilantro plant. Margot blocks the door but reveals Elle is at Wishing Well Books doing readings. At the bookstore, Darcy pays for a reading to get time alone with Elle. Elle refuses, saying she cannot read for someone who does not believe. Darcy tells her she does not believe in astrology but believes in Elle. She confesses her terror of losing someone she loves even more deeply than Natasha and how by saying nothing she lost Elle anyway. She presents the cilantro plant and says that on a scale of one to ten, she wants to be with Elle "infinity." Elle tells Darcy she deserves someone who loves her exactly as she is, mess and all. Darcy affirms that she does, and they kiss. For the first time, Elle feels certainty rather than hope: a lifetime of butterflies.