Ellen has a problem making & keeping friends. Most of them want to use her or laugh at her. Those types of people are the scum of the earth. I mean who gets someone wasted & then leaves them at the bar on their birthday. They could have made sure she got home. People suck sometimes. In this book Ellen is an editor & works from home on her computer. It's the perfect job for her considering her various conditions. She gets depressed, has anxiety, & has a hard time reading emotions. She also doesn't understand social cues. Which I imagine would make life really hard. Especially because she was born rich & I can imagine all the social functions her parents go to that she had to attend. I am sure none of those people care about Ellen. They just pretend to so they can talk about her behind her back. You see this when her parents get upset about their friends not being able to see the wedding.
In order to get home Hayes, who owned the bar, walks her home because she can't walk steady. He is also worried someone might take advantage of her. She needs he getting up the stairs & almost falls down the stairs. Hayes is instantly attracted to her. He carries her to her bed puts a water bottle by it & goes to walk away. She asks him to stay saying she doesn't want to be alone on her birthday. Then she asks if she could kiss him. He gets uncomfortable because he doesn't want to take advantage of her. She sits in his lap & kisses him several times. She gets mad when he doesn't kiss back. Asking if he's not attracted to her. Actually it's just the opposite. She convinces him to take off his shirt so she can see the scar he has from being stabbed. She finally falls asleep & he chastised himself for going too far. He is always worried he will turn out like his father. His father brought them to the US bought the bar then cheated on his mom. On top of that his Dad left the country with the new woman & left the bar to Hayes. He hates it. He doesn't drink & he hates all the math he has to do for projections, orders, & probably taxes.
We skip ahead five years and both are still single. Both feel alone even thoughts? Ellen has a hairless cat named mouse. They are getting desperate so Ellen does research & finds a book that has steps on how to find love. She tries speed dating & is frustrated when no one chooses her. Her second time Hayes notices her & cuts in line so he can be her next date. Unfortunately, for him Ellen doesn't remember anything from that night. I kinda think if she remembered the kissing and all the rest she would be mortified. He monopolized the rest of her dates & she didn't choose him because of stereotypes because he was big. Even though their speed dating went well. I felt so bad for him. Hayes is a sweet, sensitive, & caring guy. He only chose her for a date. She put a lot of jerks down I wouldn't have. She keeps overlooking other peoples issues because she has been told all her life that there is something wrong with her. And she believes it. She continues to speed date six more times without any luck & doesn't understand why no one picks her.
Hayes can't take it at home anymore. His sisters & mamma won't quit setting him up on blind dates. On New Year's his sister's best friend kisses him without asking or warning. He felt like he was being sexually assaulted. Apparently later Ellen finds out it was a miscommunication. Anyway he moves across the way from Ellen's apartment. Ellen has a POTS incident while they are talking. He learns she can't stand for more than 10 minutes. Her heart speeds up her legs collapse and then she passes out. He is there to take care of her. It doesn't take too long for her to wake back up. She thanks him. He sees mouse in his PJ's & asked where the ears to the cost are. Mouse gets cold without hair. She takes very good care of him. Too bad she can't learn to take better care of herself. Ellen's parents changed their will to say if she isn't in a serious relationship or married by a certain year on her birthday she wouldn't inherited a cottage on her parents land. They had promised it to her a long time ago. When she moved out because of the cat they panicked.
When Hayes hears her talking about someone to be her fake boyfriend he jumps all over the chance. He tries to convince her. Finally as the deadline gets closer she agrees. She doesn't have any more time to find someone. Being Ellen she comes up with a form for him to fill out to learn if they are even compatible. After they exchange papers & talk they decide to go ahead. Of course, Ellen believes life happens exactly like it does in a book. She writes down all the things that are going to happen to them. He doesn't believe it because it's a book genre not real life. The go to the zoo for their first date. They both love animals & he's never been since moving there. They get to feed giraffes. I am so jealous I have always wanted to do that. He sends pictures of her to his family. The rest I will let you discover.
