Celia Ortiz is thirty, accomplished, and technically in a relationship—though she wouldn’t know it by the way her boyfriend scrolls through dinner, sighs through dates, and treats her emotional needs like pop-up ads he can close without reading.
On a crowded Newport Beach boardwalk, one farmer’s market argument finally sends Celia wandering off alone—straight into Aiden Mitchell. He’s a charming surfer with sun-bleached curls, an easy grin, and a surf shop to run. He’s also being aggressively confronted by a woman from a single date six months ago who refuses to accept reality. Desperate, Aiden blurts out the only solution he can think of: This is my girlfriend.
Celia agrees to play along, just for a minute. To help a stranger.
That minute changes everything.
When Celia’s real relationship finally fizzles out, she does something radical—she chooses herself. She moves into a beachside apartment, starts over, and learns to take up space again. Then fate, with impeccable comedic timing, reveals that Aiden lives in the same building.
What follows is a slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance filled with surf lessons, shared meals, awkward run-ins with exes, and the growing realization that the right love doesn’t make you smaller—it sees you more clearly. But as Celia’s fear of being overlooked again collides with Aiden’s own emotional hesitations, both must decide whether this connection is worth the risk of being fully seen.
Enjoy this podcast video I created about The Day I Stopped Being Invisible.
SONGS BY BOOK SCENES
Unbreakable by Jamie Scott (Scene where Aiden comes to Celia’s door to apologize. She stands at the door in her apartment, her hand hovering over the doorknob. When she finally opens the door, she sees Aiden’s door closing.)
Insensitive by Jann Arden (Scene where Celia is sitting on the couch next to Brian as he scrolls through his phone, ignoring her, instead of talking to her.)
Take on the World by You Me at Six (After the end scene.)
Mine Tonight by Velvet Desires (Celia and Aiden’s first night together.)
Touched by Vast (At the Roller Palace. It’s playing while Celia and Aiden are skating.)
This Side of Me by Savage Garden (Celia and Aiden’s second night together.)
I Need to Know by Marc Anthony (Celia and Aiden dancing at the roadside Mexican food stand.)
Here is a trailer for my upcoming novel. It’s a rough draft, and I’ll update it as the story progresses.
Beilstein, Germany, photos
