A CERTAIN STEP by GISSANE SOPHIA

A friends-to-lovers romance set in the glistening Broadway stages of a sultry Pride and Prejudice musical adaptation.

Broadway heartthrob Ethan Everett has been in love with his best friend, Willa Davidian, since they first bonded during the Midnights at Pemberley: The Musical! tryouts. Now, a hit show on Broadway, the two are closer than ever, and his feelings have become more challenging to deny. He could confess it all and lay everything bare, but Willa has a strict rule against dating actors.

Willa has only ever had unfortunate luck with men who've failed to understand her demisexuality and needs, but after two years of getting to know Ethan, she's falling for him. She'd be willing to break all the rules set against dating actors, but she'd never risk ruining the friendship they've built. She's comfortable with how private her life is, slightly different from his renowned fame.

But everything changes when Willa, the understudy for Elizabeth, has to go on for the principal role and play pretend with Ethan in front of a sold-out crowd. With beats of intimacy and far more heat than Austen ever wrote, their real-life emotions are set ablaze right alongside the characters. The two must decide if their friendship is worth risking in an industry that comes with too many perils and uncertainties.