The North Star Agreement

They made a promise at twelve. At thirty-five, it comes due.Ava Chen and Ben Torres have been best friends for twenty-two years. They've survived divorces, illness, graduate school, career pivots, and every version of adulthood-side by side, but never together.When they were kids, scared and lonely on a beach in La Jolla, they made a pact: If they were both still single at thirty-five, they'd choose each other.It was supposed to be a joke. A safety net. A promise that didn't mean anything-until suddenly, it does.With one year left before the deadline, Ava proposes a solution that feels rational, responsible, and completely disastrous: they'll spend the year actively dating other people. Prove they don't need the pact. Turn it into a funny story instead of a looming question.But as Ava navigates a relationship that makes sense on paper, and Ben tries to move on from feelings he's never admitted out loud, the rules they set begin to unravel. Weekly check-ins become confessions. Friendly support starts to feel like something else. And the line between "best friends" and "something more" grows harder to ignore.The North Star Agreement is a slow-burn, emotionally grounded friends-to-lovers romance about timing, restraint, and the terrifying realization that the person who knows you best may also be the one you've been avoiding all along.Perfect for readers who love: - Friends-to-lovers with emotional depth- Childhood promises and long-term tension- Smart, career-driven characters in their 30s- Quiet longing, slow realizations, and earned romanceThis is not a rom-com. This is a love story about what happens when you stop running the experiment-and start telling the truth.

Pagina's: 327, Paperback, Independently published