A Perfect Fantasy

Will is a code monkey by day, and he likes his job well enough—it pays the bills. But with forty creeping closer and the fallout of his divorce still in his rearview, writing is his only escape. His fantasy worlds are the one place where he can lose himself completely, a refuge from the depression and anxiety he’s wrestled with for years. This isn’t the life he thought he’d be living, and most days, it feels like a pale shadow of the one he wanted.

Davey—his friend and colleague—has a way of pulling Will out of his head, coaxing him out for drinks or just to unwind after work. But Will would rather stay safe in his shell. Being social still feels like too much, too loud, too risky.

Jess has stopped believing in love altogether. Heartbreak and betrayal have been her only constants, so she’s done setting herself up to be let down again. She’s happy enough in the pages of her favourite books—fantastical worlds where the stakes feel real but the heartbreak is only fiction. Her family doesn’t understand, but she’s tired of explaining that she doesn’t need a man to feel whole.