"A sexy, charming debut romance about a man struggling to be his perfect self and a woman who is ready to break her "rules" for him, perfect for readers of Party of Two and Get a Life, Chloe Brown. Khalil Sarda went through a rough patch last year, but now he's nearly back to his old self. All he has to do is keep his "stuff" in the his past. Real men don't have depression and go to therapy--or, at least they don't admit it. He's ready to focus on his growing barbershops, take care of his beloved Detroit community, get back to being the ladies' man his family and friends tease him about. It'll be easy . . . until Vanessa throws him completely off his game. Vanessa Noble is too busy building a multimillion-dollar STEM career as a Black woman before age thirty to be distracted by a relationship. Not to mention, she's been burned before, still dealing with the lingering hurt of a past breakup. Besides, as her friends often remind her, she'll never find a man who checks all the boxes on her famous List. Yet when she desperately needs a shape-up and happens upon Khalil's first barbershop, the Original Fade, he makes her reconsider everything. Khalil is charming, intelligent, sexy, and definitely seems like he'd treat a woman right . . . but he's not Black. Vanessa may be willing to break her rules for a chance with Khalil, but a part of him is frustratingly closed off, just out of her reach. As old patterns begin to re-emerge, Khalil's fear of losing Vanessa may be exactly what drives her away"-- Provided by publisher.