Avery Lane has survived bad clients, brutal deadlines, and one spectacularly humiliating almost-romance she has spent fifteen years pretending did not matter. But her high school reunion is another problem entirely. Showing up alone would be inconvenient. Showing up vulnerable would be unthinkable. So Avery does what any emotionally composed, spreadsheet-brained crisis consultant would do: she hires a professional stand-in. The Stand-In Society provides emergency plus-ones, fake dates, family-event buffers, and public-facing romantic support for people who need to get through one night with their dignity intact. There is only one problem. The man assigned to Avery's case is Miles Archer. Her almost. Her unresolved history. The charming, infuriating boy who disappeared from her life before he could become the man she never quite forgot. Miles is very good at playing the part. Too good. He knows when to touch her hand, how to rescue her from reunion small talk, and exactly how to look at her as if none of this is fake. Avery tells herself it is just the contract. Just the rules. Just one night. But the old chemistry is still there. So is the hurt. And when the performance starts feeling dangerously real, Avery has to decide whether Miles is only standing in for the man she once wanted, or whether he might finally be brave enough to stay. Smart, funny, and emotionally warm, The Reunion Clause is a contemporary romantic comedy novella about fake dating, second chances, weaponized banter, and the terrifying possibility that the one who got away may have been waiting for his cue to come back. The Reunion Clause is Book 1 of The Stand-In Society , a series of connected romantic comedy novellas. Each book features a new couple and a complete happily-ever-after.