Page 95 of The Rom Con

I take his chin between my fingers and kiss him, slow and tender. “You’re very sweet, and I appreciate your entirely selfless offer. Especially as I’m technically homeless.” I pull a face. “But this is where I’m supposed to be right now. Gran needs me, and besides, I have a book to finish.”

His eyes narrow like I’m very shifty indeed. “I think you just don’t want to live in my fancy apartment that you hate.”

“I do nothateyour apartment!” I insist, then rethink that. “I do hate your oven, though.”

“Pretty sure the oven hatesyou.”

“Hardy-har.”

“What if I promise to do all the cooking?” He’s really weaponizing those puppy dog eyes now. I’m in big trouble.

“Still no.”

“In the nude.”

I laugh out loud. “Very tempting, but I’m still going to have to decline. For now,” I amend.

“Damn, I really thought that one would work.” He laces our fingers together, eyeing me speculatively. “I feel like I’d be getting a different answer if I lived in a brownstone.”

That one makes me hesitate, and he reads it all over my face.

He grins in triumph. “Brownstone. Got it.”

“Jack, do not go out and buy a brownstone.” As I say it, the ghost of Betty rolls over in her grave and I can practically hear her screech:Let him buy the brownstone!

“I won’t,” he says, nodding ever so slowly.

“Jack...” I say in a warning tone.

He grins, lowering his mouth to mine... and then I’m no longer saying much at all.

Epilogue

BESTSELLING AUTHOR CASSIDY SUTTON ON LIFE, LOVE, AND ROMANCE ACROSS GENERATIONS

BY NATALIA KIMURA FOR SIREN

It’s a Friday morning, the kind of crisp autumn day that makes Nora Ephron fans dream of bouquets of newly sharpened pencils and long, banter-filled walks through Central Park beneath a canopy of fall foliage—or at least, the fan sitting across from me sure does. We’ve been chatting all of five minutes before she blurts, “Don’t you justloveNew York in the fall?”

If romance is a state of mind, then today’s interview subject has a PhD in HEA (that’s “happily ever after,” for the uninitiated). I’m spending the morning at the cozy West Village brownstone of bestselling author-slash-screenwriter (and former Siren editor) Cassidy Sutton, discussing the extraordinary success of her debut novelThe Throwback, life imitating art, and the unexpected joys of married life. (Full disclosure: Sutton is a friend, former colleague, roommate,andbridesmaid; I make no apologies for the blatant favoritism shown during this interview.)

The past few years have been a whirlwind for Sutton. She quit her job, wrote a bestselling book, sold the film rights in a fierce Hollywood bidding war, and is now penning the script—and she somehow did it all while caring for her convalescing grandmother (better known to her three million TikTok followers as @GranKnowsBest)andplanning a wedding to Brawler-founder-turned-venture-capitalist Jack Bradford. If it made you tired to read all that, you’re not alone.

“I crammed a couple of decades of life highlights into four years,” Sutton jokes, reclining on her couch with a mug of tea and her Chesapeake Bay retriever Asher by her side. “Sometimes I feel like I just flipped a page and all my dreams came true.”

Though it’s hard to imagine there’s anyone left who hasn’t read the mega-bestseller, here’s a brief synopsis:The Throwbackfollows Beth, an independent, career-driven, but unlucky-in-love Manhattanite working as an editor at a digital magazine (sound familiar?) who, on the eve of her thirtieth birthday, drunkenly laments her single status to her old-school traditional grandmother—only to wake up the next morning transported back to 1950s New York, where she’s considered an “old maid,” feminism isn’t even a speck in the distance, and the only journalism job she can get hired for is secretary to the newsroom’s chauvinistic star male reporter. Oh, and everyone’s calling her Betty.

You can guess what happens next: Hijinks and hilarity ensue as she alternately tries to fit into her strange new world and drag her colleagues into the future. And that brash hotshot she loves to hate? He just might be the man—and sparring partner—of her dreams. But when the cosmic glitch threatens to correct itself, she has to choose between love in the past and life in the present.

“It’sBack to the FuturemeetsPleasantvillemeetsHis Girl Friday,” Sutton says with a laugh. “I never was much good at picking a genre.”

The manuscript sparked a frenzy among publishers, eventually landing Sutton a six-figure book deal. Upon release,The Throwbackquickly rocketed up bestseller lists, where it’s stayed for fifty-eight weeks and counting. “No one is more surprised than I am,” Sutton says, adding coyly, “but I’ll take it.”

Why does she think the book’s struck such a chord with readers?

“There’s something really magical about that particular time period for so many people,” she explains, pointing to the enduring popularity of such beloved stars as Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. “While there’s certainly a tendency to romanticize and glamorize the past, I’ve heard from so many readers who long for a time that felt simpler and slower, when dating with intention was the rule rather than the exception, and courtship was a stage to be savored rather than rushed through or skipped over. But beyond the nostalgia, I think my heroine’s journey resonates so deeply with readers because it reflects a struggle that’s as relevant today as it was in the 1950s: the desire to strike a successful balance between a fulfilling relationship and family life and a purposeful career. As a writer, there’s a really delicious tension between ‘feminine’ and ‘feminist’ that I had so much fun exploring.”

It didn’t take long for Hollywood to come calling. A film adaptation of the book is currently in development, an outcome Sutton says is beyond her wildest dreams. The role of Beth/Betty practically incited an industry-wide stampede, with just about every A-list starlet rumored to have been vying for the part of the modern girl next door. The role has been cast, though Sutton’s been sworn to secrecy, saying only “it’s a recognizable name” and “I think people will be very happy.” Does she believe all the buzz around the film will usher in a new rom-com golden age, as some have suggested? “From your lips to God’s ears,” she says, knocking on her reclaimed wood coffee table. “It’s the least the romance community deserves for carrying the entire publishing industry on their backs.”

Something else she never saw coming? Her grandmother’s newfound celebrity as a viral TikTok star. “It was a complete accident,” Sutton shares, explaining that the idea was originally conceived as a gimmick to market her book. “As everyone now knows, my grandmother is a character, and we thought it’d be funny to film some videos where she’d dole out old-fashioned dating advice to the romantically disenchanted,” adding that neither of them ever dreamed the videos would end up striking such a chord. “We get heartfelt messages from people around the globe who’ve lost their own loved ones and view her as a surrogate grandmother.” One of their favorite comments? “Someone said Gran’s filled the Betty White–shaped hole in their heart.”

Indeed, die-hard fans of the snarky-hip nonagenarian say her pithy, politically incorrect commentary is not only reviving the lost art of courtship, but also inspiring a new generation to try out a more traditional, retro approach to dating that they’ve only ever seen in the movies. Her most viral video (up to twenty-four million views and counting) famously encourages men to hold their significant other’s hair back when they’re getting sick—“a tip I’ve become all too familiar with,” Sutton confesses ruefully, rubbing her six-months-pregnant belly.

Which brings us to her husband—and rumored inspiration behind the book—Jack Bradford. While perhaps best known as cofounder of the controversial men’s website Brawler, Bradford recently caused a stir of a different kind when he announced his venture capital firm would begin exclusively funding female-led start-ups, a shift Wall Street analysts were quick to attribute to his wife’s influence (despite Sutton’s claims to the contrary). “Jack would be the first to tell you he made a business decision. The female-run businesses in his portfolio were outperforming the men’s two-to-one, and he believes the greatest growth potential lies in the women’s sector, which is both untapped and underfunded.” But seriously, she wasn’t even alittlebit responsible? “I think my husband discovered something Siren readers have known for a while: Women are used to doing everything men do—only backwards and in heels.”

So how much ofThe Throwbackwas ripped from the headlines of her own love story? While Sutton insists comparisons are exaggerated, it’s impossible not to notice the parallels to her personal life: the feisty, headstrong heroine disillusioned with the modern dating scene; the cocky, antagonistic professional rival turned chivalrous love interest; the battle-of-the-sexes power struggle that transforms the pair from bitter enemies into passionate lovers. Alas, it looks like the gossipmongers desperate for details on New York’s newest power couple will have to keep guessing. Though she remains tight-lipped on the specifics, Sutton reveals the truth behind the duo’s real-life love story is “way more romantic than my book.”

Guess we’ll have to hope for a sequel.