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By: Betty Corrello

Release Date: October 6th, 2026

FromCosmopolitan’sCosmo Reads imprint comes BACK FOR SECONDS, a sexy, sensory exploration of how food, sex, connection, and community can make even the darkest days shine bright with hope and love. It’s about letting yourself be seenmess and all.

Two cups of chaos, a dash of generational trauma, and a pinch of Christmas magic.

June Alfiero is just trying to survive her first Christmas post-divorce. If growing up the only daughter of Evergreen’s boardwalk pizza king taught her anything, it’s how to eat or be eaten.

She’s done indulging family drama; she refuses to play games with her ex; and she definitely will not be falling for the viral vegan homecookshe accidentally dragged on TikTok after one too many margaritas.

But when June comes face-to-face with the Adonis himself, Joey Pagano is nothing like his digital footprint. He’s patient. Earnest. Maddeningly kind. And navigating his own heartbreak.

The more time they spend together, sharing home-cooked meals and soft confessions,the more June’s hardened exterior begins to melt.

Suddenly, her small Jersey Shore town is serving up more than bittersweet nostalgia: it’s late-night kitchen experiments, flirty bickering, shared secrets, and the kind of steady companionship June had given up on. Joey doesn’t shy away from her messhe pulls up a chair, pours a glass of wine, and asks for seconds.

With every boardwalk stroll and cozy, flour-dusted moment, June feels something inside her unclench. Maybe healing doesn’t have to be quiet. Maybe it can be loud, joyful, and a little chaoticjust like Evergreen at Christmas.

But bearing her soul to Joey means risking the kind of heartbreak she’s barely recovered from.

Will June take a chance on the delicious magic growing between themor close the door before Joey can knock again?