The Challenge: A Single Dad Romance

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a new, STANDALONE contemporary romance…

Nothing says welcome home like accidentally moving in with your first heartbreak…and his little girl.
Coming back to my small Wyoming hometown was supposed to be temporary. I only planned to stay long enough to help my ailing mother and sort through the mess of my family’s old belongings.
Instead, I somehow ended up living in Evan Ricci’s house. The single dad now owned a bunch of properties and one of them was the place I’d rented. He’d taken it off the market and moved in before I got there. I just never got the memo. Unfortunately, there was no other place in town available, so Evan let me stay.
Evan—the guy my parents took in years ago after his mother died.
The same Evan who used to dare me into ridiculous challenges that somehow always made me stronger—a game we’d dubbed The Challenge.
The same guy who ultimately rejected me before I left for college after I’d finally garnered the courage to shoot my shot.
Now Evan was a rugged single dad with an eight-year-old daughter, a cocky attitude, and a dangerous ability to make me forget every reason I should still hate him.
Sharing a house with him should’ve been unbearable. Instead, it felt dangerously familiar, nearly making me forget that I had a life and a job to get back to in Chicago. I realized the biggest challenge wasn’t surviving living with Evan Ricci.
It was not falling in love with him all over again.

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.

With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over thirty books. Her novels have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.

"The way I wanted this book to last foreverrrrrr....Amazing. Fantastic. Phenomenal."
-Lydia's Bookshelf

Once again, Penelope delivered a memorable story that gave me everything I love in a binge-worthy romance- heat, heart, and characters I couldn't help but root for. That epilogue was the chef's kiss. Best of 2026.
-Kindle Crack Books Reviews

The character development was unmatched. That's one of the things I love most about her writing and what makes Penelope my favorite author.
-Shannon, Goodreads

I wish I could reread it all over again for the first time!! This will also be in my top 3 books of the year!!
-Sassy Southern Book Blog

I cheered so hard for these two. This is a Penelope book I would be happy to reread in the future over and over.
-Katelynn, Goodreads

Sweet, emotional, spicy, and swoony with ALL the second-chance feels. Definitely a five-star listen/read for me!
-Mary, Goodreads

Why yes, yes I did smash this book. I was here for it! You get a bit of second chance, complicated past, complicated present, tension, bad timing, single dad, yearning, chemistry, family drama, small town, banter filled story. So basically PERFECTION.
-Brittany, Goodreads

"This is how you write a single dad romance!"
-Donna Reads Romance