Maid for Each Other by Lynn Painter Book Summary

Check out my summary of Lynn Painter’s latest romantic comedy, Maid for Each Other, the story of a professional cleaner who makes a love wager with a grumpy millionaire. This contemporary romance is full of familiar tropes and witty banter. If you’re a fan of Painter’s previous works, this one is worth the read, and you should read the whole thing to get all the cute, romantic details. 

Chapters 1-3

When Abi Mariano’s apartment building has an infestation and she has no where else to go, she decides to stay overnight in a penthouse apartment that she usually cleans for a maid service while the client is out of town. But in the morning, the parents of the penthouse owner come in and assume Abi is the girlfriend their son has told them all about. At a breakfast, the parents tell their son, Declan Powell, they met his girlfriend, and he’s very confused because he made up a fake relationship, coincidentally with a pretend girl named Abby, to fit in at work and please his parents. 

Chapters 4-6

Declan tracks Abi down at her other job at the grocery store to confront her about sleeping in his bedroom, and Abi ends up telling him the whole story even though she finds him uptight and grumpy despite being so attractive. At first, Declan is mad and going to report her to her boss, but later he calls back to ask her to be his fake girlfriend for a work party tonight because he told his parents and his CEO at Hathaway Holdings about his fake girlfriend coming around. Abi agrees to be Declan’s girlfriend in exchange for staying at his place all week while they clean out her apartment building.

The work event is a cocktail party that night, and Declan sends a team of stylists to get Abi ready making it clear that Declan is super wealthy and they come from different worlds. She decides to embrace it for the night and also use it to write stories for her MFA. When Declan arrives that night to pick her up, he’s shocked at how good she looks. 

Chapters 7-9

In the car ride over, Abi tries to joke and make their fake love story more exciting, but Declan declines it all in a very serious mood. Abi thinks that Declan is a jerk while also finding him insanely attractive, but does her best to act in love with him when they get to the party. She even has a little fun with him when they try to one up each other with made up funny stories about the other. 

At the end of the party, Abi meets Declan’s CEO, Warren Hathaway, who insists that Abi come to some more events the company has this weekend. Abi had planned on never seeing Declan again since she thought he was a jerk with too much money, and he didn’t seem to like her either. Later in private, Declan asks what it will take to get her to pretend to be his girlfriend all weekend, and she decides in forty thousand dollars that she would use for her student loans. 

Chapters 10-11

Declan agrees even though Abi doesn’t tell him what the money is for, and has a document notarized that he’ll pay her at the end of the weekend. Abi promises to be the best girlfriend and not make up any more embarrassing stories about him. Later that night, Declan calls Abi to tell her that his hotel is overbooked and all the other ones are full this weekend.

She agrees to let him sleep in his guest room while she stays in his room as part of their deal. 

Chapters 11-13

The next morning, Abi meet Declan at the work breakfast, and she actually enjoys it with him. She still thinks he’s a little arrogant about money, but sees that he’s not as much of a jerk as she thought. She leaves for the work events during the day to write a short story for one of her classes. 

Her mom calls to say her latest boyfriend is probably moving out, and Abi is not surprised since her mom has constantly had a new boyfriend since Abi’s dad died years ago. Later, Declan comes back to change for dinner and again Abi notices how attractive he is, but also how thoughtful he’s being about sharing the apartment. 

Chapters 14-16

When they go to dinner together, they decide on a truce to actually get along. So Declan tells her about his upbringing in their family business, and it’s clear to Abi that Declan works extremely hard at his job. Abi tells him about her growing up, and how she wants to be a writing professor to pay her bills while also writing books. 

After dinner, they go to the work event at a jewelry store where Abi charms some of Declan’s co workers including Warren, and they make sure they’re seen looking at the engagement rings. Then, Declan buys her a necklace that he says reminded him of the freckles on her shoulder. 

Chapters 17-18

Because a lot of people are watching them, they decide to kiss after Declan puts the necklace on. The kiss is so good that they move into the hallway to keep kissing when they’re interrupted by Declan’s best friend and business partner, Roman. Roman says that him and Declan have some investments together in a side business, and Abi finds that she really likes Roman who also knows the truth about their fake dating. 

Late that night at home, they both clarify that the kissing was just for fun and nothing more. Abi also comes out to get some water and finds Declan on a work call with Roman even though it’s after 1 am. 

Chapters 19-20

The next morning, Declan and Abi go to the company 5K, but part way through the race Abi starts having an asthma attack. She’s too embarrassed to stop because she thinks she needs to keep going for their deal, but eventually Declan makes her stop to use her inhaler. Then, Declan gives her a piggy back ride the rest of the race, and they stay to socialize as Abi starts feeling a little better.

But on the ride home, Declan is upset that Abi would do that to herself, and Abi likes that he cares about her well being. Later, they go to a work lunch near the airport before Declan has to get on a flight to New York where he has another apartment, and they end up kissing goodbye. 

Chapters 21-23

Declan ends up calling to talk with Abi while he’s waiting for his flight, and even tells her to keep the necklace and use his car this week if she needs it while she stays at the apartment. Abi asks about the work he does with Roman, but Declan says it’s all confidential but not illegal. Later, Abi finds a printed out email about the business but doesn’t really understand it. 

Once he’s in New York City, Declan FaceTimes Abi to see everything because she’s always wanted to go there. They end up talking for a while about how Abi would love to go to the city and write, and all about Declan’s work there. He realizes that he enjoys talking to her and kind of misses her now.

Chapters 24-25

The next day, Declan goes most of the day without talking to Abi, and when they talk that night he ends up offering to fly her to New York for a day because she loves the city so much. At first, she wants to say no because she’s confused about her feelings, but her best friend convinces her this is a once in a lifetime trip. She just likes to go and try to be friends with Declan, so he buys her a business class ticket for the next morning.

On the flight, she’s so excited about all the amenities, and even more excited when Declan comes to the airport to pick her up. She also loves being in the city and seeing his apartment.

Chapters 26-27 

Declan skips work that day to walk around the city with her which Abi gets the idea he never skips work, and they both have a great time together. Near the end of the day, Declan kisses Abi because he can’t stop himself, and he admits to her. It’s just cause he wanted to. Abi asks what this is, and Declan says that they can just be friends if she wants for they can explore being more. Abi is scared that he’ll get bored of her or she is in used to his lifestyle enough, so she says they should just be friends.

When they’re watching a movie that night, Abi keeps falling asleep, so Declan carries her to the guest room. They both realize the chemistry between each other and want to do more, but Abi is still hesitant so she just says good night.

Chapters 28-29

The next morning, Declan thinks that Abi is acting more evasive, so he can’t tell how’s she’s feeling about the relationship idea. After Abi gets back to Omaha, Declan doesn’t hear from her much, but that night asks her if she’ll come to Kansas City with him for his dad’s birthday party. He says it’s because his family got attached to her, but she agrees because she wants to be around Declan.

Chapters 30-31

On the car ride to KC, Abi makes Declan play a game of who can sing along to songs better which they both have a lot of fun with, but ultimately Declan wins. Abi tells him to pick a prize, and he asks if his prize can be kissing her to which she agrees. Then, when they get into the hotel room, there’s only one bed because Declan’s mom booked all the hotel rooms. They decide to ignore it for now, and Declan gives Abi one of his old sweatshirts to wear because she just found out they’re going bowling for the party. 

Chapters 32-34

After Declan comes back from running to the car, Abi is stuck in the shower in a towel because there’s a scorpion in the bathroom. Declan uses the vacuum he saw in the hallway to vacuum it up, and Abi comes out in just the towel. After Declan makes sure Abi is okay with everything, he kisses her, and they end up sleeping together. 

Chapters 35-38

They both admit to their real feelings now, and Declan begs her to stay at the hotel instead of going to the party. But Abi makes sure they make it to the party where they have a lot of fun bowling. After the party in their hotel room, Declan gives Abby a gold bracelet with a book charm that he said reminded him of her. 

When she opened the book, there was a tiny note from him with a quote from her favorite book— “you have bewitched me, body and soul”. They end up sleeping together again, and Declan ends up staying awake after just to soak it all in.

Chapters 39-40

While Declan is in New York the next day, Abi runs into Roman at the grocery store, and Roman asks Abi to be his fake date for a wedding. Roman makes a comment about not needing everything Declan paid for, and it makes Abi think that sleeping together was just part of the deal to Declan. After she turns Roman down, Abi starts to feel bad about the transactional nature of her relationship with Declan, so she finally answers his calls to say they’re at the end of their deal like originally planned. 

Declan is so dumb founded, but he thinks this is what Abi really wants from what she says on the phone. Abi moves back to her apartment while Declan is still in New York. Then, back in his apartment, Declan finds Abi’s notebook with the beginning of a story about a wealthy, soulless jerk named Declan. 

Chapters 41-42

When Abi thinks Declan is still in NYC, she goes back to his place to get the notebook she forget, but he is there and also very angry. He confronts her about the story thinking she had thought that about him the whole time, but Abi just gets mad he read her notebook without permission. They argue about it a little, but then Declan leaves.

A month later at dinner with Roman, Roman asks what happened with Abi because Declan’s been in such a bad mood. Declan tells him that Abi’s totally done with him because she left the money, the necklace, and the bracelet, but Ran convinces him she left it because she’d feel bad taking it if she had real feelings for him. Roman tells him the story about the grocery store, too, and they realize Abi thought they were both in on a joke of passing her around. 

Chapters 43-44

Because Abi blocked him, Declan arranges with the maid service for her to clean his apartment, but he’s there waiting for her when she arrives. She tries to tell him that he’ll get over her because he has everything he could ever want, but Declan admits that he’s in love with her. She tries to argue back, but Roman comes in with boxes of asthma inhalers even though he was supposed to beat Abi there. 

Chapters 45-46

Then, Declan’s doorman calls up that a girl is here to see him, and it turns out to be Abi’s best friend, Lauren. Abi goes down to the lobby to meet Lauren who tells her that Declan and Roman are behind an online company called RestWell. Through her sleuthing after Abi told her everything and showed her the email, Lauren found the anonymous site that you could leave your story asking for money to help all while staying completely unknown. 

Lauren submitted her mom’s story, and they paid off the mortgage on her mom’s house she was having trouble paying. Lauren tells Abi that they give away millions of dollars every year, and Abi feels bad that she was so wrong about Declan. Back up in the apartment, Abi asks Declan to forgive her for assuming he was conceited and admits she is in love with him, too. 

One year later

Declan and Abi are engaged and moving full time to the apartment in NYC. They both like being there so much, and Abi gets a job as a writing professor at a community college. Declan also finds Abi a cat she’s not allergic to.

Read My Honest Review

Now that you’ve been reminded of the main points of the book, check out my full book reviews for this new romantic comedy. There’s also some recommendations for other books if you’re a romance readers or a fan of Painter’s writing style.