***WATTYS SHORTLISTED*** To save her failing bakery, a small-town baker must fake a televised romance with the All-Star baseball player who broke her heart. ------- When electrical sparks fly in my failing bakery, I'm forced back to the reality TV show that made me a national laughingstock. Competing while managing my chronic psoriasis flare-ups was traumatizing enough the first time. This time, there's a new twist: my celebrity partner is Brody Hightower, the pro baseball star who shattered my heart the day he was drafted. The boy who left me behind is now the hottest man I've ever seen. I'm not "Brody's girl" anymore, but the heat between us burns hotter than the competition ovens. When our chemistry sends the show's ratings soaring, the producers pitch an offer we can't refuse: fake a televised romance in exchange for a guaranteed spot in the finals. The plan is simple-until a flooded hotel room forces us into the same bed. With the cameras rolling and a secret Brody is desperate to hide, there's more at stake than sweet redemption. My heart back on the chopping block, falling for him again might mean losing more than just the competition. This time, I have to choose: preserve my family's legacy, or finally choose myself. 18+ for mature language and explicit content. Story is complete!

Wattys Shortlist 2025 & 2026 When college junior Maddie Arden catches her hockey-star boyfriend cheating, she turns her viral breakup into a power move-by getting herself hired as the team's new social media manager. Armed with a camera, a grudge, and her sharpest comebacks, Maddie infiltrates the locker room drama with one goal: make Austin regret ever messing with her. But revenge gets complicated when Nate Kincaid, the team's quiet backup goalie, volunteers for a fake relationship that quickly starts to feel a little too real. As locker room secrets unravel and team tensions rise, Maddie must decide if getting even is worth risking the one guy who might be worth falling for.

Addie Whitmore has loved exactly three things her entire life: romance novels, pink sunsets, and her older brother. Then Raiden Harrington moved in next door. From the moment he became Alec's best friend, Addie was pushed to the sidelines - the little sister, the afterthought, the one left outside closed bedroom doors. And she's never quite forgiven him for it. Now they're all at the same college. Same campus. Same circle. And somehow, the boy she's spent years hating is suddenly everywhere. Worse? He's different. Quieter. Watching her like he's trying to figure her out instead of dismiss her. But Addie already has a boyfriend. And Raiden is off-limits in every possible way. Because if Alec ever found out his best friend was looking at his little sister like that? It wouldn't just break rules. It would break everything. Enemies. Neighbors. Brother's best friend. Some lines were never meant to be crossed. And some grudges were never meant to turn into something more.

Hannah Reed has a plan. Make Ethan Cross notice her. Stop being the invisible girl with the color-coded notes and the hopeless crush. Finally become the kind of girl who gets chosen instead of overlooked. Nate Wilder has a problem. After one too many public scandals, the Northwood hockey star is officially on thin ice. His coach wants clean. Stable. Respectable. Which is unfortunate, considering Nate's reputation is built on parties, bad decisions, and never taking the same girl home twice. So when Nate realizes Hannah wants Ethan's attention, and Hannah realizes Nate needs a fake girlfriend to fix his image, they make a deal. She'll help him look like a reformed campus playboy. He'll help her make Ethan jealous. No feelings. No complications. No crossing lines they can't uncross. Simple enough. Until fake dates start feeling real. Until Nate becomes the one teaching Hannah how to be touched, wanted, and confident. Until the boy who never dates starts looking at her like she's the only thing on campus worth risking his heart for. Hannah wanted Ethan to finally see her. She never planned on Nate being the one who couldn't look away.

Eliana Grace James has always lived in the shadow of greatness. The daughter of Ivy James, an award-winning journalist, and Luca James, a retired pro hockey legend, Eliana was born into a world of headlines, high expectations, and perfection. Known on campus as the life of the party and the golden girl of Columbia University, Eliana shines in every room she walks into-bold, beautiful, and unapologetically confident. But behind her wild reputation lies a dream she's kept close to her heart: to become a world-renowned fashion designer. Everything changes when she crosses paths with Nate Clarke-Columbia's hockey captain, heartthrob, and self-proclaimed playboy. With a scar that slashes across his eye and a past he's careful to hide, Nate is as mysterious as he is magnetic. The chemistry between them is undeniable, but as Eliana gets pulled into Nate's world of late-night practices, hidden wounds, and unexpected vulnerability, her party-girl persona starts to crack. In a story about love, identity, and the pressure to live up to the names that came before them, Eliana Grace must decide whether to follow the path expected of her-or create one entirely her own.

Baking blogger, Madison Blake, is over the moon that her big sister is getting married. Celebratory drinks are had and some dancing is done to honour such an occasion. While nursing the world's biggest hangover the next morning and craving something overly sweet, Maddy never thought the guy occupying her bed she would ever see again. That is until she arrives at a brunch to meet the rest of the bridal party and finds the guy sitting there with a grin on his face. Aiden Lexington never imagined the first women to throw him out of her bed, butt naked mind you, would end up consuming his thoughts or that he would ever see her again. That is until the same fiery red head walks in behind his mates new fiancée. Setting his sights on this woman, he won't let her walk away twice. When work comes up, leaving the Bride and Groom unable to finalise their wedding plans, it's left up to the maid of honour and best man to fill in. So, when a steamy and irresistible man sets his sights on you, how long can you resist? You might just find you get more than you bargained for. (Told through Maddy and Aiden.) (Mature Content) Highest ranking: #1 in Desire #1 in Mature Audience #1 in Romcom #1 in Funtoread #1 in Laughter #2 in Wedding

Captain of the hockey team and arrogant womanizer Weston has nothing in common with Gracie, a carefree musical theatre nerd who doesn't mind having dirty laundry on the floor. After accidentally becoming roommates, all hell breaks loose. The two enter an all-out war filled with pranks and...some flirtatious tension? The goal = make each other's lives so miserable until one of them eventually moves out. Gracie isn't backing down, but unfortunately, neither is Weston.

All Sophia ever wanted was for Ashton Maverick to notice her. But he was best friends with her older brother, Patrick, and a hockey star. There was no chance in Hell he'd be interested in her. But when Sophie moves back home for the summer and runs into Ashton for the first time in two years, things start to change. Between stolen glances and secret hookups, they begin to fall deeper in love with each other. But Sophie has something bigger to worry about than her big brother finding out about their secret relationship. Find out more in Hockey Baby by Ariel Hughes 🏒

Eva Graham is a guarded, no-nonsense social science major who studies human behavior to understand why people leave-and how to make sure she never lets the wrong ones in. She keeps to herself, avoids drama, and especially avoids campus athletes, whom she considers walking red flags. Cole Grayson is a third-year psychology major, a cocky ice hockey star with a grin that disarms and a fanbase full of puck bunnies. While everyone sees him coasting, Cole's under constant pressure-trying to go pro, balancing school, and keeping up a charming front to hide just how much he's cracking underneath. When Cole starts slipping in class, he's assigned a tutor: Eva. Neither is thrilled. She thinks he's a loud, lazy distraction. He calls her "Teach" just to get under her skin-she responds by calling him "Skates," with just the right amount of disdain. What begins as bickering soon turns into banter... then something softer. The nicknames stick, becoming a quiet thread that ties them together as friends-and maybe more. Cole falls first. Hard. Eva, scared of being hurt and shaped by people who've left before, fights it. Still, she agrees to go to one of his games-just once. But seeing him on the ice, in his world, adored yet somehow still alone, shifts everything. Then the bet surfaces. A stupid, careless thing made before he really knew her-and it threatens to destroy everything they've built. Surrounded by puck bunnies stirring drama, teammates with their own loyalties, and a past Eva isn't ready to share, the fragile trust between them begins to crack. Between jealousy, late-night confessions, and moments where one look says everything, Eva and Cole must decide: is love worth risking it all-even if it started with a bet, a nickname, and everything going wrong?

Complete. Unedited. They needed a Sloane on the ice, they just never expected that she would be the one to fill the skates- and she never expected her brothers childhood friend to start paying a little too much attention. • • • I was a Sloane, but I wasn't the one anyone ever looked at. Never supposed to carry my father's dream. Never supposed to want the ice the way I do. My father calls me his ice princess. When he remembers I exist, that is. Graceful. Elegant. Temporary. Hockey was never meant to be mine. But when my twin brother, Sebastian, is handed the opportunity of a lifetime and chooses to walk away - I'm given a choice no one would ever offer me willingly. Take his place. Wear his jersey. Become him. One semester. One secret. Under the helmet, I'm invisible. Padding hides the curves. Silence hides the truth. As long as I never take the helmet off, never step into the locker room, never let anyone look too closely - I can play. And I can play hard. I just never expected Justin Leeds to start paying me the attention no one else ever has.