Completed • First Draft - not edited. || "You gonna sit there all night?" Luka glances at me, smirking. I glare back. "I was enjoying the last few seconds of peace before having to spend an evening pretending to like you." "That's funny," he says, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Why?" I snap. "Because I was thinking the same thing." || The rules? Easy enough. 1. Pretend to be the perfect couple. 2. Keep it professional. 3. And whatever you do, don't. catch. feelings. Simple, right? Sofia Calloway never planned on going viral for throwing a drink in Luka Mikhaylov's face. But one video, one pissed-off hockey star, and one furious university later... she's suddenly stuck in a fake relationship with the guy she can't stand. He needs to clean up his image before the NHL draft. She needs the free tuition that comes with the deal. All they have to do is smile for the cameras, hold hands at the games, and act like they don't want to strangle each other. Then come the late-night arguments that last too long. The stolen glances that feel too dangerous. The moment where "pretend" starts looking way too real. Because when you break the rules, someone's bound to lose. And this time, it might be both of them.

PUBLISHED BY PENGUIN SEA ON 17TH JULY, 2025. OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK & EBOOK! Clara Healy is convinced her family is cursed. After witnessing two relationships from the closest people in her life fall apart, Clara is determined not to be the curse's next victim by avoiding the root cause: falling in love with cliché love interests. Even when one tiny mishap led her to partner up with Colton Reed - the college star baseball player - for ASL class, she wasn't going to let the curse get to her. But as Clara and Colton started spending more time together and she started getting to know him beyond his star athlete exterior, Clara realized that some things were easier said than done. And escaping the curse was going to be a lot more difficult than she thought it would be. ⋅⋅⋅ Cover photo from Pinterest, edited on Canva. Featured on @Romance | Head Over Heels. ⋅⋅⋅ Highest Ranking: #1 in baseballromance | 20/6/2023 #1 in bubbletea | 29/5/2023 #1 in cliche | 1/8/2023 #4 in books | 23/5/2023 #4 in novella | 17/10/2023 #5 in hopelessromantic | 24/8/2023 #5 in university | 1/10/2023 #28 in baseball | 26/10/2023 #31 in book | 15/6/2023 #42 in chicklit | 9/10/2023 #45 in collegeromance | 6/10/2023 #83 in sportsromance | 21/8/2023