18+ | 2026 WATTYS SHORTLISTER | 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.

[COMPLETED] Book 3 in the Del Rosso series ____________________________________________ "Yes." ____________________________________________ Reyna Del Rosso, the heir to the Spanish Mafia. A woman who was fed with a spoon made of gold. She got everything she wanted. She had men falling at her feet with a single look, a body of a Goddess and a heart of gold. She kills without even glancing back at her victim. With the worlds most powerful Don as her father and the worlds most powerful Donna as her mother, no one has dared to touch her. Not until him. Leonid Varkov took over the Russian Mafia to carry his fathers legacy but he is now an easy target for the Del Rosso's because of a line of lies that was fed to him, making both mafia's enemies. He's a man who's known to be merciless, ruthless, strong and powerful. He wears the scars of his formal kills like jewellery. People steered clear of the new boss as he was known across the mafias. He was already feared, already at the top. What happens when the two cross paths to form an alliance? What happens when the truth is revealed? What happens when they can't ignore their dark, forbidden desires for each other? ____________________________________________ //tw read book with caution// •contains sexual content• started: 2/4/23 finished: 22/3/25 #4 kill: 22/3/25 #11 enemies: 2/2/25