***Fake Dating, Strangers-to-lovers, Steamy Hockey Rom-Com***

“All’s fair in love, hockey, and podcast syndication.”

All I wanted was a tiny interview to secure my podcast syndication deal.

What I didn’t expect? That my big break would hinge on Hunter Reed—the NHL’s newest golden boy, full-time playboy, and the guy who mistook me for a puck bunny at Oakley’s bar.

Hunter Reed is six-foot-two of attitude, muscle, and maddening charm. He’s the kind of clickbait fans obsess over and network execs would kill for—and exactly the kind of man I swore I’d never chase. Especially not after our less-than-stellar first encounter... and second... and third.

But when a Date-A-Player charity auction, his manipulative ex, and a very public kiss force us into a fake relationship, suddenly I’m not just chasing the story—I’m living it.

Now he’s crashing on the other side of my queen-sized bed. Covering my living expenses. Washing my car in a Speedo in the middle of December. And somehow worming his way into my life one sarcastic grin at a time.

The more he shows up—with pre-game texts, surprise Post-its, and family dinners like he’s always belonged—the harder it is to remember this is supposed to be pretend.

But with his ex-girlfriend circling, trade rumors heating up, my career hanging by a thread, and feelings I never planned for complicating everything, I have to choose:

Do I play it safe and report from the bleachers?

Or finally, get in the game—for real?