LOGINHe was supposed to be the biggest mistake of her life. Instead, he became the one thing she couldn't walk away from. Moving to New York was already ruining Lily Baker's life. Her mother is marrying a billionaire she'd known for less than a year, her dream college plans are falling apart, and her cheating ex keeps showing up where he doesn't belong. The last thing Lily needs is another problem. Then she accidentally hides in a locker with a stranger. A very rude stranger. A very arrogant stranger. A stranger who turns out to be Grayson Vance—the NHL's most feared hockey star and the son of her future stepfather. Now they're stuck under the same roof, sharing the same family dinners, and arguing every chance they get. Grayson wants their parents' relationship destroyed. Lily wants her old life back. So when one reckless lie convinces the public they're dating, they strike a deal. Fake relationship. Temporary arrangement. Zero feelings. It should have been simple. But pretending to be in love becomes a lot harder when every touch feels real, every kiss blurs the line between hatred and desire, and the man she's sworn to despise is the only one who sees the cracks beneath her perfect smile. With the media watching their every move, jealous exes refusing to stay in the past, and family secrets threatening to tear everything apart, Lily and Grayson are about to discover that some lies are far more dangerous than the truth. And falling for your future stepbrother? That might be the most dangerous mistake of all. ️️retract
View MoreGrayson Vance’s POVWhen I woke up this morning, my only goal was to survive the upcoming press tour without putting my fist through a wall.Then Lily Baker walked into my kitchen.She had tried to pretend I didn’t exist, parading past me with her nose in the air, desperately straining on her tiptoes just to reach a stupid button. Touching her had been an impulse. Cornering her against the fridge had been a calculated test.I wanted to see if she was as complicit in this upcoming wedding farce as her mother was. But the unadulterated fury in her eyes told me everything I needed to know.She hated this bullshit just as much as I did.But then she’d run away, muttering some nonsense about milk, leaving me alone with the lingering scent of whatever vanilla perfume she wore.Now, standing on the university quad for this mandatory PR signing, the universe had handed her back to me on a silver platter. She was holding the golden puck. The promotional gimmick my agent dreamed up to "engage t
Lily's POVI prayed Blackwood University would be my sanctuary.But an hour later, I discovered my prayers went unanswered because this place was... chaotic.The university quad was a sea of moving bodies, so packed that navigating the sidewalk felt like a contact sport.Students streamed across the campus in every direction, weaving between booths, banners, and clusters of people gathered around the main lawn.Music blasted somewhere in the distance while excited voices collided into one overwhelming wall of noise.I had been at Blackwood for less than sixty minutes and already wanted a refund.Back in Chicago, my first day would've involved finding classrooms, buying overpriced coffee, and pretending to understand campus maps.Instead, I was trapped in whatever fresh nightmare New York had prepared for me.Amidst the swirling crowd, a girl next to me tripped, sending a cascade of heavy textbooks across the pavement.Reacting on instinct, I dropped to my knees to help her gather them
Lily Baker’s POVThree days should have been enough time to wake up.It wasn't.For seventy-two hours, I lived in a state of aggressive denial, entirely convinced that the disaster in the VIP lounge had been a fever dream brought on by sudden relocation trauma.Because realistically?What were the odds?You accidentally walk into a room and see a completely naked asshole. Then discover said asshole is somehow the beloved hockey star of New York, your mother’s fiancé’s son, and unfortunately—your future stepbrother.That level of misfortune deserved scientific investigation.I hadn’t seen Grayson Vance since that night. Not at breakfast. Not in the hallway.Not once.The massive, echoing mansion Ethan owned was large enough to swallow people whole, which made it easy to pretend the arrogant, green-eyed hockey god was just a hallucination.A particularly rude hallucination.Still, the house unsettled me.Everything gleamed. Marble floors. Endless windows. Furniture that looked too expen
Lily's POVThere were several ways a person could respond after accidentally walking into a room and discovering a completely naked stranger.Screaming felt reasonable. Passing out had merit. Pretending temporary blindness had suddenly developed also ranked high on the list.Instead, I stood there staring for a horrifying second too long before survival instincts returned with the force of humiliation.“Oh my God!”I turned so quickly my shoulder brushed the wall, a sudden tremor seizing my limbs.“I am so sorry,” I blurted, heat climbing all the way to my ears.I planted my attention firmly on the door in front of me, because looking anywhere else felt dangerous. Mortifying. Spiritually damaging.Behind me, I expected to hear yells of rage. Instead, silence stretched.Gradually rustling came, and I heard the shifting of fabric.Then something metallic clinked against another surface. What was going on?I was curious to glimpse over my shoulder, but not that curious, so I kept my eyes
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