by Tarah DeWitt
First published 2022
LaRynn Lavigne never expected to see Deacon Leeds again after their rocky teenage romance ended badly. Now their grandmothers have died and left them joint owners of a falling-apart building in Santa Cruz. LaRynn has money locked in a trust that requires marriage to access. Deacon knows construction but can't afford the repairs. They strike a practical bargain: get married long enough to renovate the property, sell it, and split the profits. Living together in a house with no walls forces them into constant contact. They build emotional barriers instead, keeping their distance even as husband and wife. The arrangement comes with all the complications of cohabitation but none of the benefits. LaRynn and Deacon must learn to work as partners while navigating the tension between their past hurt and present necessity. Their fake marriage becomes a test of whether two people who once couldn't stand each other can find a way to truly collaborate.
Genres: romance, contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, contemporary-romance
Vibes: bittersweet, character-driven, emotional, intimate, tension-filled
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating, forced-proximity, second-chance-romance
Setting: Santa Cruz
352 pages · Paperback · St. Martin's Griffin