by Lyra Parish
First published 2026
Patterson Cross has three strikes against him before he even walks into the room. He is the identical twin of the man who was once going to marry her. He plays for her father's hockey team. And she has despised him for years. None of that stops her from asking Patterson to be her secret hookup for the season. She expects a flat no. He says yes. They set the terms. Behind closed doors, everything. In public, nothing. It sounds clean and manageable. It is not. The more time she logs with Patterson, the more the old story she has been telling herself starts to crack. The hatred was never really hatred. It was a lid she kept pressed down over something harder to say out loud. This is a stand-alone enemies-to-lovers sports romance with a happily ever after, spicy scenes, and a cocky hockey star who is absolutely playing for keeps.
Genres: romance, adult, contemporary-romance, sports-romance
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate, spicy
Tropes: cocky-hero, enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, secret-romance
396 pages · Paperback · Happily Ever After Ink
Content warnings: explicit-sexual-content