by Lyra Parish
First published 2025
When her ex walks back into town looking annoyingly good, a small-town barista named in a panic tells him she is already taken. The only man willing to play along is Nick Banks, a former hockey star with a reputation for burning through relationships and a bank account that would make headlines. They draw up rules: fake dates, honest relationship advice, and hookups strictly for research. No feelings. Obviously. Nick wants to understand why his past relationships have all collapsed. She wants her ex to back off. It is a clean transaction, set to expire when autumn does. Except the nights get warmer, the kisses run longer, and neither of them can track where the performance ends. Then paparazzi photographs land on gossip sites, and suddenly she is the small-town girlfriend of a billionaire. The spotlight is bad enough. The worse problem is that she is no longer faking anything. The Hookup Situation is a standalone spicy rom-com with a happily ever after, connected to the Billionaire Situation series and Fall I Want. Nick falls first and falls harder, but she is the one who has to decide whether to believe in love again before the season runs out.
Genres: adult, comedy, contemporary-romance, romantic-comedy
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, lighthearted, steamy, witty
Tropes: fake-dating, friends-to-lovers, nick-falls-first
Setting: small-town
Period: autumn, contemporary
410 pages · Paperback · Happily Ever After Ink
Content warnings: explicit-sexual-content