The Not-So-Neutral Zone

She didn't even know his name.

When Chloe Dawson's purse gets stolen in Barcelona, a handsome stranger chases down the thief—and then offers to walk her back to her cruise ship. What was supposed to be a quick escort turns into an unexpected day: wandering cobblestone streets, sharing secrets over tapas, dancing under twinkling lights. He tells her his name is Brody. He kisses her like she's the only woman in the world. He doesn't mention he's famous.

Then he vanishes. No explanation. No goodbye. Just another disappointment.

Six months later, Chloe is barely keeping her event planning business afloat when she literally crashes into him at a coffee shop. That's when she discovers the truth: he's Brody "Candy" Kane—NHL defenseman for the Minnesota Blue Ox, media darling, and her sister's fiancé's teammate. The man who ghosted her is about to become a permanent fixture at family dinners.

He's desperate. A viral social media scandal is destroying his career, and his agent has one solution: find a girlfriend. Fast.

She's desperate too. Drowning in debt, facing five excruciating wedding events for her perfect sister, and so tired of her mother's matchmaking attempts. (No, Mom, she does not want to meet your hairdresser's recently divorced son.)

The deal they strike is risky: A secret contract. Thirty days. Five events. She'll be his devoted girlfriend for the cameras; he'll be her impressive plus-one who shuts down the family pity party. She gets paid. He gets his reputation back. Nobody finds out—especially not her sister or his teammate. No feelings involved.

The deal is a lie.

Because with every event—from a disastrous family dinner where Derek eyes them suspiciously, to a karaoke catastrophe that goes viral, from a honeymoon suite mix-up to late-night confessions that crack them both wide open—Chloe starts seeing the wounded man behind Brody's polished mask. And Brody discovers that the woman he walked away from might be the only one brave enough to see the real him.

But secrets have a way of surfacing. And when the truth threatens to expose everything—their contract, their lies, their inconvenient feelings—they'll have to choose: protect their hearts or fight for the love neither of them expected.

The Not-So-Neutral Zone is a swoony Christian hockey romance about second chances, the courage to be fully known, and discovering that some fake relationships heal real heartbreak.

Perfect for readers who love:

♥   Emma St. Clair's witty, clean sports romances

♥   Jenny Proctor's swoony fake dating stories

♥   Courtney Walsh's heartfelt second chances

♥   Becky Wade's emotional Christian romances