One cabin. One week. One fake relationship.
Winter break was supposed to be one last trip with my best friends, a little snowboarding, maybe some hot cocoa spiked with something stronger. No drama, no strings.
Then my cabin got double-booked.
Enter Mira Winters—my childhood neighbor and crush. And somehow, the girl managed to get even prettier since the last time I saw her.
She’s got one her family makes mine look like a walk in the park, and she’d rather fake a boyfriend than deal with their constant judgement.
Guess who she asks to step up? Yours truly.
It’s supposed to be for show. Hold her hand. Steal a kiss under the mistletoe. Pretend I’m head over heels for her. Easy. Right?
Except the more we play this game, the more I want it to be real. And suddenly I’m less worried about the score her family is keeping and more about what happens when the week is over—because for the first time in a long time, I’m all in.
This Christmas, I don’t just want to win the game.I want the girl.
This spicy, forced proximity holiday romance is a sweet companion novella to the Shadow Valley U series. It can be enjoyed as a standalone.

He’s the man she can’t forget.She’s the woman he can’t have.Being just friends should be safe… but every encounter says otherwise.
Ian
Nothing is more tempting than the forbidden.I pride myself on my control.I am the best quarterback in the league with an iron will and unshakable discipline.Nothing can change that. Or so I thought.Then Lilly crashes back into my life.She’s all I think of.Staying away is impossible.Being just friends is agonizing.A relationship with her is forbidden. Something I’m reminded of every time I go to practice and see my head coach.But damn if she doesn’t make me want to risk it all to have her.
Lilly
Coming face-to-face with the only man I had a one-night stand with was not in my plan. I never inquired as to who’d be my neighbor when I moved into my new apartment.But I should have. Especially after all I have done to avoid Ian.But avoiding him now seems impossible. He’s everywhere, tempting me to the point of exhaustion.I won’t give in. Not only because I refuse to date a player, but my father is his head coach.So instead, we’ll be friends. Which might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever agreed to.Because being just friends with the man I can’t stop thinking about has trouble written all over it.
Perfect for fans of sports romance, friends-to-lovers tension, forbidden love, and the one that got away. End Zone is a slow-burn, spicy standalone in Bianca Borell’s Playing for Keeps series.

I want to.I can’t.
I’ve been friends with Cooper Rice from the moment we met. He was just as famous a decade ago on our college campus as he is now being the star quarterback for the Chicago Grizzlies.
But he’s not only talented on the field, he’s also the gorgeous football star women fawn over, posing in underwear and razor ads.
Here’s a secret those women don’t know—Cooper Rice isn’t a playboy. He’s the kind of man who wants to settle down with a family. He’s content ordering pizza and massaging my feet after my long shift as an emergency room doctor. He listens to me as if he’s as invested as I am in my patients. He has never let me down.
This is exactly why I refuse to live without Cooper in my life. Eight years ago, I made him promise me that we’d never cross that line. And just like I knew Cooper would, he’s held to that promise.
Despite our best efforts, our relationship is evolving, shifting into new territory and I find myself unsure if I want Cooper to keep that promise. Ignoring the obvious could tear us apart, but so could giving in, meaning there’s a chance I’ll lose Cooper forever no matter what decision I make.

USA Today bestselling author Sara Ney sizzles with a quick-witted, sexy romp about an eager entrepreneur and a cocky football star who couldn’t be more different—or more into each other.
Harlow James is destined to rock the dating world. The creator of Kissmet, the app helping singles find love, she’s in New York to secure advertisers. But the sassy, small-town girl can’t help meddling in other people’s business.
When she runs into a muscular stranger at her go-to food truck, Harlow doesn’t realize he’s Landon “Andy” Burke, the NFL’s most-wanted free agent, in town to talk contracts. She just sees a hottie about to get burned by undercooked street food. Though she tries to warn him, he shrugs her off, making a little wager instead.
In a messy twist of fate, Andy finds himself in the same hotel as Harlow. When she collects on their bet, they make a mind-blowing—and bed-rocking—connection. But after the weekend, she goes home to Green Bay to her goofy dad and corgi, ready to focus everything on work again. Kissmet, however, has other ideas, when Andy knocks on her door…

As the number one quarterback in college football, my only dream is to make it to pro.
My richer-than-sin parents have a different goal.
Their plan is for me to score a trophy wife whose trust fund can hold its own against mine, then join the family empire after graduation. The latter half of that plan means giving up my dream of professional football. The first part means sitting through excruciating dates with girls who already have their wedding vows written.
In an attempt to free myself from one of my perpetual nightmares, I announce that I’m already in a serious, long-term relationship.
Which is a great excuse to get out of a date–if it were true.
To save the lie, I talk the intriguing campus black cat, Briar Hart, into pretending to be my girlfriend. She has a prickly heart, and she’s made it clear that she hates jocks.
But after I offer her something she can’t refuse, we’re suddenly faking our happily-ever-after to everyone.
If I’m not careful, I may start to believe it too.

Maxwell has finally met an opponent that he can't best in this new football romance from the author of Fumbled.
According to Brynn Larson, Maxwell Lewis is more trouble than he's worth. She doesn't care if he's a football god with a rock-hard body that brings most women to their knees. After an encounter that ends poorly, she's not interested in giving him a second chance. The last thing Brynn expects is for him to turn up at her bar months later, hat in hand. It doesn't matter if he brings more customers to her business--she's still not going on a date with him.
Maxwell knows he made a mistake. He'd been waiting to make his move on Brynn since the day he laid eyes on her and he was finally ready to go for it until he screwed up. He wishes he could tell her the truth about what happened that night, but he just can't. He can't tell anyone, so he'll make amends and hope she'll forgive him.
Brynn's not like other women, though. Playing for the Mustangs doesn't impress her and gifts make her scoff. Max will have to bring his A game if he hopes to win her over.

A second chance doesn't guarantee a touchdown in this new contemporary romance from the author of Intercepted.
Single-mother Poppy Patterson moved across the country when she was sixteen and pregnant to find a new normal. After years of hard work, she's built a life she loves. It may include a job at a nightclub, weekend soccer games, and more stretch marks than she anticipated, but it's all hers, and nobody can take that away. Well, except for one person.
TK Moore, the starting wide receiver for the Denver Mustangs, dreamt his entire life about being in the NFL. His world is football, parties, and women. Maybe at one point he thought his future would play out with his high school sweetheart by his side, but Poppy is long gone and he's moved on.  
When Poppy and TK cross paths in the most unlikely of places, emotions they've suppressed for years come rushing back. But with all the secrets they never told each other lying between them, they'll need more than a dating playbook to help them navigate their relationship.

A close proximity, friends-to-lovers sports romance by Brooke O'Brien about a woman who has sworn off dating football players and an all-star running back determined to win her heart and break her rules.
I've sworn off dating football players. After my last relationship ended disastrously, I've given up on love entirely.
Determined to start over fresh, somewhere far from Rixton, Tennessee, I impulsively transfer to Braysen University. The Carver twins were like brothers to me growing up. So, when they offer me a place to live until a dorm room frees up, I accept.
Reed Hendrix is as irresistible as he is off-limits. Sleeping in the room next to him could complicate things. Not only because my brother warned Reed to stay away from me but also because falling for him would break my own rule.
Yet it's unnerving how quickly I find myself giving in to my feelings for him. Before I know it, we're stealing glances and sneaking around, dangerously toeing the line between flirting and fooling around.
The more I unravel at the hands of Reed, the harder it is to resist falling for him. When my past catches up with me, it's more than my heart on the line.
They say some rules are meant to be broken.
When secrets are revealed, I can only hope my heart isn’t left broken too.
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What you get in The Fouls We Make...
Friends to LoversClose Proximity/RoommatesFootballSmall College TownInterconnected Standalone___________________________________________
The Fouls We Make is book 3 in the Braysen U series: a series of interconnected standalones following the football players of Braysen University and the women who can't help but fall for them. They do not need to be read in order, but you will gain glimpses of future characters/couples in each book.

I've heard the rumors about the football players in our small town. Trouble always has a way of finding them, and the girls can't get enough of their wild ways.
Hayes Carver has the bad-boy reputation down to go with his scoring records and good looks.
Everything changes after the game that destroyed his image and painted him as a dirty player. From the press and social media to his coach and teammates, the pressure is building, and he can't seem to escape the constant scrutiny.
When his limits are tested, Hayes turns to me for a way out.
He proposes that I play along as his fake girlfriend in hopes it changes the narrative and takes the pressure off him.
The rules are set in stone. Faking a relationship with him won't be easy, and falling for him is out of the question.
Yet the more time we spend together, the more the lines between what's real and fake begin to blur.
Hayes needs me to help save his reputation, but to do it, I'll have to risk my heart.
The Plays We Fake features the following tropes: fake dating, sports/football, opposites attract, a cinnamon roll hero with a bad reputation, and a virgin spicy romance reader/aspiring author heroine.

It only takes a moment to change a life.
In a matter of seconds, an unexpected and devastating injury shatters Holden Cramer’s chances of ending his nineteen-season career on a high note. That brief moment in time not only irrevocably alters who he is, but also his relationships with everyone and everything around him.
Yet one look can jump-start another.
Tamryn Miller worked hard to get where she is: one of the youngest and most successful female injury management doctors in the league. She knows what goes into ensuring the players’ welfare, and what happens when those needs aren’t met—her past guaranteed that. With one look at the incredibly handsome quarterback as he lay writhing on the turf, Tamryn knows exactly what she needs to do…even if she has to ignore the burning attraction between them to do it.
Forced together by fate and pain, Holden must learn that he’s not an island, and sometimes, all you need is a little help from your friends—especially when those friends are ones you want in your life forever.

Do it.Don’t do it.
Never in my life did I think I’d wager in my head whether to sleep with Chicago Grizzlies wide receiver, Damon Siska.
He’s the perfect package—hot body, killer smile, and flirts like he earned a doctorate in it. But anyone who reads gossip blogs knows he is looking for one amazing night and nothing more.
I’m not the usual type of woman he beds. I’m a middle school teacher who cherishes her quiet nights in, drinking wine, and watching romantic comedies, dreaming I’m the heroine. I’m not embarrassed to admit—I want the fairy tale.
But Damon caught me at a weak moment. Fresh off a break-up and feeling lousy about myself, I gave into temptation and left the next morning like every other woman he’d slept with.
Except I walked away with more than just the memories when three weeks later the little white stick glowed with two pink lines.

Football players are treated like royalty in our small town, which makes Beckham Carver their king. And as the new quarterback of the Braysen Bulldogs, he's also my boyfriend's biggest rival.
Add that to the list of reasons I should stay far away from him.
But when my truck breaks down, Beckham makes me an offer I can't He'll repair my pickup in exchange for me tutoring him.
I have only one stipulation—no one, including my boyfriend, can find out.
The more I try to convince myself and Beckham that I hate him, the more he pushes my buttons to prove me wrong.
Worse, the lines we've drawn between us blur as we spend more time together. And when my relationship comes crashing down around me, I almost forget why I couldn't stand him all along.
If I've learned one thing about Beckham Carver, it's that he always gets what he wants...
... and now, he's set his sights on me.
The Rivals We Hate features the following rivals to lovers, sports/football, boyfriend's rival, reformed player, hate to want you, touch her and I'll hurt you, and small college town.
Preorder your copy early to take advantage of the discounted presale price!

A spicy friends-to-lovers standalone sports romance from #1 New York Times Bestselling author Lauren Blakely writing MM romance as L. Blakely...
My buddies made me do it. I swear. I didn’t plan to bid big on a date with my baseball player best friend at the auction. But he looked really good in that tailored suit, and I can't resist a dare. The media jumps all over the story – the city’s new quarterback nabs a date with the bigshot star shortstop.
Not so fast – we’re just friends. Until we hit the links for the strictly platonic date I won. Suddenly I'm looking at my silver-tongued, devilishly handsome best bud in a whole new light–and it’s dark and dirty. We cross way over the friendship line at my place that night, but in the morning we agree it can’t happen again. Trouble is, we can’t keep our hands off each other, especially not when we’re stuck in the same hotel room at our friend’s wedding.
But Tanner wants a real relationship, and I’m only serious about football. So when my second season as a starter begins next week, our late-night games (and talks, and sleepovers, and morning coffees) will have to end. Except, as the cutoff looms closer, I’m feeling a whole lot more than friendship and that’s a big problem for my career…
Don't miss this red-hot, friends-to-lovers, only-one-bed-in-the-room MM sports romance from #1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely!

I love him.I loathe him.
It’s like plucking daisy petals in my head, but he’ll never know.
When Miles Cavanaugh, the best safety in the league, was traded to the Chicago Grizzlies football team last year, I could finally breathe. Temptation was miles away.
How naïve to think it would end there because when the opportunity to write for a national magazine based in Chicago lands in my lap months later, I can’t turn it down. Sure, it’s a big city, but the sexual energy feels like a beacon between us the minute my plane lands.
To make matters worse, I end up having to take over the job of reporting exclusively on the Chicago Grizzlies. Which means traveling with the team, interviewing players, and pretty much having an all-access pass to their lives during the season.
Miles and I put up a great front, quickly hating on one another, but we both know it’s a lie. We also know the rules are simple. For me, don’t sleep with the subject of your articles. For him, don’t sleep with the journalist who can make or break your career.
I thought straight-laced Miles Cavanaugh followed all the rules… oh how wrong I was.

Am I fake dating my best friend? Hear me out…

What I envisioned: Throwing myself a breakup party, a glittery fete at which I’d lift a glass and celebrate being free and single again.

What I did: Drink too much champagne and blurt out to my best guy friend that I’d really like to get back on the horse.

But what I truly don’t expect is Carter’s answer – he volunteers as tribute.

With his sinful brown eyes and too-good-to-be-true body it’d be no hardship for me to say yes, though I certainly don’t want him to feel obligated to, um, service me, just because my failed, loveless marriage was a s-e-x desert.

But since the charming and confident pro football star owes five public dates to his dating app sponsor, we make a deal to help each other out.

Pretty soon, our public how to date lessons turn into, ahem, very private ones. And I’m a star student, graduating quickly from flirty banter and lingering looks to toe-curling, sheet-grabbing, mind-blowing hours of physical education.

The problem? Turns out learning to date again feels a lot like the real thing. Can our friendship withstand all these late-night bedroom sessions?

Especially since I’m suddenly longing for my best friend and there’s nothing fake about my feelings…