She needed someone safe. I volunteered to be hers. Now I just have to survive pretending it's temporary.

I've faced ambushes, firefights, and twelve months in the desert. None of it prepared me to walk into my hometown and see Austen MacAvoy again—my best friend's little sister, the girl I've been secretly in love with for over a decade.



She doesn't know that part. To her, I'm still just Clint. Her brother's buddy. The guy who sends back snarky letters from deployment and always shows up with good manners and bad jokes.



But when her cousin's wedding gets complicated—and her ex is suddenly a groomsman with a date—she needs someone on her arm. Someone who can fake a relationship long enough to save her pride. I can do that. I'd do just about anything for Austen.



We agree it's pretend. Just a few dates. Just long enough to convince her nosy relatives and make the ex regret his life choices. But the more time we spend together—bowling, dancing, cooking dinner for two—the more impossible it is to pretend.



She's everything I've ever wanted. And this fake wedding date? It might just be my real shot at forever.



Contains mature themes.