Chasing Summers by Madyn Rose

Fake it until you make it they say, but what if they make it a little too real?

Josh Davidson was in over his head. He should have folded his hand, but he couldn’t, not when he could almost taste victory. In one flip of a card, it was all over. Now he was at the mercy of his ruthless Toronto Twisters teammate, Carlos, and the ridiculous bet of settling his playboy ways. He could have walked away and forfeited, but his ego wouldn’t allow it. Losing was never an option. Besides, if dating was all it took, he was a pro. Except, the bet seemed to have thrown off his game. He had no choice but to take it seriously, or he’d lose the bet and even worse, his reputation.

April Summers, the Twisters’ prized physiotherapist, was supposed to be showing off her boyfriend at her grandfather’s upcoming party, but her plans changed, drastically. She could either stay drowning in ice cream or follow her friend Nora’s suggestion to find someone to “fake it” with. But the dating scene sucked. Each day that ticked down without a prospect, the idea of a fake date was awfully tempting.

When Josh and April realized they were both in a dating dumpster fire, they made a plan. If he could pose as her boyfriend for the weekend, then she could pretend she was in love with him to win the bet. It was a win-win situationship.

There was only one caveat—the boss couldn’t know. The club had a strict “no dating” policy between employees. Surely, they could push the boundaries and not risk their careers? They were only pretending, after all.

But the longer their situationship lasts, the lines begin to blur. Maybe, the only thing fake, were the lies about being fake.