Gibson Hollow

She walked into the masquerade like a dare— wearing a mask, a dress that could kill, and a look in her eyes I’d never seen before. I knew it was her. She didn’t know I knew. Alia Gibson is my best friend’s twin. Off-limits. Untouchable. The one girl I’m not supposed to want. I told myself I was just watching out for her. That’s what friends do. But the truth? I’ve never wanted anything the way I want Alia. And if I cross that line... I’m not sure I’ll ever come back.

I never meant to be anyone’s heroine. Not when I became the acting mayor of my hometown after the flood. Not when I kept my law practice afloat out of a booth in my grandmother’s diner. And definitely not when my secret romantasy novels went viral. Nobody in Gibson Hollow knows I’m the author behind the pen name. And nobody was supposed to kiss me at that book convention—least of all my brother’s best friend, cosplaying the hero he doesn’t know I modeled after him.

I rebuilt my grandmother’s bakery from the ground up. Poured everything I had into making it thrive again—flour, sweat, and a whole lot of tears. Then she died. And her will blindsided me. If I’m not married by the time probate closes, I lose the bakery to my mother—the last person who should ever be trusted with it. Enter Bodie Gibson. Childhood friend turned enemy. The boy who used to bring me tea and peanut butter sandwiches… The cop who put my little brother behind bars. He offers me a way out: a fake marriage that keeps the bakery in my hands and our past buried where it belongs.

Losing everything was supposed to be the end. It might be the beginning. I've built my life around moving on. New places. New projects. New causes. Make an impact, then keep going. It worked—right up until a scandal I never saw coming burned my reputation to the ground… and a house fire took everything else. Now I'm stuck in a small mountain town with nothing but borrowed clothes, a growing list of problems, and a firefighter next door who refuses to let me fall apart quietly.