Need your mother off your back? Lie through your teeth.

Graphic designer Olivia doesn't need a man. But her mom refuses to believe her. While dealing with rush hour traffic and her mom on the phone, Olivia blurts out the first thing that comes to mind, "I'm seeing someone." Now she's supposed to bring this boyfriend to the big family reunion, but how is she supposed to do that when he doesn't exist?

Jake can talk football statistics all day, but it only drives home that his career ended before it began - and all over a girl. After her betrayal, he's not only shied away from relationships, he's kept a huge part of his life from his colleagues at the sports network. One chance meeting at a work picnic while Olivia's wearing a nerdy t-shirt, and he's smitten. But of course, keeping his secret bit him in the butt, and now she won't give him the time of day.

When she needs a fake date, he volunteers. Now he has to prove he's not just another jock to Olivia and her squad, so he can convince her to turn this fake relationship into the real thing.

This steamy new adult contemporary romance features found family, hidden identity at the anime convention, nerd/jock dynamics and a meddling peewee football team. While it is book one in The Geek Girl Squad series, each novel features a different couple getting their own HEA and can be read as a standalone. This is the second edition; the story is the same with an extra epilogue!

Beach Book Festival 2022 Romance Category Honorable Mention