Grumpy winemaker Luke likes being alone. But he loves watching feisty bartender Cheri turn down every poor schmuck who approaches her with a pickup line. Can they team up and fool their families into believing their fake relationship is making them happy before they realize it's quite real? Cheri Ellis What happens when the sexy Scrooge who hates everyone asks you for a favor? He thanks his lucky stars that you also need a date for your sister’s wedding to save yourself from gossip. Swapping favors means exposing each other’s vulnerabilities, but inviting Luke into your disaster of a family only felt right when he meant nothing. Peeling away his prickly exterior, exposing the soft heart hidden beneath, leads to feelings you can’t deny. But Luke’s got to overcome his troubled past and believe in his own self-worth before he can become the man you can bet your heart on. Luke Wilcox How do you ask the sassy bartender who takes no grief to pretend she likes you, and help convince your family you’re happy? Tit for tat. Not in a pervy way, but by agreeing to shield her from the universe and her sister. Spending the holidays together only pushes her deeper under your skin, until you can’t tell where she ends and you begin. What are the odds that the woman who captured your adoration at first quip will see the marshmallow heart under your singed exterior and ignore the ashes of your past? Alternately steamy, nerdy, and sweet, the Excelling @ Love Series follows a group of strong women as they find love in their small college town. Filled with feel-good romance, found family, and flirty banter, the Excelling @ Love books are happy hour for the soul.