She needed a lucky break. He wanted to be left alone. Was marriage really the answer? Roman Graves has made a name for himself as one of the top midfielders in the U.S. lower division soccer league—and as the Red Tails’ resident grump. He wants two solitude with a remote cabin in the woods, far from his overly friendly teammates. But team rules say no wife, no off-site housing. And Roman? Very single. Enter Stella Everly–creative soul, introverted dreamer, possibly cursed, as well as the little sister of Roman’s late best friend. Stella is recently jobless, homeless, and desperate to keep every failure hidden from her worrywart parents. When a misunderstanding leads Roman to believe that she is about to be deported (she’s not!), he swoops in with a solution to save them a beneficial, no-attachment marriage. It’s supposed to be temporary. Problem solving. A means to an end. But for Roman, feuding with Stella is healing his heart. Tearing down her walls might be making his own crumble, all while bringing peace to his soul. He's breaking all the rules of this fake marriage, finding himself again, and he is most definitely falling for the girl. A marriage of convenience, grumpy X hot mess, slow burn, closed door romcom.