A chance meeting. A hunky hockey player. A fake romance. Hardly an ordinary day in the life of Poppy Hart. My days usually consist of agonizing over my failing restaurant, worrying about my mountain of debt and nursing my broken heart. Everything changes when I bump into a man in the coffee shop and claim him as my new boyfriend. To my absolute horror, he turns out to be hockey’s most renowned bad boy, Dallas Burke. To my absolute delight, he goes along with my story. When his no\-nonsense manager and meddling grandmother jump in the picture, they see a win\-win solution for my failing restaurant and Dallas’s less\-than\-stellar reputation. A full\-fledged fake romance complete with contract negotiations, pretend dates and phony PDA. But as I get to know the real Dallas Burke, who is not the man the press says he is, it becomes clear that if this isn’t real. . . someone better tell it to my heart.

A humiliating break\-up leads to an impulsive New Year’s Kiss with a complete stranger. What could possibly go wrong? It’s no secret that I love life. And Dr Pepper. But also, I love a challenge. . . So when the coach of the Chicago Comets gives me the opportunity to help their star player, newly traded to their team, acclimate to life in Chicago, I'm all in. I have to be. After my last job went up in flames, I have something to prove. It turns out that the player, Grayson Hawke, is the rudest, most off\-putting, reclusive guy I’ve ever met. It also turns out that he is the beautiful stranger I kissed on New Year’s Eve. I can do this job. I can do this job. I can do this job. And I can. Really well. I can make Gray’s life easier, show him all the reasons to fall in love with this city, and in the process, hopefully completely forget that the amazing kiss ever happened. How hard can it be? We’re total opposites anyway. I love people . . . and all their stories. Gray loves hockey . . . and nothing else. I love to talk. Gray only stares. I’m happy\-go\-lucky. Gray’s all work and no play. There’s just one problem. The more time I spend with Grayson Hawke, the more I start to see that underneath his bristly, standoffish exterior, he’s nothing like the man everyone thinks he is. And suddenly, all the reasons for keeping my distance, staying professional, and not falling for someone again. . . are impossible to remember.