Making Spirits Bright

One wrong bed. One fake boyfriend. One month until New Year’s.
Connor McNarama lives by checklists, calendar invites, and color-coded folders.

So when he wakes up in his carefully curated bed to find a stranger curled against him—barefoot, blanket-hogging, and definitely not on the schedule—he’s more intrigued than he expects.

Hannah thought the apartment was empty. She’s been bartending while rebuilding her life after her world fell apart, and crashing in her roommate’s spare bedroom beats the lumpy couch. She definitely didn’t plan on an accidental hookup with the meticulous executive assistant who measures his vermouth and never misses a deadline.

One night should’ve been it. But when Hannah’s condescending ex corners her at an engagement party, Connor plays the perfect fake boyfriend—complete with a protective arm around her waist and a kiss that feels way too real. Suddenly they have a deal: be each other’s holiday armor through December’s chaos of winter weddings, Breakfast with Santa events, and family gatherings. Then walk away clean on New Year’s Day.
The rules are simple: no feelings, no future, no falling in love.

Too bad Connor’s already mentally rearranging his life around her laugh. And Hannah’s starting to realize that the man who reorganizes her bar setup and shares his mother’s recipes might be worth the risk.
Between mistletoe kisses and domestic mornings, their fake relationship starts feeling dangerously permanent. But Hannah’s been burned before by putting her trust in the wrong person, and Connor’s spent his whole life caring for everyone except himself.

Falling for each other was never part of the plan. But maybe the best things never are.

A steamy holiday novella featuring: fake dating that gets too real • roommates to lovers • one bed/wrong bed • he falls first • forced proximity • found family • mistletoe kisses • a sweet cinnamon roll hero who uses spreadsheets as a love language
… and the kind of messy, inconvenient love that rewrites all the rules.