One embarrassing photo. One invasive background check. One fake relationship that’s about to get very, very real.

Nia Wilson has zero dollars, zero job prospects, and zero desire to face her judgmental family at Christmas.

So when her best friend Jace begs her to pose as his girlfriend to throw off his matchmaking mother, she says yes—because free food and avoiding her own family drama sounds like a holiday miracle. What she doesn’t expect is Jace’s older brother: a devastatingly handsome control freak who’s convinced she’s running a long con.

Hayes Madden built a billion-dollar empire by trusting no one. When his brother brings home a “fiancée” he’s never mentioned, Hayes knows something’s off. His plan? Expose her. His problem? He can’t stop thinking about her. Or thinking about her laugh. Or wanting to kiss her senseless every time she challenges him.
Between a mother who communicates with spirits, a surprise engagement announcement that spirals wildly out of control, and an unfortunate incident involving Hayes pants at the Christmas pageant, Nia finds herself falling for the one man she absolutely cannot have.

When the truth finally comes out, will their connection survive the fallout—or was their holiday romance just another beautiful disaster?