The Grump Next Door

Our first kiss was a lie. Our second was a mistake. And the night we spent tangled up in each other? Hot as hell but a complete disaster. Because now Sutton Sinclair—the sharp-tongued troublemaker who left claw marks down my back and a dent in my self-control—is living in my backyard cottage with her teenage daughter. And I’m her goddamn landlord. I like things quiet. Controlled. She's neither. Sutton’s chaos wrapped in sunshine, a temptation in scrubs I can’t seem to stay away from. When her ex shows up acting like Sutton’s still his to lose, I claim her on instinct. The kiss? Hot. The fallout? Immediate. Now my family—and the entire town—thinks we’re a couple. Fake dating Sutton wasn’t in my playbook, but if being a pro-footballer turned high school coach has taught me anything, it’s how to pivot. All I have to do is keep my hands to myself. Then her cottage floods. Now we’re sharing a roof…and a bed. The line between real and fake is blurring faster than I can redo the guest house. This is supposed to be temporary. But Sutton doesn’t just crash into my life—she rewrites it. She’s in my home, moaning my name, breaking every rule I’ve ever lived by. And I’m starting to want something permanent with the woman who’s already got one foot out the door.

Our first kiss was a lie. Our second was a mistake. And the night we spent tangled up in each other? Hot as hell but a complete disaster. Because now Sutton Sinclair—the sharp-tongued troublemaker who left claw marks down my back and a dent in my self-control—is living in my backyard cottage with her teenage daughter. And I’m her goddamn landlord. I like things quiet. Controlled. She's neither. Sutton’s chaos wrapped in sunshine, a temptation in scrubs I can’t seem to stay away from. When her ex shows up acting like Sutton’s still his to lose, I claim her on instinct. The kiss? Hot. The fallout? Immediate. Now my family—and the entire town—thinks we’re a couple. Fake dating Sutton wasn’t in my playbook, but if being a pro-footballer turned high school coach has taught me anything, it’s how to pivot. All I have to do is keep my hands to myself. Then her cottage floods. Now we’re sharing a roof…and a bed. The line between real and fake is blurring faster than I can redo the guest house. This is supposed to be temporary. But Sutton doesn’t just crash into my life—she rewrites it. She’s in my home, moaning my name, breaking every rule I’ve ever lived by. And I’m starting to want something permanent with the woman who’s already got one foot out the door.