The Backup Date (Harbor Ice Romances #1)

A retired figure skater. A backup goalie. Six fake dates to save the rink they both call home.

Ada Halloran came home to Mercer Bay to teach learn-to-skate and quietly rebuild a life that no longer fit the spotlight. Two years after the hip injury that ended her competitive career, she has mastered the bright public smile that keeps everyone from asking harder questions.

Then Harbor Ice runs out of money.

The rink’s best shot is a six-week sponsorship campaign with Tidemark Outfitters, built around a charming local couple and a gala finale. Ada’s ex, the team’s starting goalie, is the obvious choice. He refuses. So the job falls to Wes Berglund: the Pilots’ backup goalie, the rink’s quiet fixer, and the man who somehow remembers every small thing Ada thought no one noticed.

Six events. One fake relationship. No real feelings allowed.

But Wes has never been pretending as well as Ada hoped, and the more the town believes their story, the harder it gets for Ada to tell where the performance ends.

The Backup Date is a closed-door hockey romcom with fake dating, a he-fell-first hero, small-town rink chaos, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.