The Broken Signal (Pine Barren University #6)

Cassidy Vance is every guy’s dream—until they discover the reality.

As the frontwoman of campus punk band Pinebox, Cass survives on noise, chaos, and a razor-sharp persona that keeps everyone at arm’s length. Onstage, she’s magnetic.

Offstage, she’s learned the hard way that being real means getting hurt. Lately it’s gotten worse, with grabby hands after gigs and fans who think the girl onstage owes them something.

Pretending she’s fearless isn’t protecting her anymore. She needs a deterrent—someone big, steady, and safe. Ben Kellerman is built for the job.

He’s the PBU Devils’ gentle giant: a massive defenseman on the ice, a quiet nerd off it.

He’d rather repair electronics than deal with people—especially his teammates, who won’t stop riding him about his nonexistent love life. Fake dating solves both their problems.

He plays the protective boyfriend. She plays the devoted girlfriend. She gets breathing room. The guys back off. No feelings, no complications. Just a temporary arrangement.

Until it stops feeling temporary. Between dive-bar gigs and unexpectedly tender moments, the lines blur fast. The guy who fixes broken things is falling for the girl who’s convinced she’s unfixable.

And Cass has to face the terrifying possibility that maybe, just maybe, she’s been worth keeping all along.

The Broken Signal is a college hockey romance about being seen for who you really are, finding safety in unexpected softness, and learning that the right person doesn’t need you to perform—they just need you to stay.