I lost my job, moved back to my small hometown, and took an assistant position at the local clinic. 

My life is a Hallmark movie—if Hallmark made movies about failure.

Then Conor Kelly limped into my exam room.

British footballer. Career-ending injury. Living with his father's new American family while he recovers. And based on the permanent scowl, he's about as thrilled to be stuck here as I am.

When he catches me pathetically pining over my longtime crush at the local bar—a guy he somehow knows—he makes me an offer:

He'll teach me confidence. I'll finally win over the man I've wanted for years. 

He gets to be less bored. I get to stop being invisible.

Perfect arrangement.

Except Conor Kelly doesn't do perfect.

He's bitter about his ruined career. Resentful of being stuck in this town. And convinced that my "safe" crush is the most boring choice I could possibly make.

But somewhere between learning how to hold eye contact without dying and doing things I definitely shouldn't be doing against his kitchen counter, our fake arrangement started feeling dangerously real.

Now I'm caught between the safe crush I've wanted for years and the infuriating man who's teaching me that maybe I've been wanting all the wrong things.

Conor was supposed to be practice.

Turns out, he's the only lesson I want to keep repeating.