A simmering, fake dating romance

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Sara Vance, a white social media influencer, finds out the man she's been dating is no longer coming to her family's vacation and needs a substitute fast. Thankfully stern and sexy firefighter Luis Navarro is on the scene at the Key West airport tarmac as she finds out, and she stumbles right into his broad chest.

Luis is also looking for a distraction as he's been forced in to a week long vacation after a bad car accident sets him back in to a dark place he thought he'd shoved behind him years after his girlfriend died in a similar incident. Why not pretend to be the doting boyfriend of the beautiful Sara and enjoy his hometown like the tourists do?

Well, for one thing Luis can't escape his huge family and community that all reside in Key West. Nor can he seem to escape the very real feelings he starts to have for Sara.

Turns out besides her lousy ex, Sara is also struggling. She's thankful her mother has recently been declared cancer free, but is still working on her mental health while managing her recovery from an eating disorder, all while trying to prove to her over achieving family of doctors that her career is a valid life choice.

And while Sara is forthcoming with Luis about her struggles and triumphs, drawing out the same willingness to share proves difficult with the taciturn firefighter who is far better at caring for others than himself.

A simmering, fake dating romance that shares a stage with messy family dynamics and personal struggles, this is a lovely offering from Oliveras. I'm looking forward to more stories about the Navarro family siblings.

For those interested in the heat level:
The one explicit scene fades to black after some hot second base action, the heat level between Luis and Sara is palpable throughout the story.

CW eating disorder struggles, characters trying to manage the eating of Sara, Luis dealing with PTSD due to the death of his fiancee and his work and refusing professional help, discussion of cheating (not between main love interests), descriptions of medical trauma.

I received an ARC from the publisher and from BookishFirst for review. Thank you!