We’re at T-Minus 2 weeks from my latest Fake Romance releasing! Woot Woot!

I love these characters and can’t wait for you to meet Nikau, my rugby playing, risk taking, wickedly naughty Kiwi.

He’s bad, he’s sexy, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make Kinsey his…

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Kinsey

I can’t say I’ve ever enjoyed football, but this is something entirely different, and I’m suddenly beginning to understand why it’s so popular.

While it’s brutal, and I have no idea what’s going on, and I can’t understand how the players aren’t sustaining injuries with no padding, there is no denying I’m getting a little hot and bothered watching Nikau play.

It soon becomes apparent that he and Malachi are in a league of their own.

Either it’s instinct or experience, but they seem to hold the ball and score more than anyone else put together.

As I watch, and the scoreboard changes, I realize I know next to nothing about how it’s played.

I do learn it’s called a ‘try’ and not a touchdown. And other than the lack of protective gear, there are significant differences regarding throwing the ball, and tackling.

Reese echoes my sentiments when another try is scored, and the crowd simultaneously leap to their feet and we feel compelled to as well. “I have no idea what’s going on, but this is fucking amazing!” she shouts.

I laugh and have to agree as the players congratulate the player who scored. But it’s obvious Nikau is carrying the team.

He barely stops moving in the entire first forty minutes, and when he’s not playing, he’s talking to the other players, obviously coaching them too.

“You should take a picture, put it up on social, show The Bastard you’ve upgraded,” Reese says.

I glance at her, then at Nikau, and pull a face. “I don’t know,” I say.

Reese glares at me, and before I can stop her, she pulls out her own phone, and snaps a lot of photos. “I’ll do it for you, and after the game, I’ll take one of you two, and put it up too,” she says.

I open my mouth to protest, but she’s tapping away furiously on her phone and I know she’s probably right. No one will believe Nikau’s my boyfriend if I don’t start acting like he is.

“There, it’s all on your account,” she says as she shows me the post she just made.

I gape at her as I stare at the images on screen and the text underneath announcing I’m watching my new boyfriend kick everyone’s ass.

Worse than that, she’s changed my status to ‘in a relationship’. “What the hell, Reese! How did you get access to my Facebook account?”

She just shrugs. “You really need to change your passwords. You’re so predictable,” she says.

I’m not sure whether to be alarmed or insulted, but I’m more concerned by the text and that she’s tagged Nikau and sent him a friend request.

Any chance to discuss her invading my privacy disappears when another whistle blows and after a lot of back-slapping happening, the game appears to be over.

Rather than go in the direction of the rest of the team, Nikau is standing talking to the owner of the team, water bottle in one hand, mouth guard in the other.

“Don’t be mad. I did it for your own good. It would look weird if you weren’t friends with him, and you people will want to tag you both at the reunion,” Reese says.

She has a point, if I’m going to do this, I need to start laying the groundwork first.

As Nikau walks off the field, my phone starts to blow up with likes and comments.

Worse, when I look at Nikau, he has his phone out and is wearing a crooked smile.

His eyes find mine, and he smiles even wider before a text arrives from an unknown number.

Since it’s official, come have a drink with us in the clubroom.

I swallow hard as my entire body blazes with embarrassment.

Thanks to Reese everyone I’m friends with will have seen my announcement.

Since we share a lot of friends, there’s no way Brody hasn’t seen this.

Even if I hadn’t told him I was seeing Nikau, it’s too late to back out now. I’m committed to this crazy idea of fake dating a total stranger.

For all intents and purposes, the sexiest man I’ve ever met is now my boyfriend.