An Academic Affair

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher are English professors who have been rivals since they met as undergraduates in a literature department thirteen years ago. Now a teaching position they both want has opened up, and the old competition turns fiercer than it has ever been.

Both have reasons to need the job. Jonah wants to live closer to his sister, who has recently divorced and has children. Sadie wants the financial security and the freedom that a full-time post would give her.

Then Sadie spots a detail in the listing: the position comes with partner hire. She sees a way for both of them to land the job. They only have to get legally married, and the marriage can be a fake one. It looks like a tidy solution for two people who dislike each other.

The trouble starts when the attraction between them turns out to be real. For all their degrees, neither has thought the plan through.

This is a contemporary romance with a campus setting, built on rivals-to-lovers and fake-relationship setups. The tone is light and charming, with humour in the way two clever people outmaneuver themselves.