Honeymoon Phase

Luke is in love with his best friend, Addison "Roe" Monroe, and has not told her. When she announces a plan to find a husband at the local lumberjack competition, he is sure she has lost her mind. Roe needs a spouse to inherit her father's lumberyard, and she would rather drive a forklift than get her nails done.

She has already turned down Luke's first offer of marriage. He cannot stand the thought of her tying herself to some hulking ax wielder who might turn out to be dangerous, so he decides to compete as a lumberjack himself and press his case.

On the surface, Luke offers a marriage of convenience to protect her. Underneath, he hopes the way Roe looks back at him means she suspects the truth. If she says yes, he will move her up to Fletcher Mountain, and he admits that may be as reckless as her own scheme.

This is a romantic comedy built on a best friends to lovers dynamic and a marriage of convenience. Luke narrates in first person, with a teasing, humorous voice and a steady undercurrent of longing. The stakes are a family business for Roe and a friendship for Luke, who would sooner risk it than never try.