Love, Danger, Homecomings & Heart — Your June Reading Escape Starts Here

Capturing the Texas Rancher's Heart

Her Cowboy Dilemma

by C.J. Carmichael

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Berkley
May 2026
On Sale: May 12, 2026
320 pages
ISBN: 0593817443
EAN: 9780593817445
Kindle: B0FM7FV5SB
Trade Paperback / e-Book / audiobook
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Lynn Painter

Lynn Painter
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A football star and his team’s die-hard fan find themselves entangled in a PR stunt—that only one side knows is fake—but it might just be the right play…

Duffy Distefano loves three things: her dad, the family cat, and Minneapolis Coyote football. So after she gets booed out of a game and becomes the internet’s villain following an awful encounter with the team’s beloved mascot, she is disgruntled, to put it mildly. Eager to clear the air, Duffy agrees to an interview on a hit morning show. She doesn’t expect a co-guest to join her—especially not the Coyotes’ star tight end.

When MVP Connor Cunningham gets tasked with damage control to help his team out of a PR nightmare involving its mascot, he thinks that means saying a few words on the Coyotes’ behalf. Instead, he finds himself in a highly amusing verbal sparring match with a recently wronged fan on live TV. Duffy pelts him with fiery jabs but is also clearly diehard about the Coyotes—color him intrigued…and attracted.

The interview instantly goes viral, and the public is obsessed with them. A strong push from the Coyotes’ PR team to ride the wave results in Connor asking Duffy out. Despite his distaste for PR stunts, he discovers being with Duffy is much easier than he anticipated, and somehow it doesn’t feel fake to him. This secret can only blow up, but all he knows is that if he messes things up with Duffy, it’ll be the greatest fumble of his life.