{"product_id":"book-2bij","title":"Checking the Center","description":"A forced-proximity naked-man-on-my-couch hockey rom-com that'll have you snort-laughing!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou have to be pretty desperate to consult someone referred to as the \"Drunken Psychic\" for insight into your perennially single status.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut that's me, where I:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWork in a bakery despite dreaming of culinary school.\u003cbr\u003eHang out with my happily married friends and trying not to be gut-twistingly jealous.\u003cbr\u003eRent a blissfully sweet one-bedroom apartment on the banks of a river that has been a much-needed refuge.\u003cbr\u003eUntil now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBecause tonight, after trying to make heads or tails of the psychic's mysterious pronouncements about my love life, I arrive home to find a man on my couch.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA very naked, very muscly, very handsome man.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDid I mention he was butt naked?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd things only get more confusing from there. We have a whole conversation, in which he reveals that he's the star center for the Wilcox Wombats hockey team, Rock Stevens. And that Rock is actually his real name. And that he's in town for a week for an all-star pickleball tournament. And that my apartment is actually his apartment.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd then he refuses to leave. Things only get more confusing from there.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs we try to navigate our sudden forced-roommates situation while the landlord gets to the bottom of the mixup, Rock decides to turn the tables. Instead of being annoyed that I'm in his apartment, he suddenly becomes charming. Sweet, even. And even though I know it's a mistake, he charms me right up onto the kitchen counter, and…well, you can imagine the rest.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe guy's only in town for a week. Surely I can protect my silly single heart for that long? But with every stolen kiss and whispered promise, I can't help but wonder if I'm the one who's getting played.","brand":"Author's Republic","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":67603140772144,"sku":"BD2bij","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/2bij-Square-cover.jpg?v=1787704258","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-2bij","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}