Trick or Retreat

The rule was simple: one fake backstory, one shared room, absolutely zero real feelings.

Molly Byrne only invented a boyfriend so her family would stop asking about her divorce. She didn’t expect her sister to drag the entire family to a couples-only Halloween retreat just to cross-examine him.

Enter Patrick Sutter. He’s grumpy, impossibly observant, and the innkeeper of a struggling New England inn that won’t survive the winter. Molly has the marketing skills to save it; Patrick has the broad shoulders and pulse required to play the devoted lover.

It’s an ironclad business transaction. Or it was, until the shared bedroom got too small, the local gossips bought the act completely, and her ex-husband walked through the lobby doors.

Patrick is the worst liar in New England, but as the lines between performance and reality blur, Molly realizes the real danger isn’t her family catching them in a lie—it’s what happens if she stops faking.

A warm, witty and sharp, closed-door Halloween romantic comedy packed with fake dating, forced proximity, small-town chaos, and one very opinionated cat.