What’s better than a revenge date?
A revenge husband.
Pro quarterback Ryan Ralston has always known two things. First, he’s desperately in love with his best friend Emme Ahlborg. Second–and most importantly–he still has no idea how to tell her.
The marriage pact they made in their senior yearbook was the closest he ever came. Years passed and Emme forgot about their promise. Ryan never did, especially not on his thirtieth birthday.
Emme can’t catch a break. Always unlucky in love, her cheating ex is a groomsman in her best friend’s wedding—and there’s no way she’s showing up alone. Ryan offers her the one thing better than a wedding date: a revenge husband. And he’s not just any fake husband but the NFL’s brightest star…and in need of serious reputation rehab.
Playing the part of the happy couple comes easy and soon enough, the lines between real and fake blur. They disappear altogether when there’s just one bed. All Ryan has to do is save Emme from her ex, find her step-sister an internship, and get his wife to fall in love with him—or fumble the one thing he’s ever wanted: her heart
From the dedication (“for soft girls”), I knew I was in for something special, and Kate Canterbary delivered exactly that. In a Rush is the perfect mix of tenderness, humor, and heat, built around two people who’ve loved each other forever but never quite at the same time. It’s a story that captures what it feels like to want more from life, to crave stability, love, and belonging, and be terrified you might not deserve it.
Ryan Ralston has been hopelessly in love with Emme Ahlborg since high school. She’s his best friend, his person, the one he’s quietly built his world around. The marriage pact they made as teenagers, which was just a joke at the time, becomes the spark that lets him finally shoot his shot. Now thirty, Ryan is a star quarterback in need of a reputation rehab, and Emme is a teacher recovering from a breakup that shattered her belief in love. When she needs a date (or better yet, a fake husband) to survive seeing her ex at her best friend’s wedding, Ryan offers the perfect solution. What could possibly go wrong?
“You said you needed a revenge date. How about a revenge husband?”
From an outsider’s perspective, Ryan’s love for Emme is crystal clear. He shows it in the little things—through gifts, acts of service, and unwavering care, especially when her endometriosis leaves her hurting. But Emme can’t see it. She’s too used to being the strong one, the helper, the reliable friend. She’s tired of being the in-between girl—the one holding everyone else up while waiting for someone to choose her back. She wants to be settled, to have a family, to stop searching for love that never seems to stay. There’s a quiet exhaustion in her, the kind that comes from holding yourself together for too long.
“It’s hard,” she said softly. “Always having to be strong. It’s exhausting.”
“Yeah, I know all about that.” I dropped a line of light kisses across her cheek. “But I’ll block the hits for you now. It’s your turn to take it easy. You can rest.”
That’s what makes this story hit so hard. Watching Ryan show up for her again and again, never pushing too far, never letting her push him away, feels like a love letter to every woman who’s ever convinced herself she’s too much or not enough. He doesn’t just tell her she’s worthy; he proves it, over and over.
And when things shift from fake to real? Their chemistry explodes. It’s messy, tender, and scorching all at once. The intimacy feels earned because it grows from years of friendship, quiet care, and unspoken love. Every look, every touch, every “my wife” moment carries weight.
“I have wanted you for half my life. I don’t remember what it’s like to wake up in the morning without thinking about you. Everything good in my life has your fingerprints on it and you’ve been there for me to lean on through all the bad times…I don’t know who I am without you, and I don’t want to find out.”
Emme’s humor adds so much levity to the story too. Her over-the-top banter and chaotic energy often leave Ryan (and us) wondering if she’s serious or just messing with him.
“Make sure your lawyer writes a good prenup,” I said. “Otherwise, I’ll take the plane when this is all over.”
There’s also pure joy woven through these pages—In a Jam cameos, the Friendship wedding, Ryan’s hilarious family group chat, and the warm, inclusive friend group that feels like home.
If you love friends-to-lovers stories with a marriage pact twist, a fake marriage that turns all too real, and that irresistible “let me take care of you” energy, In a Rush will absolutely own your heart. It’s a story about a heroine rediscovering her worth, a hero who never gives up on her, and the kind of love that grows quietly but stays fiercely—proof that sometimes the best relationships start with friendship and end with forever.