Knox McNichols and I have one thing in common—we can’t stand each other.
He’s the NHL playboy who enjoys getting under my skin, and thanks to the marriage between our siblings, avoiding him isn’t an option. When my ex refuses to take no for an answer, I show up at Knox’s penthouse with a desperate proposal—pretend to be my boyfriend.
The plan is simple: convince my ex I’ve moved on.
Except Knox has a few rules…
Rule #1: No flirting with anyone but him.
Rule #2: If my ex contacts me, I tell him immediately.
Rule #3: My location stays on at all times.
His rules should send me running.
Instead, they make me wonder if the man I’ve spent years fighting with is hiding something entirely different beneath his easy smiles and reputation as hockey’s favorite playboy.
The more time we spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore the sparks between us—or Knox’s determination to protect me at all costs.
When pretending starts to feel a little too real, I realize there might be something far more dangerous than my ex refusing to let me go. It’s discovering that the man I’ve spent years fighting with just might be the one I can’t live without.
(ARC Read)
There is something about a man who doesn’t need to make a big production out of taking care of the people he loves, and Knox McNichols might be one of my favorite examples of it.
Knox is controlled intensity personified. He’s gorgeous, confident, observant, and seemingly unbothered by almost everything around him. But just because he isn’t outwardly affected doesn’t mean there isn’t a whole lot happening beneath the surface. He notices everything. He remembers the little things. He quietly takes care of people without expecting recognition for it. And when it comes to Cheyenne Benson, that carefully maintained control is hanging on by a thread.
These two have spent years trading barbs and pretending they aren’t wildly attracted to each other. Thanks to the marriage between Knox’s brother and Cheyenne’s sister, they’ve been firmly entrenched in each other’s lives, which means neither of them can simply avoid the other. What Cheyenne doesn’t know is that Knox’s antagonism has been hiding a crush for a very long time.
So when she unexpectedly shows up at his penthouse asking him to pretend to be her boyfriend, Knox’s brain basically short-circuits.
Cheyenne needs help convincing her increasingly frightening ex that she’s moved on, and despite all their bickering, she knows Knox is the one person she can trust wholeheartedly. Knox agrees, but his version of fake dating comes with rules. Possessive rules. No flirting with anyone else. Her location stays on. If her ex contacts her, Knox knows immediately.
On the surface, it sounds controlling as hell.
Except the more we get to know Knox, the clearer it becomes that control over Cheyenne is the last thing he wants.
Because Cheyenne has had enough of that already.
Having spent nearly her entire life in front of cameras on her family’s reality show, she’s become accustomed to other people having a say in who she is, how she looks, what she does, and even which parts of her life are deemed worthy of becoming entertainment. She’s polished and recognizable, but underneath “Cheyenne Benson, reality star” is a woman who desperately wants the freedom to figure out who Cheyenne actually is.
And Knox sees her.
This isn’t about wanting her. It’s about wanting more. More time. More moments. More of this closeness that was never supposed to exist between us in the first place. And I’ve never wanted anything to feel less temporary than Chey Benson.
Not the version everyone else expects. Not the reality star. Not “Hollywood,” as he affectionately calls her. He sees the woman who wants makeup-free runs, ordinary dates, genuine friendships, privacy, and a life that belongs entirely to her.
That might have been my favorite part of their entire relationship.
Knox’s instinct is absolutely to protect Cheyenne, especially as her ex’s behavior escalates, but he never uses that protectiveness to take away her choices. Instead, he empowers her to make them. His self-control throughout this book is incredibly impressive because he’s constantly gauging what she needs from him rather than focusing on what he wants from her. Even when his own feelings are involved, Cheyenne’s safety and emotional wellbeing remain paramount.
He gives her somewhere safe to land without trying to decide where she goes next.
And watching Cheyenne slowly realize that she can trust someone to care for her without that care coming with strings attached was beautiful.
I also loved watching her become part of Knox’s world. The Railers’ tight-knit circle welcomes her almost immediately—not because she’s famous, but simply because she’s someone Knox obviously cares about. For a woman whose relationships have so often existed alongside cameras, expectations, and manufactured reality, those genuine friendships mean something. The found family in this series has consistently been one of my favorite parts, and Keep Me Close only made me love this group more.
Of course, all that emotional intimacy doesn’t mean these two suddenly stop antagonizing each other.
The banter, the years of suppressed attraction, the forced proximity, and Knox’s increasingly questionable ability to keep his hands to himself make the transition from fake relationship to something very real ridiculously satisfying. They’ve both been pretending not to want each other for so long that watching those walls finally come down is half the fun.
And the piano bench? Apparently an innocent piece of furniture will never be innocent again.
It’s ridiculous how turned on I am by this woman. Cheyenne might be the one on her knees, but when it comes to her, I’m the one who’s been brought to mine.
But even in their physical relationship, what stood out to me was how well Knox and Cheyenne understand one another. Their connection feels intimate because they’re paying attention. There is tenderness mixed into the heat, and that combination fit them perfectly.
Cheyenne’s individual growth was just as satisfying. She doesn’t magically become fearless because Knox enters her life. It takes time for her to recognize what she wants, separate that from what her family expects, and find the courage to actually reach for it. Knox doesn’t do that work for her. He simply gives her the support and breathing room to realize she’s capable of doing it herself.
That’s what ultimately made these two feel so right together. They bring out the best in each other without requiring the other person to become someone different first.
Keep Me Close might just be my favorite Jennifer Sucevic book yet. I’m already a sucker for fake dating, but Knox and Cheyenne’s relationship gave me everything I want from the trope while becoming so much more than the arrangement that brought them together. Their romance is protective without becoming suffocating, emotional without losing the fun, and built around two people who truly pay attention to one another.
Knox sees Cheyenne completely, and instead of trying to keep her tucked safely inside another cage, he helps her realize she’s allowed to open the door.
And maybe that’s what I loved most about him.
He doesn’t just want to keep Cheyenne close.
He wants her to be free enough to choose to stay.
Release Date: August 27th, 2026
Thank you to Jennifer Sucevic and Valentine PR & Literary Management for the ARC read.