Title: Crooked
Authors: Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 29, 2026
Take a sneak peek at CROOKED.
You know you want to…
Copyright © 2025 by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland
“Sorry for making up that story,” he said. “But I didn’t know what else to tell him. Wasn’t like I could admit the real reason I’m here looking out for you.”
I crossed my arms. “Maybe you should’ve, and he could’ve carted you away, so I don’t have to deal with any of this.”
“Now, now. Is that how you talk to your loving boyfriend?” He winked.
“Please don’t repeat that.” Especially in that annoyingly seductive voice.
“Well, you don’t think at some point we’re gonna have to pretend to be something to each other? People are going to wonder who the hell I am. How else are you going to explain me, if I’m not your boyfriend?”
“I’m hoping not to have to explain you at all because I’m counting on this arrangement ending soon.”
“Well, if you’d let me sleep inside like you should’ve, I wouldn’t have attracted the neighbor’s attention.”
“I will admit that making you sleep outside was a mistake, in hindsight.” I rubbed my pounding temples. “Do you want some coffee? I need to get a cup before my head explodes.”
He smiled wide. “I would love some.”
God, those dimples.
Had they been there yesterday?
Of course they had.
Again, I needed coffee.
After I filled two mugs, I handed him one. “As you just saw, my neighbor is very nosy. You need to keep a low profile. That means no hanging around outside my house unless absolutely necessary. She’ll try to talk to you.”
“I’ll be fine if she does. I’m a pretty good liar.”
“How commendable.”
He shrugged. “I don’t make a habit of it. But in this business, you have to be able to stretch the truth with a straight face.”
Putting my coffee down, I crossed my arms. “We have to set some ground rules.”
Wes grinned from behind his mug. “Okay…”
He’d better be taking this seriously. I took another long sip of coffee. “One, you have to sleep on the couch. I only have one bedroom. So…”
“All right. I was expecting that. No big deal. I’ve slept on worse things.”
“Not even gonna ask.” I sighed. “Also, no walking around without your clothes on.”
Wes raised a brow and laughed. “Why would I do that?”
“I don’t know. You seem like the type who might be comfortable enough in your skin to want to flaunt it or something. Just letting you know I won’t appreciate that.”
“No naked ass. Got it.” He nodded. “What else?”
“No eating anything in my refrigerator that belongs to me. I just went to Erewhon to stock up. Practically spent a week’s salary.” I opened the fridge and began moving my items to the right, leaving spots on the left of the top two shelves empty. “You can keep your stuff on this side.”
“How generous of you…” He grinned.
I tilted my head. “Are you mocking me?”
“No.” He pursed his lips, probably to keep from laughing.
I sighed. Maybe I did need to calm down. This situation was making me more high-strung than usual.
After a moment, he asked, “Are you done?”
“I’ll let you know if I think of anything else.”
“Look…” he said. “I don’t wanna be here any more than you want me here. So let’s just try to make the best of it.”
“We don’t need to make the best of it. We need to stay out of each other’s way and not make each other insane.” I downed the last of my cup of joe.
Wes’s expression dampened. Had I hurt his feelings? This situation stressed me out and made me less than pleasant. My father’s antics brought out the worst in me. I felt like I needed a time out.
On that note, I took my own advice and ventured back to my room to have my second cup of coffee in peace.
When I walked back out into the living room about fifteen minutes later, my jaw dropped. It was like I’d walked onto the set of Love Island. Wes was sitting on the couch with his feet up on the ottoman—shirtless, with every beautiful contour of his bronzed chest on full display.
What. The. Heck. I gulped. “What are you doing?”
He stood, looking confused. “What do you mean? I’m just sitting here.”
“You’ve only been here a matter of minutes, and you’ve already broken a rule.” I scoffed. “The most important one, I might add.”
He drew in his brows. “What rule?”
I glared. “Naked?”
He looked down at his chest. “I’m not naked.”
“You took your shirt off.”
“That’s shirtless. Not naked. You say naked, and I think…junk hanging out. This is not naked.”
I shook my head. “You need to wear a shirt in this house.”
He stalked toward me. “It’s hot as Hades in here. Does your air conditioner even work?”
“I don’t like it too cold. I freeze easily.”
“I guess that’s what happens to people who are already cold enough.”
As he stood there with his hands on his hips, I did feel oddly warm, actually. And it had nothing to do with the air-conditioner setting.
He smirked. A chill ran down my spine.
F*ck. Those dimples.
I’m going to kill my father for hiring this guy.
★★★
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RELEASING
MARCH 29th!
MARCH 29th!
VI KEELAND
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty-seven languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the US, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films by Passionflix, and two of her books are currently optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
PENELOPE WARD
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.
With millions of books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over thirty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
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