Play With Me (The Swan Dive #1)

Louisa May Ford is not the type.
Not for romance, monogamy, or relationships—aside from a deeply codependent bond with her foster brother, Hasan.
A ceramicist, tech entrepreneur, and absolute menace from the Bronx, Louisa has built an unapologetically queer and happy life full of friendship and chosen family, with no strings attached.

Enter Sergeant Will Hawkins: the self-described “boyfriend type” and Hasan’s new roommate.
A Marine with a rulebook, another deployment looming, and his late father’s voice acting like an unruly backseat driver, Will is 99% sure he’s met Louisa before, and he falls hard, fast, and first.

Hasan declares she’s off-limits, but opposites attract, and their chemistry is undeniable, turning video calls, egregious line-crossing, and a vicious prank war into a sexy pas de deux.
Louisa never wanted to be tied down—so why does the thought of Will leaving have her reaching for the ropes?

Set against a deployment countdown and anchored by a found family loud enough to fill a Boston dive bar, Play With Me is a witty and emotional friends-to-lovers, slow burn about a heroine who sees play as a love language and doesn’t need fixing, a hero ready to love her for who she is, and a reminder of all there is to gain when you write your own love story.

Tropes & Content:
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Standalone + HFN
Friends-to-lovers
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn
Set in 2012
Aspec FMC / Allo MMC
Deep Attachment
Found Family
Artist + Engineer
Military Brotherhood (no combat)
Witty Banter
Open Door
No Third Act Breakup
Adult Language, not cozy