Luxury hotel manager Juliet Raines runs her world with precision. Every second of her day is accounted for, every emotion tucked neatly behind the shine of her professional calm. Her plus-size body is polished armor; her competence is her currency. But when gruff travel columnist Theo Lockhart checks into her hotel-and her carefully ordered life-everything begins to unravel in ways neither of them planned.Theo's job is to critique luxury. Juliet's job is to embody it. Their first meeting is a battle of wits and wills: she's all sharp heels and efficiency; he's late, unimpressed, and far too observant. What begins as professional sparring turns into something more intimate when a week of chaotic circumstances-missed reservations, whispered arguments, a citywide power outage-forces them together.As the line between duty and desire blurs, Juliet finds herself facing the one thing she's never scheduled: vulnerability. Theo sees through her polished façade to the woman beneath-funny, fierce, and heartbreakingly human. And for the first time, Juliet starts to wonder what it would feel like to be loved without conditions, to be wanted exactly as she is.But timing is its own complication. His review could make or break her career. Her fear of losing control could cost her something even more valuable. When pride and longing collide, both must decide if the risk of real connection is worth rewriting the rules they've lived by.Set against the glittering backdrop of a luxury hotel, Velvet Hour is a slow-burn, body-positive romance that celebrates ambition, appetite, and the quiet magic of being truly seen. With humor, heart, and simmering tension, it's a story about what happens when two people stop performing and start belonging-to each other, and to themselves.