Sophia Clarke has poured her heart and soul into Pages & Prose, the independent bookstore that's been her dream and her refuge. But when an eviction notice threatens to destroy everything she's worked for, she's desperate enough to consider the most outrageous proposal of her life.

Alexander Reed is Manhattan's most powerful CEO and its most notorious bachelor. He's built Reed Industries into a empire through calculated risks and strategic thinking, but now his traditional board of directors wants proof that he's ready to settle down before they'll approve the acquisition that could secure his father's legacy.

Enter their mutually beneficial arrangement: Sophia will pose as Alexander's devoted fiancée for six months, attending charity galas and board meetings, playing the perfect corporate wife. In return, he'll pay her two million dollars—enough to save her bookstore and fund her wildest expansion dreams.

It should be simple. Professional. Temporary.

But Alexander's surprising gentleness begins to crack the walls around Sophia's guarded heart. And Sophia's genuine warmth awakens something in Alexander that he's spent years trying to suppress—the dangerous desire to be loved for who he really is, not what he can provide.

When gossip columnists uncover evidence of their business arrangement, everything they've built together hangs in the balance. Alexander must choose between the merger that represents his father's approval and the woman who's shown him what it means to be truly seen. Sophia must decide whether she's brave enough to fight for a love that started as pretense but became the most real thing in her life.

Because the best deals aren't always the ones you negotiate. Sometimes they're the ones that negotiate you.