Chapter 1

"Pack your bags, Elowen. The locks get changed at noon."

Elowen dropped her paper grocery bag right onto the dusty floorboards of her apartment hallway. A carton of eggs split open inside. She did not even blink.

"You said Friday, Mr. Henderson. Today is Tuesday."

"Plans changed. Building got sold this morning. New owner wants a clean sweep. Everybody out."

"That is illegal. You have to give thirty days notice."

"Take it up with Ashbourne Holdings, kid. They sign the checks. I just hold the wrench."

Henderson turned around and clomped down the stairs, his heavy work boots rattling the banister.

Elowen stood alone in the drafty hall.

Her bakery was already chained shut with yellow foreclosure tape. Two years of eighty hour work weeks and maxed out cards, gone. Now she had three hours to pack her entire life into two cardboard boxes.

She did not pack. She walked straight out into the freezing wind.

Forty minutes later, she walked into the glass tower downtown. The gold letters on the black marble wall read Ashbourne Holdings.

"I need to speak to whoever handles residential evictions," Elowen told the front desk assistant.

The receptionist did not look up from her screen. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No. But your company is throwing people onto the street on Elm Street, and I am not leaving until somebody explains why."

"Security can escort you out, miss."

"Let her through, Sarah."

The deep voice came from the private elevator bank.

Elowen turned around.

The man walking toward her wore a charcoal three piece suit that looked like it cost more than her entire bakery inventory. Tall, broad shoulders, dark hair cut neat, and cold gray eyes that fixed right on her face.

"Mr. Ashbourne," the receptionist sat up straight. "She does not have a badge."

"I know who she is," Caius said. He looked Elowen up and down, his eyes lingering on her flushed cheeks and windblown hair. "My office. Now."

Elowen followed him into the private elevator. The doors slid shut, cutting off the noise of the lobby.

He stood right beside her, smelling like expensive cedarwood and clean rain. He did not say a single word on the ride up.

When the elevator opened onto the top floor, Caius walked straight into a massive corner office overlooking the city and sat behind a heavy dark wood desk.

"Sit down, Elowen."

"I would rather stand," she said, crossing her arms. "Your company bought my building and gave us two hours to leave. My lease says thirty days minimum. You cannot do this to people."

Caius leaned back in his leather chair.

"I bought your building this morning. I also bought the outstanding commercial note on your bakery last week."

Elowen felt the floor drop beneath her feet. "You did what?"

"Your debt is no longer with the local bank. I own it. All three hundred and forty thousand dollars of it."

"Why? I have never even spoken to you before today."

"Because you are out of options. You have no collateral, no business, no savings, and in two hours, no bed."

"Is this a game to you? Crushing normal people for fun?"

"I have no desire to crush you," Caius said, his voice flat and steady. "I am going to fix every single problem you have."

"I do not want your money."

"This is not a gift. It is a business contract." Caius pulled a thick black folder from his desk drawer and dropped it onto the wood. "I need a wife. Today."

Elowen let out a short, angry laugh. "Go find one at a country club."

"My grandfather has a strict deadline on my family trust. I must be legally married by the end of this week to retain my position as CEO. If I am not, the board hands control of this company to my uncle."

"Hire an actress."

"An actress talks to the press. An actress wants fame. You, on the other hand, need three hundred and forty thousand dollars to disappear."

"You are out of your mind."

"I am practical," Caius said. He stood up, walked slowly around the desk, and stopped right in front of her. "One year. You live in my penthouse. You attend galas on my arm. In exchange, I wipe your debt to zero, give you a monthly allowance, and hand you the keys to a brand new bakery location the day the contract ends."

Elowen stared at him, her chest heaving. "Just... an act?"

"In public, we are completely devoted."

"And in private?"

Caius took a single step closer, closing the space between them until she could feel the heat radiating off his chest.

"In private, you are my wife. And there is one detail my grandfather added to the inheritance clause this morning."

Elowen backed up until her knees hit the leather armchair. "What detail?"

Caius lifted a hand, his knuckles brushing lightly against the side of her jaw, sending a sudden shiver straight down her spine.

"He does not just want a marriage license, Elowen. He wants proof of a pregnancy within six months.”