One wrong number. One stranger who answered and came to the hospital. But did he really not know her?
Blake Maddox. Fifty-four. Ex-Marine. Security CEO. Silver-haired, steel-eyed, and far too controlled for a man standing at a stranger's bedside.
I don't know how his number ended up on my emergency form. I don't know why he showed up, a man who heard a woman was hurt and didn't hesitate.
He told the nurses he was my fiancé. He chased from my door the family who humiliated me. Then he made me an offer.
A fake engagement. His name, his protection, his world. In return, I help him settle a debt he won't explain.
I should have said no. I should have walked away.
Instead, I moved into his penthouse. Let society believe I belonged to him.
The problem?
Blake Maddox doesn't pretend halfway.
When he touches me, it isn't strategy. When he kisses me, it isn't for show. And the man who built his life on control starts looking at me like I'm the one thing he never planned for.
He doesn't do feelings. He does discipline. Silence. Ten years of unfinished business.
But something is off.
The way he watches me. The way he won't answer certain questions. Like this was never just a deal.
And when everything falls apart, the secret I'm carrying might be the one thing he can't control… and the one thing that forces him to choose.
Expect a wrong number meet-cute, a commanding silver fox hero, fake engagement turned dangerously real, forced proximity, an age gap that burns, a grovel worth the wait, and a standalone romance with no cliffhanger and a satisfying HEA.
