What do you do when the antihero offers you the key to your cage?
If you decide you hate Arielle Rhodes, she wouldn’t blame you. She’s the girl who has everything—a handsome partner, the successful fashion career she always dreamed of, and a family name that comes with both fame and fortune. Beneath her party-girl exterior, she fears nobody could love the version of herself she’s been trained to keep locked away, reluctantly accepting the future her family curated for her.
Known for being dangerously insouciant and annoyingly self-assured, Royce Cooper wears authority like a second skin. He built two successful empires from scratch, but he knows it won’t last. Unable to abandon his sister, he keeps everyone else at a distance. Determined not to let anyone miss him when his luck finally runs out, it’s been over a decade since he allowed anyone new into his personal life.
When they meet for the first time, Royce breezes past Arielle’s defenses, curious about the girl beneath her public persona. Arielle, on the other hand, feels a sense of safety, allowing her to reveal pieces of herself she believes nobody could want. He leaves her with a pathetic sense of hope for a future she knows she can’t have—especially with a man like him. She tempts him to end his emotional detachment and want something real in his life.
While some people bring out the worst in each other, Royce and Arielle find solace in a kindred soul. Arielle must decide between the life she agreed to and the man who threatens to love the girl she didn’t know still existed. Royce wrestles with the need to protect her and the emotional distance he relies on to keep the ones he loves safe. If they can survive their own inner demons, they may finally spark each other back to life.
