I’d barely been keeping my indie book store going even before the big national chain opened right next door, but I couldn’t deny the truth any longer: the end was here.

Devastated, I took my staff out for lunch at a fancy restaurant to break the news. I didn’t realize anyone else overheard, but the devil has sharp ears.

Callum McCord walked into my store the next day and offered me an enormous sum of money to save my business. But his help comes with a price.

Marriage.

He said he needs a wife in name only to fulfill a condition of his late father’s will. He said I can have anything I want, including separate bedrooms. He said it’s the perfect arrangement for us both.

What he didn’t say is that though he acts like a gentleman, he’s anything but.

Or that having separate bedrooms isn’t the only thing he’s lying about.