A Recipe for Pretense

My perfectly ordinary Tuesday morning went spectacularly wrong when my delivery trike crashed into an imported sports car, ruining my prize-winning glow-orchids and the driver's bespoke suit. To my shameless relief, the city's most scandalous billionaire, Zaren Morante, didn't sue me. Instead, he made a desperate offer. Zaren needs to clean up his notorious playboy image to secure the council's approval for a massive eco-resort deal, and dating a hardworking, cheeky local like me is the perfect PR spin. I agreed for the funding to save my failing greenhouse. It was strictly a charade. But the lines between fake and real blur when I discover Zaren's hidden softness: he's a phenomenal, patient cook who spends his evenings feeding me homemade delicacies rather than partying. Our slow-burn arrangement ignites into something terrifyingly real at the Midsummer Gala. When my heels snap, he doesn't hesitate to carry me bridal-style through the ballroom. His careless facade completely shatters into dark possessiveness whenever another man looks my way, culminating in him accidentally introducing me to the press as his future wife. But with a saboteur threatening the deal for heartbreakingly noble reasons, can our fake romance survive the real fallout?