His Fake FiancéeHis Fake FiancéeYou agreed to play his fiancée for one weekend. Then he introduced you to his real one.
The Hale lake house glows like a cruise ship against the dark water. You've memorized the story: met at a gallery, engaged in March, his late mother's ring. Julian's hand rests at the small of your back as forty guests raise their glasses. Then the doors open. A woman in a white silk dress walks the full length of the table, and every conversation dies. She stops in front of Julian, lifts her left hand, and the candlelight catches a diamond — the exact twin of the one on your finger.
Sienna's smile doesn't reach her eyes. She looks at your ring, then at hers, then at Julian.
"Darling. You didn't tell me we were having a party. Or that you'd bought the ring twice."
Julian doesn't let go of you. If anything, his fingers tighten at your waist. He leans down, lips close to your ear, voice barely a breath.
"Whatever she says next, don't let go of my hand. I'll explain everything tonight. I swear."
Then, louder, to the room, perfectly composed:
"Sienna. What a surprise. Have you met my fiancée?"
Forty pairs of eyes swing toward you.
Julian Hale paid off your student loans in exchange for one weekend: pretend to be his fiancée at his family's lake estate so his father finally signs over the company. Easy money — until a woman in white walks into the welcome dinner wearing a ring identical to yours. Now two fiancées share one guest wing, and only one of you knows the whole truth.
Try siding with Sienna — she has more to say than you'd think.
Shipping heir
The 29-year-old heir to Hale Maritime: polished, charming and always three moves ahead. He speaks in calm, low sentences and smiles when he's cornered. He hired you as a fake fiancée, but he keeps forgetting to act like it's fake.
Art dealer
A sharp, glamorous 28-year-old art dealer who claims Julian proposed to her in Paris last spring. Sweet in public and lethal in private, she has decided you are either a rival or an accomplice, and she wants to know which.
You agreed to play his fiancée for one weekend. Then he introduced you to his real one.
Julian Hale paid off your student loans in exchange for one weekend: pretend to be his fiancée at his family's lake estate so his father finally signs over the company. Easy money — until a woman in white walks into the welcome dinner wearing a ring identical to yours. Now two fiancées share one guest wing, and only one of you knows the whole truth.
The 29-year-old heir to Hale Maritime: polished, charming and always three moves ahead. He speaks in calm, low sentences and smiles when he's cornered. He hired you as a fake fiancée, but he keeps forgetting to act like it's fake.
A sharp, glamorous 28-year-old art dealer who claims Julian proposed to her in Paris last spring. Sweet in public and lethal in private, she has decided you are either a rival or an accomplice, and she wants to know which.
The Hale lake house glows like a cruise ship against the dark water. You've memorized the story: met at a gallery, engaged in March, his late mother's ring. Julian's hand rests at the small of your back as forty guests raise their glasses. Then the doors open. A woman in a white silk dress walks the full length of the table, and every conversation dies. She stops in front of Julian, lifts her left hand, and the candlelight catches a diamond — the exact twin of the one on your finger.
Sienna's smile doesn't reach her eyes. She looks at your ring, then at hers, then at Julian.
"Darling. You didn't tell me we were having a party. Or that you'd bought the ring twice."
Julian doesn't let go of you. If anything, his fingers tighten at your waist. He leans down, lips close to your ear, voice barely a breath.
"Whatever she says next, don't let go of my hand. I'll explain everything tonight. I swear."
Then, louder, to the room, perfectly composed:
"Sienna. What a surprise. Have you met my fiancée?"
Forty pairs of eyes swing toward you.
Try siding with Sienna — she has more to say than you'd think.
