Page 1

PROLOGUE
It wasa beautiful day for a wedding in Manhattan. The sun had broken through the clouds as I stepped into The Plaza Hotel and continued to the magnificently decorated Terrace Room. Derrick's friends and family were there, including his sister, Amelia, who was my Maid of Honor.
And my parents, of course. My mother's eyes were red and puffy from all the crying she had done in the past few days, and my father looked like he was about to faint. I guess they were still getting used to the idea of their only daughter marrying a billionaire.
But that was the least of my concerns.
I could feel Derrick's eyes on me as I walked down the aisle. It made my heart race and my stomach do somersaults.
This was a mistake.
I should never have agreed to marry him. Derrick Thomas, the infamously demanding and arrogant CEO of Broker Publishing, the largest book publishing company in Manhattan. Also, my boss. But it was too late to back out now. Or was it? Legally, I could still say no. But I couldn't save my dad's bookstore if I didn't go along with this scheme.
It all started three months ago as a social experiment. Research, Derrick had called it. For his new self-help book. But soon, it’d become so much more. The courting, the dinners, the trips, the…sex… Oh yes, the sex.
And then there’s the million dollars. That’s how much money Derrick Thomas agreed to pay me if I married him and stayed married for twelve months. Enough for my dad to pay off his business loan and own the bookstore outright.
It sounded like the perfect arrangement.
Anybody could handle a year of amazing everything, right?
The priest spoke, then Derrick said something, but my nerves kept me from hearing it. All I could think about was how much I wanted to run away.
The priest turned to me, but his voice was just a buzzing sound in my ears. I couldn't focus on his words. I was so lost in thought I hardly heard him say, “Do you, Jessica, take Derrick to be your husband?”
It wasn't until I felt Derrick’s hand on my arm that I realized it was my turn to speak.
I took a deep breath to deliver the words that would change my life forever.
“I…don't.”
There was a collective gasp from the crowd.
Fuck.
Derrick's eyes widened in shock. And my heart felt like it was about to beat out of my chest.
I had probably just made a huge mistake I would regret for the rest of my life. But I couldn't go through with this sham of a marriage. Not even to save my family's business.
Because somewhere along the way in the last three months going through the fake engagement, I’d fallen madly in love with Derrick, and staying with him for one year wasn't enough.
I wanted forever. And I was pretty sure Derrick Thomas felt otherwise.
He was a billionaire playboy, after all. Not the settling down type.
Staying with him for one year would break me completely.
ONE
JESSICA
THREE MONTHS EARLIER
I had frozen in place,certain that I’d imagined the thud from the front of the bookstore. Then, the unmistakable sound of a door opening and a shuffling sound made my blood run cold.
Nobody should’ve been in there because I’d locked that door half an hour ago before coming to the back room.
I automatically reached for my phone and then panicked as I remembered I’d left it by the cash register to charge after I’d drained the battery earlier tonight.