Aurelia Smith's engagement ends in front of a room full of strangers, and by morning, so does her reputation. The video is everywhere. Her name is a joke. She has nothing left to lose, which is the only reason she says yes when a stranger in a bar offers her a way out. Luca Ashford doesn't keep anyone. Not for more than a night, not ever. But there's something about the woman he meets that he can't shake, and before he knows what he's doing, he's back in the same bar, making her an offer no sane person would take. What starts as a one-year contract, a simple agreement to pretend she wants him, convincing enough to make everyone believe it, including his mother, is supposed to stay business, nothing more. But somewhere between the performance and the proximity, things shift between them in ways neither of them planned for.