I hired a fake girlfriend because real relationships are messy. Falling for her wasn’t part of the contract.

I build yachts for billionaires, run my company my way, and protect my little girl with everything I have.

Then my ex comes back wanting custody.

Suddenly, I need to prove that the home I’ve built for my daughter is as stable as I know it is.

My lawyer wants warm. Loving. A family man.

Faux Dating Agency gives me exactly that.

One month. One live-in girlfriend. A few public appearances and one very convincing happy family.

Simple.

Except the woman who walks into my life is anything but.

She’s a brilliant, curvy marine biologist with a mouth that challenges me, a heart my daughter adores, and a body that makes keeping this arrangement professional nearly impossible.

I tell myself I can handle the temptation.

Then she starts fitting into our lives.

Breakfast at my table. Her laughter filling my house. My daughter reaching for her hand. Me lying awake wondering what it would feel like to stop pretending.

One kiss destroys the first rule.

One night together takes care of the rest.

Now the woman I paid to play my girlfriend is becoming the one thing I never planned on wanting again.

Mine.

But I’ve already watched one woman walk away from my daughter.

I won’t risk putting her through that twice.

Even if protecting my little girl means letting go of the woman who finally made our house feel like a home.