My father was always a gambling man. Unfortunately, he never could pick winners. When the wolves closed in, he chose himself, like always. He traded his freedom... for mine. He forced me to marry. Now Dante Bellanti owns my body. I'm just another possession for a man who already has too much. So I won't let him have my heart. But you know what they say about gambling.

I've been to a million parties with my crush, but he's never acted on it til now. Ford Malone could have any woman in Chicago, so why fake a relationship with me? The world knows him as the heir to a real estate fortune, but to me he'll always be my best friend, the man who saved me from my bullies as a boy. I'm as surprised as anyone when he announces our engagement, but I'll play along. Nothing has to change except the way we behave—the way we touch—in public. But his private touches change everything. Soon the crush I've hidden for so long is threatening to swallow me whole.

I was supposed to get close to him...but Armani keeps his secrets closer. Everyone knows that Armani is the most dangerous Bellanti brother. No one knows what he’s capable of. I do know there is nothing he won’t do for his family. For months, I’ve interacted with the dark, broody man. The way he looks at me moves the earth under my feet. His touch makes my skin tingle. But I’ve had my own agenda.

I thought I was trying out to be the Zoric's newest model, but Luka was auditioning wives. The last time I saw Luka Zoric, he left me stranded in his bed. This time, I'm the one holding the cards.

On my 18th birthday, my father, the senator, gives me the gift he thinks every little girl dreams of. The man of my dreams, and the wedding to match. Stefan Zoric is heir to an elite worldwide modeling agency. Practically a prince. My arrangement is simple, as far as sham marriages go. I give him my virginity, behave as the perfect wife, and he'll pay for the college degree my father found irrelevant. But I don't want to be the perfect wife. I want him to want me the way I want him.