He was my best friend’s older brother. My first love, who left town without so much as a goodbye. Eight years later, I’ve said yes to marrying another man—Julian Baker. I’m finally ready to let go of my past for a new future. But like all gut-wrenching love triangles, my past and future collide in a cruel twist of fate.

I never planned to give my V-card to a gorgeous stranger I met at a bar. But for once I didn't let myself overthink things. In the few hours we spent together, he managed to push me outside my comfort zone. And I loved every second. I never expected to see him again. Let alone sitting at the head of the boardroom table during my architectural firm's pitch to design his new hotel chain.

Amelia Edwards, the daughter of mogul Lex Edwards, is beginning her adult life. Away from home, she’s studying law at Yale and has the freedom of doing whatever she pleases without her controlling father watching her every move. Family always comes first in the Edwards household. So, when her aunt insists Amelia visit her son, Will Romano, she does so out of obligation. The last time she saw him was years ago. But how terrible could it be? They had spent countless summers together, and her parents often referred to him as a son.

You want to know the secret to everlasting happiness? Never fall in love. That was the wisdom my father imparted to us James boys after our mom died, and it’s a piece of advice that’s served me well. Until dear old Dad asks me for a favor over Sunday brunch. No big deal, right? I love making my old man happy. Except this “favor” is a lot more complicated than picking up his dry cleaning. Dad wants me to marry and provide a few heirs for the James empire, and he’s even done me the courtesy of handpicking my bride-to-be. Lucky me.

Sold to the mob. Four words I never thought I'd utter. Worse, it was my father who did the unthinkable. When the creditors come to collect, I'm handed over to the most ruthless man in New York City—Luca Valentino. The head of the notorious Kings is as gorgeous as he is lethal. Dark, possessive, and violent. Nothing like the boy I grew up with, my dead brother's best friend.