"Let's do this, Luke Steele," I say.

I look up into his piercing green eyes. They stand out so sharply against his pressed black suit, and I know that if I'm not careful, I could get lost in them. My heart pounds inside my chest. I can't believe that I'm actually here. It doesn't seem like real life yet.

Why am I even agreeing to this? Who agrees to get engaged to someone on a whim?

I guess the fact that it's Luke Steele has everything do with it. I tried to deny it to myself, but I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about Luke. I think I love him, but I'm scared to say it to him. This all happened so fast. But it feels so right.

And, maybe even more importantly, this might be the only way to save my dad. So I have to do it.

Luke blinks, and I can tell he's just as shell-shocked as I am. I like that I have this effect on him. Luke's eyes dance over my body and I feel my chest tighten. "I can't believe you're here. You do such bad things to me," he says.

My heart beats hard inside my chest as his words reach my ears, and I wonder all over again what I'm doing here and what this all means.

"But this engagement is purely business," I say. "Right?"

"Yes," he says, and his eyes snap back up from my body and lock onto mine. "Yes. Of course. Purely business. So… you're ready to do this?"

"I didn't come here to smell the flowers."

He laughs. "Very well then. I'm so pleased to hear that, Leah." He turns around and swings the door open behind him. "Follow me."

* * *

Luke takes me inside his house. I won't lie. I'm not into material possessions, and I would have come here whether or not he had a house like this.

But damn. While I'm here, I'm going to get to know the property and take advantage of all its amenities. I'm not above enjoying a trip away from home, and a chance to get out of that basement that I share with Aya.

Luke leads me through the mansion, off to a side wing that I can tell is for guests. He takes me down a long carpeted hall, with paintings and expensive-looking sculptures adorning the walls and the corners. There are two big French doors at the end of the hallway, and my breath almost leaves my chest when I realize that's where he's taking me.

When he opens the doors, my eyes practically bulge. It's not just a bedroom, it's more like the fanciest hotel suite that I've ever seen in my life.

There's a gigantic, king-size four-poster bed in the center of the room with white lace curtains hanging around it. Morning sunlight floods into the room from an overhead skylight. A kitchenette sits in the corner of the room, with a fully-stocked bar with drinks, snacks, pastries, and even a waffle iron.

There's also a washer, a dryer, and a flat screen TV. I peek inside the bathroom, which looks huge. I see an enormous shower with glass walls and the edge of a hot tub that I can already imagine sinking down into.

"Please," says Luke, waving his arm. It looks so muscular and strong through the sleeve of his suit. "Make yourself at home. Use the intercom to page a maid if you require anything while I'm gone. This will be your permanent accommodation for the duration of our contract. So feel free to settle in."

"What's the plan, then?" I say, setting down my handbag on the floor.

"I'll be back tonight," he says. "There's no time to waste. We'll sit down with the legal team and review and sign the contract, and we have an event to attend tonight. But right now, I'm late to the office." With a smile, he slips out the bedroom door and closes it behind him.

Okay. This is more than a little bit insane. But as much as I'm curious to explore the property, I can't afford to do it right now. I have a book to write.

I yawn, covering my mouth with my hand. I didn't get much sleep last night, but I can't let myself off the hook. I can't waste any more days. Not if I want to get my book done on time.

I have to remind myself that this arrangement is only temporary. When the big decision comes down from the company board, I'll get out of here one way or another, and Luke and I will go back to the way things were before.

Regular old dating. My old life. No crazy stuff. No engagement.

It's not like this is some kind of fairy tale, after all. This is strictly business.

I grab a lemon danish and a can of chilled, vanilla-flavored sparkling water from the kitchenette area, then grab my word processor out of my luggage. I kick my shoes off and hop up on the bed, ready to have a snack and write.

But the bed is the comfiest thing I've felt in a long time, and instead of writing, I fall asleep after about ten minutes.

* * *

"My legal team has drafted this," Luke says, handing an official-looking document to me. We sit across from one another in one of his company's conference rooms. The table is at least twenty-five feet long, with ten chairs on either side. But we're the only ones here.

I flip through it and my jaw drops. "Twenty-five pages? So let me get this right. You not only want me to get fake engaged to you, but you want me to agree to a twenty-five-page long list of terms and conditions for this fake engagement."

"This is business, Leah."

"This is absurd. This is longer than the agreement when I installed Microsoft Office on my laptop last week."

Luke grins. "Most of it is legalese that you can skip. The first page has the important stuff."

I flip back to the first page.

"In particular, that first paragraph," he says. "In short, it specifies that you will live together with me in my residence for the duration of the contract. And you will attend all events that I ask you to."

He takes me through the rest of the contract, but there's nothing too crazy or surprising. I guess I'm really doing this.

"Alright," I say, taking a deep breath. "I guess it's now or never."

A bolt of electric arousal zaps over my skin as I think about what about to happen. I'm about to get engaged.

This is probably the dumbest decision I've ever made. But… it's kind of exciting.

"Well," he says, handing me a pen. "Sign on the dotted line."