The Invitation

Lena Hart has spent years rebuilding her name after a powerful man from her past nearly destroyed it. When she is hired to plan the society wedding of the year, she sees the contract as the opportunity that could change everything. But stepping into the world of the billionaire Vale family places her at the center of secrets, ambition, and a dangerous love triangle. Alexander Vale, the cold and controlled heir to a powerful empire, is engaged to Celeste Harrington in a marriage arranged to seal a historic business merger. Love has nothing to do with it. Duty, legacy, and power are all that matter—until Lena walks into his office and challenges every rule he has lived by. Then there is Ethan Vale, Alexander’s charming younger brother, who offers Lena warmth, ease, and the safety Alexander never gives her. For a moment, Ethan seems like the better man to love. But when duty sends him overseas to launch a new branch of the family business, Lena is left alone in the glittering, ruthless world of the Vales. As Lena fights to keep control of the wedding, Nicholas Harrington resurfaces—Celeste’s cousin, Lena’s ex, and the man who once poisoned her reputation with quiet cruelty. Now he is determined to remind her that people like her do not belong in rooms built for power. Under the watchful eye of Lady Beatrice, the formidable Vale matriarch, Lena must navigate a family where loyalty is currency, reputation is fragile, and marriage is only another business strategy. When scandal erupts and the wedding begins to unravel, Lena must choose whether to protect her name or risk everything for a love that could destroy them both. Some contracts are signed in ink. Others are written on the heart.

He looked at me, his piercing eyes cold and sharp. “What do you want?” he asked, his tone irritated. “Cat got your tongue?” Fear gripped me, but I couldn’t back down. Not when proving my love was on the line. My hands trembled, but I managed to speak. “Hunter Steele...” I swallowed hard, my voice barely above a whisper. “Will you... will you marry me?” His brows furrowed, and he tilted his head slightly. “What?” ANYA BLAKE ____________________________________ I can’t remember the last time I willingly let a woman get so close. To me, they were a necessary evil....useful when needed, and avoided afterward. But when a young woman, trembling yet determined, stepped in front of me and asked the most ridiculous question I’d ever been asked, I felt something I hadn’t felt in years: a spark. And when I kissed her, it awakened something in me—a feeling I hadn’t known existed. Her innocence intrigued me and I wanted to be the one to claim her, to mold her......to make her mine. HUNTER STEELE

Elizabeth had her entire future planned: a perfect proposal to Alex on Valentine’s Day, followed by a dream getaway to the Maldives. But her carefully crafted fantasy shatters when she catches Alex, her longtime boyfriend, in the arms of his assistant. Heartbroken and furious, Elizabeth storms out, only to make a spur-of-the-moment decision that changes her life forever. In her desperation to prove she’s moved on, she impulsively slips her engagement ring onto a stranger’s finger—Simeon, a charismatic and mysterious man who unexpectedly says, “I do.” As their whirlwind fake marriage begins, Elizabeth soon discovers Simeon isn’t just any stranger—he’s Alex’s boss. Now, she’s caught in a storm of emotions, power plays, and unexpected feelings. While Simeon’s charm pulls her in, Alex isn’t ready to let her go, leading to a battle of love, loyalty, and redemption. Can Elizabeth untangle the mess of her broken heart and impulsive choices? Or will her impromptu marriage to Simeon turn into something more real than she ever imagined?

Two weeks before the wedding, I took my parents to dinner at my fiance Derek Matthews's family home in Larkhaven, Franklin. The evening was supposed to be the last planning meeting between both sets of parents, where we would finalize the ceremony and the honor-table seating. I hadn't expected Derek's childhood friend, Paige Bennett, to be there too. Mrs. Matthews suggested a little dinner-table game. Everyone would draw a numbered envelope. Whoever drew the highest number could ask one small favor of whoever drew the lowest. I drew the lowest number. Derek drew the highest. Everyone urged him to make his request. Paige smiled as though she were only joking. "Derek, let me choose for you. "At the wedding, my parents should sit at the honor table." I thought Derek would at least say that a game was a game and wedding arrangements were not prizes to be claimed. Instead, he merely frowned at me. "It's only two seats. "Paige's parents have always been close to our family. "I won the draw, and the rules say you owe me one request. "Don't embarrass everyone over this." I set down my fork, picked up my phone, and posted a message in our family-and-friends group chat. "There has been a change to the wedding seating. My parents will no longer be at the honor table." Derek visibly relaxed. Paige smiled at me through shining eyes. "Thank you, Hannah. I knew you would be generous." I didn't look at her. I simply continued typing. "Because my parents will not be attending this wedding. "Neither will I."

“I didn't think you'd come,” Mason Remington said. Lisa's breathing slowly increased as she tightly gripped the contract in her hands. It was already rumpled from the many times she'd read it, playing its letters like a movie in her head, over and over. Was she honestly considering it? She had a boyfriend. And even though she had always wanted Mason, craved him for years, he was her brother's best friend, who before today had never thought of her as anything other than a little sister. She knew what he wanted and what she'd be getting into if she went through with this, but all those thoughts seemed to vanish as she made her way into his office. Mason closed the distance between them, drawing her close with his hands to her waist and closing the door forcefully behind her. He now had her in his arms, giving her a small smile before crushing his mouth to hers, shutting her up before she could say anything. His hands moved up her back and crushed her tiny body against his, causing a quiet moan from her. He kissed her as though he was hungry for her. It wasn't just a show of power but desire. And with every brush of his tongue against hers, she knew all too well, that there was no way on earth she could say no to his proposal.

"Get on the bed." I lifted a brow. "Why don't you get on the bed?" He folded his arms across his chest. "Do you want my mouth on you or not?" ——— There were several ways to celebrate your best friend getting hitched off to the man of her dreams. Having sex with a stranger wasn’t one of them—at least Laura didn’t plan on it. But when an opportunity presents itself in the form of an incredibly sexy tattooed man, who was she to say no? Laura doesn’t do relationships, or dates, or anything related to the subject. She is strictly a one-night-only type of girl and doesn’t go back on that rule no matter what. So what happens when this sexy stranger Laura hooked up with, turns out to be a close friend of Jack—her best friend’s husband—who had actually been at the party that day, and now wants more than one night from her? A game of wills ensues. Will Laura succumb to the sexy stranger under his top notch seduction skills? Or will she go the extra mile and beat him at his own game?