Elements of Rapture

Rani Shah is everything I can't have-too young, too sweet, too innocent. Not to mention, she's my late wife's sister and my son's nanny. So when she asked me to kiss her, I should have refused. When she begged me to touch her, I could have turned her down. When she coaxed me to take the one thing she's never given away-her virginity-a better man would have walked away. Should have, could have, would have... But I didn't. She should have been living the carefree life of a nineteen-year-old. She could have avoided all my broken pieces and jagged edges. She would have been able to save herself before I got a taste. Should have, could have, would have... But she didn't. Some love stories are forbidden from the start. Ours is one of them.

Did I plan to marry the single mom I've wanted for years on a drunken whim in Vegas? No. Do I regret it? Heck no! Bella Patel might think we're just friends, or that I'm nothing but a playboy pilot, or even that this marriage is only a temporary charade... but I'm hell-bent on proving her wrong. If she's skittish and stubborn, then I'm dependable and determined. So, when her scumbag baby-daddy threatens her, and she asks me to double down on our ruse, I'm only too eager to comply. My condition? For her and her daughter to move in with me. You know, for "optics." By the end of this marriage contract, the only jackpot I want to win is a chance at forever with her.