Book excerpt: Toymaker, Deacon Stone, needs a wife. If he isn't married in less than a week his grandmother will sell her shares of the family business, and everything Deacon has worked his entire life for will be taken from him. He isn't the husband type but he'll do whatever it takes to keep control of the family business. Single mother, Claire Brooks, dreamed of being an actress, not a maid to the wealthy. But with an eviction notice, an empty bank account, and Christmas just around the corner, she's barely making ends meet. When her daughter accidentally breaks a priceless statue belonging to her employer - the gorgeous and aloof toymaker - Claire has no choice but to accept Deacon Stone's proposal. Marry him for thirty days, convince his grandmother that they're in love, and he'll give her a hundred grand and the chance to finally give her daughter the life she deserves. Claire's determined to give the performance of her life. But when Deacon's kisses ignite a scorching hot chemistry between them, the line between make-believe and the truth starts to blur.