She should say no. Addison Davenport figures that most people likely would. But after having her life plans repeatedly derailed, she's come to wonder if her chance at marriage and kids ended with the death of her college boyfriend. So when business powerhouse Daxton "Dax" Mercier—a man who's suffered a similar loss, a man who's her first in every way—asks her to honor the fallback marriage pact they made years ago, she doesn't reject it out of hand. Their partnership would be no more than a business transaction, but what's the point in holding out for love when it had granted her no guarantees in the past? Maybe they could make a marriage work. Maybe . One thing is for certain: with the wounds of loss heavy on their souls and the fact that he's given up on finding the big L again, friendship would be all they'd have. Love would never enter their picture. Ever. Not even for a moment. Right? Contains mature themes.