Emma Chen stared at her phone, reading the wedding invitation for the fifth time. Her younger sister Sarah was getting married in six weeks, and the thought of attending solo made her stomach churn. It wasn't just about being the only single Chen daughter—it was about facing Michael, her ex, who would definitely be there with his new fiancée.

She glanced across the startup's open-plan office at James Mitchell, her colleague and closest friend at work. He was focused on his screen, his dark curls falling over his forehead as he typed. An idea started forming in her mind, dangerous and tempting.

"No," she muttered to herself. "That would be insane." But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. James was charming, successful, and most importantly, he owed her for covering his massive project deadline last month when he had the flu.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Emma walked over to his desk. "Hey, want to grab coffee?"

James looked up, his green eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled. "Let me guess—you need help with the Anderson account?"

"Actually," Emma said, fidgeting with her watch, "I need a fake boyfriend for my sister's wedding."

James's fingers froze over his keyboard. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Six weeks. One wedding. Pretend to be madly in love with me. Then we go back to normal."

The words tumbled out faster than she intended. "I know it's crazy, but—" "I'm in."

"You haven't even heard why I need this." James leaned back in his chair, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Don't need to. The chance to see the always-composed Emma Chen squirm? Priceless."

Emma rolled her eyes, but relief flooded through her.

"There are rules. We need to set boundaries."

"Of course," James nodded seriously, though his eyes still danced with amusement.

"Rule number one: I get to tell everyone we met when you spilled coffee on my laptop."

"That never happened!"

"It will in our story." He grinned.

"Come on, let's get that coffee and draft our romance for the ages."

As they walked to the elevator, Emma tried to ignore the flutter in her stomach.

This was business, she told herself. A simple arrangement between friends. What could possibly go wrong?