THE STAND-IN

In the glittering world of high-end companionship, Margaux Reilly is the exception. A Columbia PhD candidate in art history, she's built a quiet career saying yes to the right jobs - and no to everything else.

When a last-minute offer arrives - $40,000 for one weekend as a plus-one at a billionaire's sister's wedding in the Hamptons - Margaux says yes. The client is Dashiell Voss: reclusive CEO, engaged to a world-ranked tennis star, and the kind of man who reads academic journals for fun. He chose her specifically because he read her article on a sixteenth-century sculptor three years earlier.

What begins as a professional arrangement quickly becomes something neither of them planned: real conversation. Real attention. Real respect.

But Dashiell is engaged. And Margaux has four non-negotiable rules.

Over the next six months, they build something rare - monthly dinners protected by ironclad contracts, radical honesty, and the slow, careful construction of a connection that could destroy everything... or finally give them both what they've been missing.

A story about consent, contracts, and the radical act of choosing integrity over desire. For readers who want intellectual tension, emotionally intelligent women, and a love story that honors boundaries instead of breaking them.

Perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Normal People, and The Idea of You - but with zero spice and maximum respect.