Wade Dwyer's life is turned upside down when his father dies and he learns he must marry or he and his siblings will lose the ranch. One last jab of the knife from his father. On top of that, his father's only friend knows about the stipulation and is determined to own the property by any means necessary.<br><br>He's facing the very real possibility of being the reason his family loses their home when his brother's best friend, Lance Matthews, offers to walk down the aisle with him. A faux marriage to the man he's loved for years is a torture he isn't sure he can endure.<br><br>Can he keep the ranch ... and the man of his dreams, too?

The Twisted Oak

A couple strolled by, hand-in-hand, and he tried not to feel jealous, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted that.


The experience at the Country Clerk’s office earlier had knocked him off his game a little. The idea he was filling out an application for a marriage to Wade—fake or not—had butterflies throwing a rave in his belly.


And there had been something in the way Wade had looked at him when he’d arrived. He swore he saw desire in his face before he shuttered his emotions—something Wade was terribly good at. Lance had always been able to read his moods. But this felt different. When they stood in line together, their arms brushed against each other and jolts of electricity flashed through him.


Surprisingly, when he stepped closer to him, Wade did so also, but Lance tried not to read too much into that. He was probably just as nervous and keyed up as Lance.


Chapter 20