The Second Brake (Merritt’s Landing)

He can sell anything. He can’t find the brake. Felix Abernathy has just inherited his great-uncle’s farm-auction company in Merritt’s Landing, Indiana. The first sale is February first. His ringman just lost his license. And Felix—New York born, raised in the back seats of taxis—has never driven a car in his life. Prue Garrity teaches the whole county to drive. She also has one rule: give Merritt’s Landing nothing to talk about. One lesson. One red light. One diner window full of locals watching her slam the second brake. And when Felix talks his way out of it by announcing to the entire counter that he’s marrying her, Prue does the only thing she has ever done in a crisis. She says nothing. By lunch, the town is planning the wedding. So they make a deal: stay engaged until her sister’s wedding in September, then end it quietly. No one gets hurt. Except Felix still needs lessons. A rival auctioneer is circling the biggest sale in the county. Prue’s mother has started a binder. And eight months is a long time to sit an arm’s length from a man who talks too much, notices everything, and is starting to look a lot less temporary. Fake engagement · Small-town gossip · Opposites attract · Slow burn · Clean & closed-door · HEA