by Lyra Parish
First published 2026
The palace is filling up with eligible princesses, and crown prince Callum is running out of time. He never found a bride by thirty-five, so now his parents are doing it for him. Then Addison Cross walks through the doors, not as a potential wife but as a candidate for the royal artist position. He knows her. She is his friend's little sister, and she is absolutely off-limits. He needs her gone. Instead, they sneak out at midnight. They steal minutes in empty corridors. They make choices they cannot take back. Callum is supposed to be selecting a future queen, planning a wedding, preparing to produce an heir. Addison is supposed to be competing for a job. Neither of them sticks to the plan. The affair stays secret, but the feelings do not stay manageable. Callum is falling for the one woman his world will not allow him to keep, and the gap between what he wants and what his title demands keeps getting harder to ignore. This royal romance stands alone but connects to Lyra Parish's Billionaire Situation Series.
Genres: fiction, romance, adult, adult-fiction, contemporary-romance
Vibes: emotional, intimate, passionate, romantic, tension-filled
Tropes: forbidden-romance, forced-proximity, friends-to-lovers, secret-relationship
Setting: palace
382 pages · Paperback · Happily Ever After Ink