Collateral Love

She hates everything he stands for until the late nights, loaded stares, and one dangerous secret turn an unlikely alliance into something they can’t undo. Enemies in public. Something else entirely behind closed doors.

Kyra Farris has bled for Portfield. Every plan, every late night, every fight at city hall has been for the community she refuses to abandon. But when a high-stakes financial deal hijacks her redevelopment project, she’s forced to collaborate with the one man who embodies everything she resents. Corbin Westfield is a smooth-talking investment banker with a mandate to cut costs and boost returns. Kyra doesn’t need his charm, his confidence, or the way he watches her like he sees what no one else does. But when toxic secrets surface beneath the foundations they both stand on, trusting him might be her only path forward or the worst mistake she’ll ever make.

Corbin Westfield came to Portfield to secure a deal, not catch feelings. But Kyra gets under his skin fast. She’s not just a challenge; she’s a reckoning. And when a buried environmental cover-up threatened to tear everything apart, Corbin must choose between protecting the career he built and the woman who sees right through him. Because falling for Kyra means risking it all and for once, he just might.

**This story was a part of the Unexpected Desire Anthology. No major changes to the story**