Prologue
The Wrong Signature.
The ballroom glittered beneath crystal chandeliers worth more than most houses.
Fresh white roses lined the aisle. A string quartet played softly in the background. Guests dressed in designer suits and couture gowns filled every seat, waiting for the wedding of the year.
None of it belonged to Ivy Monroe.
She hurried through the service entrance with a clipboard tucked beneath one arm and a headset slipping from her ear. A loose strand of chestnut hair clung stubbornly to her damp forehead.
“Where are the champagne towers?” she asked into her headset.
“They’re on the way!”
“The bride’s bouquet?”
“Delivered.”
“The photographer?”
“Already upstairs.”
Ivy released a slow breath. One crisis solved. Twenty more waiting.
Owning a small event-planning business meant saying yes to impossible jobs just to keep the lights on. This luxury wedding was her biggest contract yet—the one that could save Monroe Moments from bankruptcy.
She couldn’t afford a single mistake.
“Ivy!”
Her assistant, Mia, rushed toward her, nearly tripping over the hem of her dress.
“We have a problem.”
Ivy closed her eyes for one brief second.
“Only one?”
“The legal coordinator is looking for someone to witness a private signing before the ceremony starts.”
“I’ll do it.”
“It’s supposed to happen now.”
“Then let’s not keep them waiting.”
Without another thought, Ivy followed Mia through a quiet corridor far removed from the crowded ballroom.
The hallway was almost eerily silent.
Security guards stood outside an elegant suite, exchanging quick glances before opening the door.
Inside, a polished mahogany table held several neatly arranged documents.
A sharply dressed attorney adjusted his glasses.
“There you are,” he said. “We’re running behind schedule.”
“I was told you needed a witness,” Ivy replied.
“Correct.”
She smiled apologetically.
“I only have a few minutes.”
“It won’t take longer than that.”
Another man stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows with his back turned.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Tailored black suit.
He didn’t look at her.
He seemed more interested in the city skyline than the paperwork waiting on the table.
The attorney slid a folder forward.
“Please sign where indicated.”
Ivy barely glanced at the pages.
Standard wedding paperwork, she assumed.
She scribbled her signature on the marked line.
The attorney immediately flipped another page.
“And here.”
She signed again.
One more.
“And here, please.”
Done.
She pushed the pen away.
“Anything else?”
“No.”
The attorney gathered the documents with obvious relief.
“Congratulations.”
Ivy blinked.
“For... witnessing?”
He frowned slightly but offered a polite smile instead.
“Yes.”
Before she could question the strange response, her headset crackled.
“Ivy! The florist delivered the wrong centerpieces!”
She groaned.
“I have to go.”
Without waiting for another word, she hurried from the suite.
The man by the window never turned around.
The suite fell silent.
Only after the door clicked shut did the man finally face the attorney.
His steel-gray eyes settled on the signed documents.
“Everything is complete?”
“Yes, Mr. Ashcroft.”
Damien Ashcroft stepped closer.
The attorney’s confident expression vanished as he opened the folder.
His face drained of color.
“No...”
Damien’s eyes narrowed.
“What is it?”
The attorney turned another page.
Then another.
His hands began to shake.
“These aren’t the documents you approved.”
“What?”
“The marriage license...”
Damien snatched the papers.
His jaw tightened.
The bride’s name stared back at him in bold black letters.
Ivy Monroe.
Silence filled the room.
“Explain,” Damien said, his voice dangerously calm.
“I... I don’t understand. Your original paperwork was here only minutes ago.”
Someone had switched the files.
The attorney stumbled backward.
“This is impossible.”
Damien looked toward the closed door through which the young woman had disappeared.
He had never seen her before in his life.
Yet according to the law...
She was now his wife.
Miles away, Ivy rushed through the ballroom, barking instructions to vendors completely unaware that her life had changed forever.
She had come to organize someone else’s wedding.
Instead...
She had accidentally become the bride.
Whoops! This is funny and fun to read. I don't think I've read a novel where someone gets married. for signing the wrong papers. 😂