His Temporary Fiancée Summary: A Fake Engagement Turns Deadly
TL;DR: A Family Dinner That Goes Wrong in Public
Ailee Klein expects a quiet dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles. She is celebrating her twin sister’s movie callback and her own new engagement.
Then a stranger walks up to the table and recognizes the ring on Ailee’s finger.
In His Temporary Fiancée by Nadia Lee, Ailee works as an executive assistant at the law firm Huxley & Webber. Her boss, entertainment lawyer Josh Huxley, is also at the restaurant that night. What he says next changes both of their lives.
The book is part of The Huxleys series.
- Setup: After a public humiliation, Josh Huxley tells everyone he is Ailee’s fiancé. They agree to keep up the engagement for six months.
- Setting: Modern Los Angeles and Southern California, split between a prestigious law firm and the Huxley family estate.
- Format: Dual first-person narration, with Josh and Ailee alternating across 51 chapters.
- Tension: The romance runs alongside a threat from the Dunkel crime syndicate, Josh’s mother’s family.
- Core ideas: Family loyalty, self-worth, and inherited trauma.
Who Will Enjoy This Book?
This book suits readers of contemporary romance who like fake engagement, boss and assistant, and forced proximity stories.
It also fits readers who want humor alongside a darker suspense thread about a crime family. Because it contains a kidnapping and family abuse, readers who prefer lighter romance may want to know that before starting.
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Characters in This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Josh Huxley | Thirty-year-old entertainment and IP partner at Huxley & Webber who announces he is Ailee’s fiancé. |
| Ailee Klein | Twenty-four-year-old executive assistant to Josh who has worked for him for three years. |
| Zoe Dunkel | Josh’s birth mother and the daughter of mob boss Vincent Dunkel, who acts as the main antagonist. |
| Chad Buell | Dentist and Ailee’s ex-fiancé, who is secretly married to Autumn. |
| Autumn Buell | Chad’s pregnant wife, who exposes him at the restaurant and later hires Bryce to handle her divorce. |
| Katt Klein | Ailee’s twin sister, a model and aspiring actress. |
| Mr. and Mrs. Klein | Ailee and Katt’s parents, who favor Katt over Ailee. |
| Prescott Huxley | Josh’s father and a senior partner at the law firm. |
| Akiko Huxley | Josh’s stepmother, an artist who welcomes Ailee into the family. |
| Catalina Huxley | Matriarch of the Huxley family. |
| Jeremiah Huxley | Josh’s aunt and a name partner at Huxley & Webber. |
| Ares Huxley | Josh’s older brother, a corporate tax partner married to Lareina. |
| Bryce Huxley | Josh’s identical twin and a divorce attorney married to Fiona. |
| Lareina Huxley | Ares’s wife and an artist who bonds with Ailee. |
| Fiona Huxley | Bryce’s pregnant wife. |
| Max | Ailee’s best friend and roommate. |
| Vincent Dunkel | Head of the Nesovian mob in La Jolla and Josh’s grandfather. |
| Roland Dunkel | Josh’s uncle, who survived an assassination attempt by Zoe and seeks revenge. |
| Kenna Miller | Office administrator at Huxley & Webber who secretly works for the Dunkels. |
| Elizabeth Pryce-King | Socialite who heads the Pryce Family Foundation and is the sister of movie star Ryder Reed. |
His Temporary Fiancée Summary: Full Plot (Spoilers Ahead)
Spoiler warning: this section covers the whole story, including the ending.
The Setup
Josh Huxley is a thirty-year-old entertainment lawyer who follows one strict rule. He never sleeps with the same woman twice. Childhood trauma drives the rule: his mother, Zoe Dunkel, once kidnapped him and his brothers.
His assistant, Ailee Klein, has quietly liked him for three years. She keeps things professional and puts up with her family’s constant put-downs. They favor her twin sister, Katt, over her.
Ailee accepts a proposal from her dentist, Chad Buell, and wears a loose-fitting diamond ring. At a family dinner at Peking Town, a pregnant woman named Autumn recognizes the ring as her anniversary gift. She says Chad is her husband.
Ailee’s parents and sister side with the stranger and accuse Ailee of stealing the ring. Josh followed Ailee to the restaurant because he was worried about her seafood allergy.
He sees everything, steps in, and announces that he proposed to her with a family heirloom.
The Fake Engagement
The next morning, Ailee’s apartment building catches fire. She has nothing but the clothes she is wearing. Josh takes her to his estate and gives her a custom sapphire engagement ring.
He proposes keeping the engagement going for six months. That protects Ailee’s reputation and satisfies his father, Prescott, who wants him to settle down. Ailee agrees and moves in.
Josh introduces her to the Huxley family. His stepmother Akiko, grandmother Catalina, and sisters-in-law Lareina and Fiona treat her warmly. For the first time, Ailee feels valued by the people around her.
Living together breaks down the line between pretending and real feelings. Josh admits that Ailee has become the center of his life. Their restraint gives way, and Josh tells her he will not let her go.
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The Dunkel Threat
Josh learns the fire was arson. His mother, Zoe, had moved into Ailee’s building under an alias to target her and manipulate Josh. He also finds out about a mob rivalry between Zoe and his uncle Roland.
The family attends a charity opera in San Diego. Ailee wears Akiko’s lavender pearls and a tiara. She steps out to the restroom, where Zoe intercepts and kidnaps her.
Zoe takes Ailee to a yacht at a nearby marina. She binds her to a chair, with a razor hidden in the gag. Zoe then texts Josh a photo and tells him to come alone for a “family reunion.”
Josh races to the marina and boards the yacht. Zoe boasts that she poisoned her own relatives, including Vincent, Harvey, and Roland, to clear her path to power. She then pulls a knife and attacks him.
Josh overpowers her in a violent struggle. Zoe stumbles backward over the edge of the yacht and drowns in the dark water. Josh frees Ailee, who refuses to let him carry the aftermath alone.
The Ending
Authorities clear Josh after Zoe’s death. He takes paid leave from the firm to recover with Ailee. When her parents try to guilt her into inviting them to the Huxley wedding, she cuts all ties with them.
Soon after, Ailee feels tired and nauseous and goes to see a doctor. She learns that Josh’s vasectomy failed and that she is pregnant with twins.
At home, she finds Josh waiting on one knee with a new ring. He wants to propose properly, with no false premise behind it. Ailee says yes, tells him she loves him, and shares the news about the twins. Josh calls her Ai-chan, his “sweet little love.”
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Book Details at a Glance
- Genre & subgenre: Contemporary romance, billionaire executive romance, forced proximity, and fake engagement.
- Core narrative tropes: Fake engagement, boss and assistant, forced proximity after a fire, protective hero, high-society law firm, and a secret mafia background.
- Tone & atmosphere: Fast-paced, romantic, and humorous, with an undercurrent of criminal suspense.
- Primary conflict: Josh and Ailee hide behind a fake engagement while defending against the Dunkel crime syndicate.
- Pacing style: Chronological, with alternating first-person chapters from Josh and Ailee and rising tension.
- ISBN: 978-1961550063 (ISBN-13); 1961550067 (ISBN-10).
- Pages: 320.
- Book structure: 51 chapters with no separate parts or acts. It is part of The Huxleys series.
“You’re the sun in my life, Klein. Brilliant and flawless.” “No matter what anyone might say, as long as we both want each other, he’s mine, and I’m keeping him.” “Pietas et unitas. Loyalty and unity.” “You’re a beautiful person, Ailee. You deserve good things, but you have to believe it and say it out loud.” “Ailee Klein, I wouldn’t be on my knees in front of you if I didn’t.” “Ailee Klein, will you marry me?” Find Your Next Great Read: First and Forever Summary: Fake Dates, Viral Scandals, and a Forever Kind of Love
Memorable Quotes from His Temporary Fiancée
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