She’s a city girl with a reckless heart. He’s a gruff cowboy almost twice her age.

And their fake engagement might just be the realest thing they’ve ever had.

Emma Silver:

I’ve spent my life proving I’m more than an impulsive girl living in my brothers’ shadows—and vying for a man who was never mine to love. The brooding cowboy has haunted my dreams since the day he saddled me on a horse, but to him, I’m nothing more than his best friend’s little sister.

Yet, I need his ring for a promotion, and he needs a fiancée to save his ranch. It’s the perfect arrangement.

Until it isn’t.

The longer we pretend, the harder it is to remember what’s real and what’s not. The stolen glances, the heated touches, the way his voice roughens when he says my name—it all feels real.

My heart isn’t just on the line—it’s already his, and it’s about to break. Because when our charade ends, I’ll have my promotion, he’ll have his ranch, and I’ll still be the foolish girl who fell for a cowboy who never truly chose me.

Eric Waters:

Emma Silver is off-limits. Always has been. Always will be.

But when we strike a deal—her fake engagement for my grandfather’s inheritance—I can’t afford to say no. It’s simple. A contract. A few weeks of pretending.

Except, nothing about Emma is simple.

The way she looks at me, the way she pushes past my defenses—I can’t tell where the lie ends and the truth begins. And when danger comes for us both, I realize the biggest risk of all isn’t losing my ranch.

It’s losing her.

From the Author: Dirty Cowboy was originally published in 2014 under the title Layers Crossed. While the core characters remain the same, the story itself has undergone a complete transformation. Dirty Cowboy can be enjoyed as a standalone novel. While the series can be read in any order, we recommend starting with Dirty Cowboy, Dirty Mechanic, and Dirty Con to best follow the ongoing plot and character development.