She restores buildings for a living. He tears them down. Now they're stuck rebuilding the one thing neither of them planned for: each other.

Clara Rossi doesn't do handouts. She built Rossi Heritage from nothing, one crumbling foundation at a time - and she's not about to lose it now, not with her business partner gone, her accounts drained, and the historical board holding the only permit that can save her company: the restoration of the Blackwood Estate, a sprawling Gothic Revival ruin worth more to Clara than her own pride.

Too bad Julian Vance wants it too.

He's the corporate developer with the deep pockets and the deeper reputation for turning history into high-rises - and he's standing between Clara and the one contract that could save everything she's built. When the board forces them into an uneasy partnership neither of them wants, Clara expects a war.

What she doesn't expect is Julian.

Beneath the tailored suits and the ruthless negotiating is a man who remembers the ceiling tile from his father's old office. Who shows up. Who makes her laugh in the middle of a fundraiser she's supposed to be surviving, not enjoying. As the lies they tell everyone else start to feel like the only truth that matters, Clara has to decide what she's really protecting - the estate, her company, or the wall she built around her own heart.

Some houses are held together by mortar.

Some are held together by two people stubborn enough to believe they're both worth saving.

The Blackwood Bargain is a slow-burn, enemies-to-allies contemporary romance full of banter, blueprints, and a will-they-won't-they that builds room by room.

Perfect for fans of forced proximity, workplace rivals-to-lovers, and one meddling best friend who will not stop texting.