Sex v. Love—a battle in the courtroom and the bedroom! Hotshot litigator Elise Carroll doesn’t have time for romance—she wants to make partner at her Philadelphia law firm. Despite her mother’s urging, Elise avoids settling down by keeping her relationships short and sexy. Her idea of a perfect date? Beer and pretzels at a Phillies game. When Jack “Blackjack” McIntyre—Philly’s super-sexy new judge—falls for Elise in court, she’s horrified. He “claims” to be in love with her—but that can’t possibly be true. He doesn’t give up trying to wine and dine her, though, so she devises a new scheme. Like all men, surely he’ll leave after a short and sexy fling. Only problem—Blackjack refuses to sleep with her! They compromise—she’ll go on his romantic dates if he’ll alternate them with her “just sex” dates. Their contract works surprisingly well—until Elise can no longer find the line between love and sex. Can Elise get her life back where she wants it—in a partner’s office? Or will Jack McIntyre use his superpowers to win their contest of wits?

A Cinderella story set in a Philadelphia law firm filled with dark corners and scheming rivals ... Meghan Mattson resigns her summer associate job when she learns that her bipolar mother is a con artist ... using Meghan's name. Meghan convinces the Feds to drop the charges against her, but it ends her career. On Dan Howard's first day as a junior partner, he's amazed his paralegal is Meghan, Franklin Law's star student. He's thrilled to work with such a brilliant mind ... and such an attractive woman. As Dan and Meghan tackle a tricky case, they struggle to resist their mutual attraction. Even if senior partner Wallace Leith approves, others in the firm want to see them fail. Can their office romance bring them a fairy-tale ending? The Cost of Happiness is a stand-alone legal romance. It's also Book Two in Magdalen Braden's Blackjack Quartet, following Love in Reality.