When Briar Dawson gets stranded at the airport on her way to Derby season, the last thing she needs is a distraction. She's spent a decade clawing her way into rooms that weren't built for her, and she's finally close enough to touch the dream her father never got credit for.

That is, until a stranger claims the stool beside her.

He's expensive fabric, rehearsed answers, and possesses a confidence that comes from never having been told no. He's also, as it turns out, exactly the type of trouble she promised herself she'd never get into. Until now.

One moment. No names. No future. A sealed memory in her pocket and nothing more.

Except his name is Ashford Whitmore, heir to a family breeding operation that turns bloodlines into champions, and the owner of the horse she’s about to take down at the Kentucky Derby.

Ash doesn't do second chances. Stays away from complications. His game is horses, business, and winning, in that order. But Briar, with her calloused hands, borrowed nerve, and her absolute refusal to be impressed by him, is the first thing in years he can't walk away from.

The horses are in the gate. The odds are impossible. And neither of them came this far to finish second.

The Derby Debacle is a story about two people who thought they knew exactly what they wanted, until they met someone who made them want something different.