Widowed, confronted with dwindling finances, and living under the specter of ruinous secrets, Lady Madeline Embury, Duchess of Markenham, faces the daunting task of raising the next duke alone. Her neighbor's property thrives, and Madeline can't help but wonder if Mr. Aidan Hennessy would share his expertise with her in order to return Markenham to solid financial footing. To protect her own and her young son's complicated secrets, Madeline shouldn't give in to the delicious and unalterable attraction she feels for Aidan, even though working side by side on the ledger books leads to passionate kisses that could shatter her resolve. When they discover Markenham's deficits are due not to mismanagement but to perfidy, Madeline and Aidan set out to locate the missing funds and the culprit. A slow-burn combination of close proximity and dangerous separation forces them to examine their pasts and their feelings for each other. If Madeline trusts Aidan with her secrets, she risks ridicule and scandal and could lose the means to protect the duchy for the heir. If Aidan heeds the magnetic pull he feels for the young duchess, he risks being rejected again for his illegitimacy, something he cannot change about himself.
