A match most unsuitable. A love that’s undeniable. Catherine, the widowed Lady Rosemont, is considered a most unsuitable countess by polite society. Whispers about her checkered history follow her wherever she goes. Was she once a courtesan? Is her young son really the late Earl of Rosemont’s child or a by-blow? And worst of all, is she a murderess? Despite the scandalous rumors, Catherine navigates high society’s treacherous waters with her head held high. For the sake of her beloved son, Louis, she must never sink. But when she receives threatening letters and young Louis’s life is endangered, she desperately turns to a past paramour for help…the man who once left her heartbroken. The far-too-honorable Earl of Dalton. Adam St Clair, Lord Dalton, has always been one to adhere to family duty no matter the cost. Five years ago, he set aside his all-consuming desire for his mistress, the beautiful and mysterious Catherine Delacourt, and took a conventional ton bride. Now, newly widowed, fate decrees he should cross paths with Catherine once again. When she shares a stunning secret and implores him for protection, Adam is torn. With danger lurking around every corner, keeping Catherine and her son safe is undoubtedly the right thing to do. Nevertheless, Adam must decide whether he’ll risk his reputation—and his family’s—for the only woman he’s never been able to forget… The one woman who might just steal his heart… Romance Writers of Australia’s Romantic Book of the Year (RUBY) Award for Historical Romance Runner-Up (2024) Australian Romance Readers Association (ARRA) Award Nominee for Favourite Historical Romance (2023)