Penelope Chadwick hates her husband. After she and Henry shared a passionate wedding night that ended in betrayal, their marriage was over everything but name only. She resents him for his gorgeous looks and playboy ways, but can never banish that first night completely from her mind. These past five years of marriage, they’ve scarcely seen each other—that is until Penelope is coerced into attending a ball with her parents and encounters none other than her wayward husband there with Juliette Pearl, the courtesan who is also rumored to be his mistress. Humiliated, Penelope flees the ball, determined to return to her home in the country and never set foot in London again. But it seems her night still holds a few surprises. When a highwayman attacks her carriage and claims Penelope as his prize, she’s terrified for her life. But things aren’t quite as they seem… Perhaps her life isn’t in jeopardy after all. Maybe her hate is a bad case of passion gone wrong. And maybe Henry isn’t be the scoundrel she always thought him to be. In fact, he may just be the only man who could ever make Penelope long to be a wife once again. 15,000 words
Author
MJ O’Shea has never met a music festival, paintbrush, or flower crown she can stay away from. She loves rainstorms and a perfect cup of tea, beach days, music, bright colors, and more than anything a cozy evening with a really great book. She is from the Pacific Northwest. While she still lives there and loves it, MJ has the heart of a wanderer. So she puts all her dreams of far off places and extraordinary people in her books. Except for every once in a while when she does what all travelers have to do on occasion… come home.
