London, 1815 Three London Seasons. Three Christmases come and gone. Jilted Sidony Harbeck is done waiting for the inconstant Captain Hale Martin to return. Despite their whispered adolescent promises, he never wrote her a single letter. Now the scoundrel has returned, professing his love and a thoughtless bet to woo her, but she only wants him to suffer. After three years at sea, Hale finally has the means to marry his best friend's sister and the love of his life. But he only has three days to convince her of his devotion because he stupidly proposes a wager - he'll convince Sidony to marry him by Christmas or he'll leave her alone forever. When Hale sets out to seduce her, the stakes are raised by a passion so intense that Sidony must risk her heart no matter the odds. * Previously published in A Very Scandalous Holiday Anthology