A roguish duke seeks to escape the demons of his past via a marriage of convenience with his friend’s bluestocking sister and gets far more than he bargained for. Miss Lily Bridewell—stubborn, intelligent, and fiercely protective of those she loves—is determined to keep the misfortunes that have befallen her family from affecting her sisters’ futures. When the heir to their father’s title and estate ousts them from their family home, Lily's desperation drives her into the arms of the one man she fears she cannot trust—especially with her heart. Griffin Knightley, Duke of Edgerton, vowed to mend his rakehell ways when he inherited a dukedom. But he falls back into old habits one fateful night that leads to tragedy—the death of his best friend. Guilt haunts him even as he tries to become a respectable nobleman, and when his late friend’s sisters lose their home, he sees it as his duty to assist them. A marriage of convenience with the eldest would solve two dilemmas—his need for a duchess and the Bridewell sisters’ need for a home. A simple agreement. A practical transaction. But attraction to his strong-willed bluestocking bride makes it impossible for Griffin to be the cool, levelheaded duke he’s determined to be, and Lily won't settle for anything less than his heart.

A tangled deception, an undeniable desire—how long before the truth breaks them apart? Scarred by war, in both body and mind, Cassian Rourke lives in seclusion in the Scottish countryside. Only a desperate letter from his twin brother, Julian, Earl of Windham, can lure him back to England. But the favor Julian asks is the last thing Cassian Julian, injured after a reckless horse race, begs Cassian to impersonate him in London and continue courting the diamond of the Season—the woman Julian intends to marry. Daphne Bridewell once foolishly gave her heart to a rogue who broke it. Now, as the sister-in-law of a duke, she's been granted a lavish first Season of her own. Yet, with her heart still tender, she resists the charms of London's gentlemen, content to fade into the background and support her friend Lady Selena Montgomery, who is the Season’s reigning diamond. When one of Selena’s suitors—a charming earl she finds suspicious—asks Daphne to help him win Selena's heart, she hesitates. But as she gets to know him, her wariness softens. He sees past her false smiles and polite conversation to the wound she hides, and she glimpses the man beneath his charm—a man of depth and unexpected sincerity. Cassian has no interest in the beauty he's meant to woo on his brother's behalf. Instead, it's her best friend—with sad eyes and an indomitable spirit—who captivates him like no woman ever has. But what will she think when she discovers his deception?