An Intriguing Proposition (novella length) takes you on a fast-paced carriage ride through the streets of Victorian Boston. Insidious blackmail, the threat of foreclosure, and a fake engagement—all in one week! Elise Malloy will do anything to protect her well-bred Boston family—even marry a stranger! Faced with overwhelming debt and threatened by the man she trusted, she fights to save her home from foreclosure and her beloved brother from ruinous disgrace. What a chowderhead! Once upon a time, upright banker, Michael Bradley did the unthinkable. He humiliated the lady whom he greatly admired. Now, he only wants to make amends by helping her out of a sticky situation and tell her his heart’s true intentions. Someone has an old score to settle. When villainy of the worst kind seeks to destroy the Malloy family—and trap Elise in a loveless marriage—can Michael convince Elise to accept his own Intriguing Proposition? An Intriguing Proposition is the novella-length Prequel in the Victorian-American romance series Defiant Hearts. Engaging, believable characters, attention to period detail, and sensual romance—all in this series by highly acclaimed writer Sydney Jane Baily.

With her chestnut hair and striking green eyes, Charlotte should be the catch of Spring City, Colorado. But she wears her independence like an impenetrable suit of armor and cloaks her identity behind her famed writing nom de plume of Charles Sanborn. She's a 24-year-old confirmed spinster who won't risk heartbreak, until a handsome stranger awakens her yearning both for companionship and for indulgent pleasure. Boston lawyer Reed Malloy has a solemn mission—to deliver two orphaned children to their Colorado cousin. He's not prepared for Charlotte being utterly innocent and yet irresistibly beguiling, or for her brewing resentment and flat-out refusal to raise her kin. It will take some firsthand persuasion if he is to complete his legal duty and, perhaps, resolve more tantalizing issues. When Charlotte forsakes everything familiar—and two thousand miles of America's heartland no longer separate her from Reed—unforeseen influences conspire to keep them apart. The high society of the Boston Brahmins welcomes her . . . while concealed malice abounds. With the intrusion of sinister forces and scorned women—and with passions ablaze—Reed and Charlotte find themselves in a very Improper Situation.

Sophie Malloy had her heart ripped in half and tossed back in her pretty face. Luckily, she’s a resourceful young lady and a classically trained pianist with a penchant for travel. From Boston, she sets out for Colorado to do a big favor for her only sister-in-law. Not expecting excitement in tiny Spring City, she never imagined she’d be knocked into the street five minutes after disembarking the train. And certainly not by a dusty, grimy cowboy with soft brown eyes and a devastatingly sexy grin. Riley Dalcourt is stunned. At first meeting, he knows Sophie is the woman of his dreams, with her dark hair, intelligent eyes, and purple unmentionables! Unfortunately, he’s already engaged. Honor bound, he’s determined to go through with his commitment to his fiancée. Yet he simply can’t seem to stay away from the sweet-tempered beauty who has entered his life so unexpectedly, or forget her when she leaves just as quickly. With the lively 1880s San Francisco and the dangerous Barbary Coast as the backdrop, Sophie and Riley reunite while following their individual dreams. Amid cable cars and concert halls, they must discover if their undeniable attraction is true love or merely An Irresistible Temptation.