Part of Mackenzies & McBrides
First published 2014
Bertie Frasier lifts a watch from a well-dressed stranger on a London street. The stranger is Sinclair McBride, a Scottish barrister who spends his days facing down the city's worst criminals. At home, though, he is losing badly. His two young children, Caitlin and Andrew, have driven off governess after governess, reducing each one to tears within a week. When Bertie, quick-handed and quick-witted, stumbles into a dangerous situation involving the children and gets them safely back to their father, Sinclair takes notice. They listened to her. They actually listened. He offers her the job on the spot, not stopping to ask many questions about her background or her habits. Bertie is drawn to Sinclair, the broad-shouldered highlander with too much grief and too little warmth left in his life since his wife died. She takes the position. What follows is a contest between a man who lives by rules and a woman who has never had the luxury of following them. Sinclair thinks he is hiring a governess. He does not yet understand that Bertie intends to teach him something, and that the lesson has nothing to do with the children.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, adult, adult-fiction, historical-romance, 19th-century
Vibes: character-driven, emotional, intimate, slow-burn, tender, witty
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity, found-family, grumpy-hero, second-chance-at-love
Setting: London, Scotland, Scottish Highlands
Period: 19th century
320 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Berkley
Content warnings: death