Lady Annabel McBride does not know what possesses her to welcome her first kiss from Simon Blackwell, a man she barely knows. She only knows something draws her to this rude and disagreeable man. When they're caught kissing in the garden by her rival, Anne's reputation is in tatters. Anne's brother comes to her rescue and secures a proposal from a reluctant Simon. They marry in haste and return to Simon's home on the moors of Yorkshire.

Simon Blackwell did not intend to marry again. The tragic death of his wife and two sons five years ago continues to haunt him. He's never felt desire since their death, until Annabel. She causes a madness that envelops him as he unwisely kisses her. His answer is a chaste marriage-of- convenience. Simon's heart cannot take loving and losing again. Coldness and ignoring his new wife will guard his heart.

Anne's nature does not lend itself to being passive. Having two older brothers, Anne knows how to react to bullies. Simon presents a challenge she will not back down from, especially when she sees the bleakness in Simon's eyes. She pushes and prods until he responds.

Ms. James pens a powerful and emotional story of a man haunted by his family's deaths. Simon's moving journal entries at the beginning of each chapter set the mood and reveal the despair that settles around him. Watching Anne break through his anguish and fight for his love will tug at readers' hearts.

Book Summary

Simon Blackwell carries his terrible past the way he carries his scars: with deep intensity, wrapped in raw pain, and with fiercely guarded secrecy. His world may be dark, but he has at least figured out a way to get through it all. Loss has a way of changing a man.

It seemed Lady Annabel McBride was forever landing herself in trouble. As a child, outspoken and impetuous, she was the girl who feared nothing or no one. As a woman, she's certain she has tamed such reckless ways forever. But then one mistake—and an irresistible fascination—and she is plunged headlong into marriage with a mysterious man she scarcely knows. And for the first time in her life, Annabel is afraid of her venture into the unknown. Because love has a way of changing everything.