My Devoted Viscount

Book excerpt: All Miss Sophia Walden has left is her reputation. Unemployed since the school where she taught music abruptly closed, she's found temporary work helping an elderly widow write her memoir. When a runaway former student asks Sophia to help her avoid an unwanted marriage, both of them could be ruined. The last thing Sophia needs is her employer's handsome nephew poking his patrician nose into her secrets. Vincent, Viscount Fairfax, is on his way to Italy. He plans a quick detour to check on his aunt, to dispel the rumors of ghosts roaming his aunt's seaside estate, and then he'll be off again. But he didn't count on his aunt's intriguing new employee, a petite bluestocking who seems to be hiding something—though it isn't her talent playing the pianoforte or angelic singing voice. Is she connected to the "ghostly" activity? As Vincent and Sophia engage in playful banter and musical duets, their connection deepens. Vincent believes this could be the prelude to something more … but he's just passing through. Unwilling to betray her student, Sophia tries to resist Vincent's charm. He's on his way to Italy, and as soon as the memoir is complete, she will be on her way to employment far away from this manor by the sea. It will break her heart to leave but she doesn't see a future for a bluestocking teacher and a viscount … no matter how much he makes her heart sing. In this lighthearted Regency romance, love and laughter mingle with secrets and intrigue. A slow burn, strangers-to-friends-to-lovers story with more humor than heat, just a little too naughty to call it sweet. Author's note: This story does not follow the current trend of the hero and heroine meeting in the first scene. Or even the first chapter. But when they do meet… well, I wrote the entire story around that scene. Heat level: 3/10