Publisher's Synopsis
New England RWA Readers' Choice Awards Finalist
Golden Quill Finalist
Maggie Award of Excellence Finalist
He's a runaway duke in disguise. She's a former bar maid and the mother of his secret baby. Fate reunites them...but will their secrets tear them apart?
One wicked night of passion results in life-altering consequences for innocent bar maid Maggie Goode. Years later, she's a respectable widow, but her troubles are far from over. With debts looming, she must salvage her fossil shop to support herself and her beloved daughter. Fate leads her to a man who can save her business...but he's also the biggest mistake from her past.
The product of an ill-fated union between an English aristocrat and a Chinese merchant's daughter, Rhys Cavendish, the Duke of Ranelagh and Somerville ("Ransom"), hides his secret pain behind a rakish façade. Yet he cannot hide from his debts, and now he's on the run from cutthroat moneylenders--and the necessity of marrying for convenience. His last hope: the inheritance his uncle left him in the form of a treasure map. When he goes to hire help for his expedition, he comes face to face with a woman he's never forgotten...and a daughter he never knew he had.
Dangerous secrets smolder between Maggie and Rhys, but neither can resist a scorching reunion. Personal demons and hidden enemies threaten their quest and their passionate romance. Will they defy all odds to find the ultimate treasure: a love for all time?