Only a Duke Would Dare

He offered to marry her—but for the entirely wrong reason.

Victor, Duke of Sutcliffe, has no interest in love or romance. But a clause in his father's will demands he marry before his twenty-seventh birthday—or lose everything. Returning to Essex after a three-year absence, Victor intends to choose a quiet, forgettable bride with no expectations. Instead, he encounters Theadosia Brentwood—the vicar's spirited daughter, once his closest friend and now a woman impossible to ignore. She's promised to another… and far from the manageable duchess he'd planned.

Theadosia has secretly loved Victor for years. His sudden return rekindles dreams she long thought lost—until she learns his proposal is born not of affection but obligation. Worse still, her vindictive betrothed threatens to reveal a devastating secret if she breaks off their engagement—a secret that could destroy her family's future and send her father to prison.

As duty, blackmail, and buried feelings collide, Thea and Victor must choose between the life they were raised for… and the one chance at happiness neither dared hope for.