The Pleasure in Persuasion

For Lily Grayling, every day is much the same as the one before, which is precisely how she likes it. After a broken engagement—and a broken heart—sent her running for the hills of Hampshire two years ago, she has settled well into her new life, making her home in the sleepy little village where she and her grandmother run their family inn. Her days are organized, her life safe and structured…until her dearest friend’s charming brother rolls into town, bringing teasing smiles and tempting kisses that threaten to upend the balance Lily has worked so hard to find.

Frederick Darrington cannot deny that he is a bit of a rogue. After all, it was an ill-advised—and ultimately unsatisfying—affair with a married woman that drove him out of London and into his sister’s country home, his refuge until the scandal blows over. He has every intention of spending this unexpected visit with his widowed sister and the nieces and nephews he barely knows, until a chance encounter with a gorgeous-but-grumpy innkeeper somehow leads to a faux engagement and long afternoons spent at Lily’s inn.

Frederick and Lily, opposites in so many ways, should be completely wrong for each other. Yet the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to deny their attraction…and their growing feelings. But Lily has been hurt before, and Frederick is certain he has nothing to offer her. Can he convince himself—and Lily—that theirs is a love worth risking it all?