Christmas is coming, yet Lady Emily Prescott feels anything but merry…

Despite being surrounded by a loving family, along with a dashing suitor who promises her a Christmastide to remember, Emily can’t shake her worry that something is missing. Perhaps because her heart doesn’t flutter the way it did long ago—before her girlish adoration for the boy next door was crushed by his careless rejection.

Newly home from his grand tour with a debilitating injury and more regrets than he can count, Nathaniel Pembrook devotes all his attention to upholding tradition and hosting his family’s famed St. Stephen’s Day party. That is, until a snowstorm traps Lady Emily Prescott at his estate—leaving him face-to-face not with the girl he once brushed aside but with the captivating woman he cannot ignore.

While the storm rages beyond the windows, the fire inside draws Emily and Nate together, forcing them to confront old hurts and an attraction they can no longer deny. But with Emily’s possible betrothal looming, will their passion only last until the snow stops? Or is their Christmas encounter the start of a love that’s destined to bloom?

A brooding marquess …

When Nicholas Prescott, the Marquess of Rockliffe, fled England under shocking circumstances, he never expected to return two years later as a widower. Consumed by misery, he struggles to manage his marquessate and even more so to handle his ailing, aloof daughter—until the perfect governess appears on the side of the road near his estate. True, she has no experience, but her skill at eliciting his daughter's smile makes her well worth the exorbitant salary he offers to secure her services.

A governess by chance …

Recently left without wages or a home, Phoebe Windham finds her life spiraling in dire directions. Therefore, the surprise opportunity to take a governess position couldn't come along at a better time. If only her scandalous past didn't lurk in the shadows, threatening the new beginning she desperately needs. To further complicate matters, her employer is the Marquess of Rockliffe: the man for whom she's spent years harboring a private and futile attraction.

A passion that cannot be denied …

Phoebe's position in the marquess's household must stay strictly professional, of course. However, each encounter with the irascible Lord Rockliffe fans the flames of her long-suppressed desire. As for Nicholas, he never imagined that a dourly dressed, self-willed, changeable-eyed governess could be so … tempting.

Love and marriage between them are unquestionably impossible. Yet, little by little, the barriers around their hearts crumble away, allowing glimpses of a future where they find lasting happiness in each other's arms.

As long as meddling family members and tragic secrets don't tear them apart.