The Lord's Highland Temptation

Book excerpt: A grieving soldier masquerades as a butler on Scottish estate, only to fall in love with a baron’s daughter, a woman he must claim his title to marry. Captain Lucas Johns-Ives is injured in the same battle that killed his brother. Haunted by loss, Lucas is saved by Mairi Wallace, a woman as beautiful as the Scottish Highland estate she calls home. To repay his debt to her, he agrees to be her servant, a pretense that allows him to escape the responsibilities of the title he has long resisted. Tempted by Mairi’s sweetness, he soon opens his heart to love. But to win Mairi’s hand, he must face his demons and claim his noble birthright. “RITA Award–winning Gaston gracefully tips her literary cap to the classic film My Man Godfrey in her latest thoughtfully nuanced, sweetly romantic Regency historical. While she deftly explores such serious themes as family duty and survivor guilt, Gaston also celebrates the importance of kindness and compassion in our lives.” —Booklist