For as long as she can remember, Lady Adriana Sutton has adored Colton
Wyndham, to whom she has been promised by an agreement of courtship and
betrothal since childhood. As a young girl, she was wounded by Colton's
stubborn refusal to comply with his father's wishes and by his angry
departure. He was too proud and too stubborn to accept a future not of
his own choosing. Rather than submit, he fled from his ancestral home
for a life of adventure and danger as an officer in the British army.
The years have been immensely kind to Lady Adriana. No longer the plain,
thin tomboy Colton had spurned, she has blossomed into an uncommon
beauty desired by nearly every eligible bachelor in the land. Yet the
only man she desires is the decorated hero who has finally come home to
claim his rightful title. Arrogant, unmoved, and seductive as ever, he
remains averse to the idea of their betrothal in spite of his growing
desire for her.
To demonstrate his belief that love cannot be forced, Colton agrees to
court Lady Adriana for ninety days, after which time he will be allowed
to keep his precious freedom if he so wishes. But much has changed since
he balked at his father's plans. Forced into a courtship with this
stunning, spirited woman, who is as different today from the young chit
he left behind as spring is to winter, the heroic heart that was once
closed to Adriana is moved by her charm, her grace, and her sensuality
... and begins to yield. But a secret from Colton's past may doom their
burgeoning love ... even as the treacherous schemes of a sinister rival
threaten to steal the remarkable lady from his arms forever.
A lush and spellbinding story of passion and betrayal that grandly
sweeps the reader into the magnificent ballrooms and intimate boudoirs
of Regency England, The Reluctant Suitor is romance as only the
incomparable Kathleen Woodiwiss can deliver it -- a love story that will
dwell in the reader's heart and memory forever and stand proudly as one
of the author's very best.
