When an impromptu kiss captures the imagination, either a spark will ignite or family interference will snuff the match. Charlotte Darrington adores being adored by the men in her circle. She's in London at the request of her mother, and though her parent wants her to find an eligible gentleman and start a family, Charlotte delays. In her heart of hearts, she wants a man who can hold his own and won't be cowed. Nathan Brigham, Marquess of Ravenhurst, is annoyed with the interfering redhead leading his nephew into the evergreen maze. When he would have delivered a dressing down, she stops his words with a kiss. No matter that he finds her attractive and a welcome distraction from his darkly brooding life, he refuses to succumb to Charlotte's charms. Above everything, he won't become the savage man his father was. Once they return to London from a house party at his country estate, the two can't avoid each other. Stolen kisses and heated glances in shadowy halls as well as a questionable visit to White's draw them closer. He can't forget the demons from his past while her persistence to hear a declaration begs the question: to bed or to wed?