actresses in Regency England |

The lady least likely to: let a pretend courtship become real.

She’s got her heart set on the role of leading lady.

Cerys Evans ran away from her family to make her way on the stage, wanting a name that was all her own. But when the theater burns down, her options are to slink home a failure, or help her troupe build new premises and finally prove her place among them. The only obstacle: she’ll have to work with the arrogant Dante Manelli, Cheltenham’s rising architect, who is most decidedly not a gentleman.

He’s set his heart on her.

Dante Manelli has fought for every inch of his success, and he’s not going to let the taunts of a saucy actress distract him. But she’s offering a project that can cement his career, and when she creates a ruse to free Dante from an old nemesis, she soon has all of Cheltenham believing they are not just co-conspirators but lovers. The more time he spends with her, the more tempted Dante is to make their play real.

But Miss Cerys Evans is meddling with a dangerous rival—one who will do anything to end her hopes. And when her past comes back to find her, Dante must fight to prove himself the gentleman worthy of her hand and deserving of her heart.

For two souls struggling to establish their place in the world, there might be only one place they each belong: together.

Here’s an excerpt featuring their first kiss:

“I might have led her ladyship to believe you have a tendre for me.”

“You little—” The words ended in a growl. “Minx. You enjoy toying with people, don’t you?”

Cerys raised her chin to stare him full in the face. His entire body tensed. The visible eyelid flickered. He was like a figure from a masque, half light and half shadow, half angel, half dark god.

“And you, manipulative baggage that you are, intend to rescue me.”

She closed her eyes briefly at the effect his gravelly voice had on her.

“Hardly a rescue.” She forced her tone to lightness. “A negotiation. I am making you indebted to me so you will build us a theater.”

He shifted slightly. The space between them lessened. He smelled wonderful, a blend of port and orange and spices.

“You suppose,” he ground out, “that spreading tales about my affections is the way to put me in your debt?” “Do you disdain to work with actors? Can we not elevate you enough that a commission from us would be worth your time? No, we are not lords or wealthy tradesmen, so perhaps you despise—”

She stopped when his hand covered her mouth. Her knees nearly buckled at the contact of his skin, the weight, the maddening heat of him.

His fingers cupped her cheek, the lightest touch. She sucked in air. The part of his mouth she could see quirked in a smile. “Lady Disdain is going to lecture me about contempt? I am in no position to look down on anyone.”

She couldn’t seem to haul enough air into her lungs. She’d never kissed a man, not an actual man, not a proper kiss. What if it was awful? She couldn’t understand why she wanted so badly something that might be so terrible, and she stared at his lips, willing him, willing him—

“I go too far.” He loosened his arm from the wall and stepped back. “I—”

With a small, inarticulate groan, Cerys buried her fingers in his cravat and pulled his face to hers.

His mouth touched her mouth, and it was marvelous. A spark caught and then flared as those lips moved on hers, tentative, searching.

“Minx,” he growled in warning.

This was wrong. This was madness. She dug her fingers in his cravat, holding him. She wanted more of this. Dante, kissing her, forever.

Meet Misty Urban

Misty Urban is a medieval scholar, freelance editor, and college professor who likes to write stories about misbehaving women who find adventure and romance. She lives in the Midwest in a little town on a big river with a handsome park ranger, two budding authors, and an ever-growing collection of books.