Marcus Heywood, the new Duke of Torringford, must take a wife in three weeks or lose the country estate he's unexpectedly inherited. His brother, Reginald, suggests placing an advertisement for a bride in the papers, which Marcus considers ridiculous-until a wine-fueled evening inspires him to write an ad in jest. Now, the notice has been printed, and Marcus is mortified. At all of twenty-one years, Penelope's spinsterhood seems confirmed; she'll never find a man she can marry. But her half-brother thinks otherwise. Without her knowledge, he answers the Duke of Torringford's advertisement on her behalf. When an announcement of her upcoming wedding to the Duke appears in the papers, Penelope knows she must take her place as his wife, or her honor will be ruined. But it will be a marriage in name only, of that she's sure-until the handsome looks and warm smile of her new husband make her heart race in a most unsettling way . . .
