The Wallflower's Bargain

A cynical Duke. A brilliant wallflower. A secret contract that changes everything.Julian Thorne, the "Ice Duke" of Rothbury, is a man of iron and coal, scarred by war and frozen by betrayal. To secure his inheritance and save his family's northern mines, he needs more than just wealth-he needs a respectable Duchess to thaw his reputation. He expects a marriage of clinical efficiency. What he gets is a wallflower with a razor-sharp wit and a ledger of her own.Elara Vance is the girl no one notices. Invisible in the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair, she has spent three years listening to the secrets of the ton and balancing her father's crumbling debts. When she corners the formidable Duke with an offer he can't refuse, she thinks she's negotiated the perfect business arrangement.