Description: Honoria Keyes isn't the gawky, impressionable fifteen year old girl she was when she first met Simon Fairchild. Twelve years have passed, and she's a successful artist, enjoying her independence to the fullest. Simon has changed, too. Gone is the beautiful, gentle boy of Honoria's dreams. In his place is a dangerous, damaged man intent on avoiding human contact--and emotions. It would be unthinkable to fall for this difficult, wounded recluse. But then again, Honoria has never been one to do things the easy way ...
Simon returned from Waterloo a bitter, broken shell of the man he once was. As if his scarred body and mind aren't bad enough, he's also financially dependent on his brother, the duke, while he convalesces. The duke's fondest wish is for Simon to marry and produce an heir--something Simon has no intention of doing. The one thing he never anticipated? All the unwanted feelings the lovely, talented, and infinitely intriguing Honoria would awaken in him ... Can Honoria and Simon heal the wounds of the past and build a life together? Or will their attempt at happily ever after end up a portrait of failure? Contains mature themes.Brief description: Minerva Spencer's brief author bio will tell you she has been a criminal prosecutor, college history teacher, and B&B operator. What it doesn't tell you is she also worked as a dock worker, ice cream manufacturer, reader for the blind, motel maid, and bounty hunter. Okay, so the part about being a bounty hunter is a lie. Minerva does, however, know how to hypnotize a Dungeness crab, sew her own Regency Era clothing, knit a frog hat, juggle, rebuild a 1959 American Rambler, and gain control of Asia (and hold on to it) in the game of RISK. Minerva loves writing historical romances that feature uncommon heroes and heroines in unusual and challenging situations. When Minerva isn't beavering away on her next book she plays with her dogs and many rescue birds, buys too many beads and too much yarn, and spends time fixing up her old adobe house with her wonderful, tolerant husband. Minerva also writes historical romance, historical erotic romance, and science fiction romance under the name S. M. LaViolette, and historical detective stories under S. M. Goodwin.