Description: Their mercenary marriage of convenience was perfect ... until love got in the way ...
Mary Barnett has never dreamed of marriage and family. Scarred and wary, she's done everything she can to avoid men. Operating her family's vast business is the only future she has ever wanted. Mary had no way of knowing that her father would place conditions on her inheritance. Namely, she will only retain control of her father's empire if she marries. And not just to any man, but a peer of the realm ... The last time his family tried to force Miles Ingram to marry for money, he rebelled, abandoned society for good, and went off to war. His subsequent employment as a dancing instructor might have been enough to sustain him--but when his brother dies, saddling him with a destitute earldom, Miles can no longer hide from his obligations. He'll need to marry a wealthy woman, and fast ... They're complete opposites, but their goals are perfectly aligned. And it's not long before they realize their hearts aren't as far apart as they initially thought. Miles and Mary know their dance with love can only end in happily ever after, or heartbreak. But which one will it be? 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.