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At the stroke of midnight…
One minute Grace Lancaster is an overworked event manager organising 2013’s New Year’s Eve ball… The next she’s kissing a rather gorgeous man at the Regency themed party. Everyone’s entitled to an out-of-character New Year’s kiss, right? Except Jasper Mossman, Earl of Bingham, isn’t at a costume party - he’s a real-life gentleman from 1813… And, it seems, kissing a man in Regency London has consequences! What Grace considers normal behaviour scandalises Regency society and so far she’s provided the irrepressible gossips of the ton with a season’s worth of conversation! In a scramble to protect her reputation, as well as his own, Jasper insists that they marry for the sake of her honour. Marrying Mr Darcy might be a 21st century girl’s dream – but the reality is far from romantic. Corsets are uncomfortable, no running water is disastrous! Grace had always planned on falling in love before she got married, but when Jasper takes her in his arms she just might believe she’s finally found her very own Prince Charming.
Debutantes Don’t Date
Kristina O’Grady
KRISTINA O’GRADY
has always loved telling a good story. She took up writing at a young age and spent many hours (when she should have been doing her math homework) writing romance stories in a book she hid in her sock drawer. She still remembers the first romance book she ever read. She was without anything to read (oh no) while on vacation with her family and bought a book in the small shop in the hotel lobby. It involved an Earl, a horse and, of course, a Lady with a very bad fever. Since then she has been hooked on the Regency era. Kristina grew up on a cattle ranch in Western Canada and although has been told many times she should be writing about cowboys, she can’t seem to leave the fantasy of Dukes and Earls alone. She worked in the Oil and Gas Industry for several years first as a labourer, machine operator, crew foreman, technician and eventually as an environmental consultant. She loves getting out in the fresh air and enjoying the peace of nature. In mid-2000 Kristina met her own knight in shining armour/cowboy who swept her off her feet and across the world to New Zealand, where she now lives on a sheep and beef farm with her amazingly supportive husband, three gorgeous young kids, seven working dogs and one very needy cat.
Contents
Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I would like to thank all the people who helped me bring this book together. You know who you are; all the babysitters, cheerers, readers, writing partners/critiquers, friends and family. Thank you all so much, I don’t think you could ever know how much your help and support means to me. A special Thank You to RWNZ for your fantastic writing support, to Harlequin’s SoYouThinkYouCanWrite 2013 contest for passing my manuscript along to Carina UK and finally to my editor, Victoria Oundjian. To Gramma Lee, for inspiring me to write in the first place. To Carl Block and Doug Moss, for the motivation to follow my dream. And to Mick, because I love you.
The Duke and Duchess of Kensington’s Manor
New Year’s Eve
London, 2013
“For crying out loud, woman, take a break already! This party’s not going to come apart if you take ten minutes.” Grace Lancaster’s headset vibrated with her boss’s gruff voice. There was so much to do before midnight; she really didn’t want to stop. She knew from experience that as soon as she did, some disaster would strike. And with this being the biggest account she’d ever handled, she couldn’t afford to listen to her boss’s advice. And why did he always yell into his headset microphone? He did the same thing with his cell phone; it drove her absolutely nuts. She reached up, turned down the volume and rehearsed a little lie in her head before responding. “Thanks, Ron. I’ll take a break after I do one more check around the room. Oh and Jane,” she said to her assistant through her headset, “could you check the refreshment room for me? A little old lady told me the crab cakes have run out; we have to keep to the theme so we need them. And the Duke wants to speak to you, Ron. He mentioned something about a bonus.” She knew the mention of a bonus would keep Ron off her back for a little while, and that part wasn’t a lie; neither was the thing about the crab cakes. It was just in the part about taking a break that she stretched the truth. She watched the crowd flow around her. They were all dressed in costumes from the Regency era. The Kensington Kings and Queens New Year’s Eve Ball was an annual event and this year’s theme was the early 1800s. The Duke and Duchess of Kensington
