Duty-Bound Bachelor
John Reed has no intention of changing his carefree lifestyle—until his father’s death forces him to return home. Now he’s in charge of the family estate and preparing his reluctant sister for her London Season. And he’s convinced millinery shop owner Nan Siddons will make his perfect partner in this task.
Nan prides herself on her independence, but with a rival stealing her clients, she needs a new means of support. So when John hires her to see his sister through her debut, she accepts. She never expected their working relationship to become something more, yet soon Nan can’t imagine her life without John in it. The bachelor has captured her heart, but can she tame his?
“You don’t have enough fun, do you?”
Color bloomed in Nan’s cheeks and her eyes sparkled with a feisty light. “I have more than enough hilarity for a woman in my situation.”
“You do not.” John spoke the words flatly, glaring out at her from under lowered lids.
She pursed her lips together as though she were biting back harsh words. He pressed his advantage. “Come, then. Stand up. Dance with me.”
She shook her head, her eyes wide. “No indeed. There’s no music, for one thing.”
“I shall hum.” He stood, holding his hand out to her.
“That would be ridiculous in the extreme.”
“But it might be fun.”
She shook her head once more. He bent down and took her hand in his.
“You are a graceful dancer, and should indulge in the pastime more often.” He began to hum a familiar tune, leading her through the figures of a country dance.
At last, she looked up at him. He must be a little winded from the dance. That was the only way to account for the sudden catch in breath he experienced when she lifted her chin and looked at him squarely.
Growing up in small-town Texas, LILY GEORGE spent her summers devouring the books in her mother’s Christian bookstore. These books, particularly ones by Grace Livingston Hill, inspired her to write her own stories. She sold her first book to Love Inspired in 2011 and enjoys writing clean romances that can be shared across generations. Lily lives in northwest Texas, where she’s restoring a 1920s farmhouse with her husband and daughter.
A Practical Partnership
Lily George
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
—2 Timothy 1:7
For Zach, with whom I always wanted to elope.
Contents
Tansley Village, Derbyshire
March 1819
Hannah Siddons, commonly referred to by the practical and prosaic nickname of Nan, entered the village shop and tugged her bonnet lower on her forehead. Through all of her eighteen years, she had blended into the background, eclipsed by her lovely and tempestuous older sisters. Now, more than ever, she needed to become one with the shadows. Her