A friendship formed through happenstance, or was it always love pulling them closer together?
Alex and Hettie shared a classroom and a pastime of breaking the rules set out for them by society and their parents. They both came from privileged families, but they wanted more than anything to break free from expectations and embrace the developing social changes.
Desperate to teach his daughter what was expected of a young woman approaching marriageable age, Hettie’s father sends her away to Bowen, hoping some years and distance would show her a different way of life and convince her she deserved a better companion than Alex.
Eight years passed, and Alex was no longer the same man blindly devoted to Hettie. His inheritance has dwindled because of bad business deals, and he can’t access the money left in his trust for two more years…and he was constantly looking over his shoulder, fearful he’d be found by those he was gathering information on for the police.
Returning home, Hettie was poised and graceful as her father wanted, but she’s also been taught independence and the place for women in the new century. She didn’t have to tolerate being told how she should live her life, nor did she need a man to complete her…that was until she was reunited with Alex, his gentle touch reminding her how they parted company eight years ago.
Hettie had changed so much, and she couldn’t afford to continue the unique friendship she once shared with Alex. Men were hunting her, desperate to prove she wasn’t entitled to her inheritance. Hiding away in the cottage her aunt left her, Hettie fights the emotions tugging at her heart, asking herself if she and Alex were friends or lovers.
Warning: contains sex, strong language, and some violence.
