Grace Montrose and Brandon White, Earl of Morewood, have much in common: loneliness, love for the theater, and low expectations of the opposite sex. Independently wealthy, with a spinster cousin for a companion, Grace has no intention of letting any man dominate her. But she would not mind the handsome earl as an intellectual friend and occasional dinner companion. It has nothing to do with the broad cut of his shoulders, his incisive blue eyes, or the dark blond locks of his hair that stray to his brow... Brandon is intrigued by his strong physical attraction to a woman of twenty-seven, clearly on the shelf. She possesses not only a fine mind but the loveliest hazel eyes he has ever seen and a shimmering fall of russet hair...