Lord Jasper Sweet, the often overlooked third son of a duke, is used to disappointment, and learned to rely on no one but himself. Forced to endure a summer at his family's estate, he's planning a little party to pass the time and refill his empty pockets. But his nephew's and their prickly governess, Sophie Radcliffe, remain at the estate too, and he's expecting vast disapproval. He never imagined he'd need the governess' help-and not just because someone left an infant screaming on his bed.

Sophie prefers to keep a distance from her employer's rakish brother because it's clear he doesn't like her. But with one glimpse of the shoddy way he's running his secret, scandalous house party-and the child screaming on his bed-it's clear he needs her expertise for both. Sophie never meant to trust another rake with her reputation or the secrets of her past, but Jasper has snuck under her defenses and could steal her heart-if he ever saw her as more than a means to a scandalous end.