A wife is the last thing he needs. A husband is the last thing she wants.

A widower who refuses to remarry.

Damon Devereaux, the Sixth Duke of Danforth, doesn't want a wife. He needs a governess; they keep quitting. Damon's energetic, seven-year-old twins need someone with stamina—a woman who can provide a firm hand, stability, and guidance. And someone who doesn't run screaming from the room when they find a toad under their pillow.

A spinster who refuses to marry.

Miss Lydia Hammond lost her mother in childbirth and equates marriage with not only the loss of her freedom but a risk she is unwilling to take. She's happy being unwed and mistress of her own life. When her wealthy merchant father insists she marry a competitor's son to grow their empire, Lydia escapes the alter and accepts a position as governess for the Duke of Danforth and his children. But as Lydia grows to care for the children and their father, she begins to wonder what she's missing.

As an unlikely friendship blossoms between Lydia and Damon, his former mistress contrives to destroy their happiness. Can Lydia and Damon overcome the past to have a future?