She's built a life where no one else gets to decide who she is. Lady Harriet Beaumont thrives on chaos, kindness, and a stubborn streak wider than the Thames. Fiercely independent and quietly protective of her right to choose her own path, she's made her peace with spinsterhood and the wild assortment of creatures who depend on her. To marry would mean surrendering control—and Harriet has learned the cost of giving someone power over her life.

He's seen what love can do—and vowed never to let it undo him. Bradley Jackson, Duke of Clements, grew up watching love turn into grief. His father never recovered from losing his wife, and Bradley carries that caution like a second skin. A tidy life, a well-matched duchess—that was the plan. Until Harriet crashes into it with feathers in her hair and a refusal to be chosen.

They must learn to trust where there are no guarantees. As Harriet challenges everything Bradley thought he wanted and Bradley offers her a choice she never expected, something quiet and powerful begins to grow between them. Not possession. Not promises. But the steady risk of trusting someone else—not just with your heart, but with your freedom, too.

If you didn't expect to be seen in a love story—and yet here you are—this one might just be the embrace you've been waiting for.