She was certain love wasn't meant for her. He asked seventeen times to prove otherwise. Agnes Bottombrook has spent nine-and-twenty years quietly watching life pass by. She's accepted her place—a spinster, unnoticed and unremarkable—content to keep her heart safe behind skepticism and sense. She's learned to question everyone's intentions... especially the charming ones.

Then Lord Wentford asked her to dance—and didn't stop asking. Grant Wentford doesn't hesitate. The moment he meets Agnes, he knows. She's not a wager or a whim—she's his future. And when she doubts, he proposes. Again and again. Seventeen times, each one gentler than the last. Until something softens inside her, and she wonders if maybe love isn't foolish after all.

She guards her heart. He lays his bare. And somewhere between fear and certainty... they begin. Grant's persistence doesn't feel like pressure—it feels like hope. The slow bloom of something Agnes thought she'd never have. And once she sees where her path is meant to lead, she chooses it—not because she's convinced it's safe, but because she knows it's right.

She didn't believe in happily ever after. He just kept asking until she did.

💞 If you've ever doubted whether you were worth choosing—and longed for someone who would wait, believe, and gently ask again... this story is yours.

A tender prequel to Nessa and Grant's love story, How to Wake a Sleeping Lady.