A younger sister cannot wed before an older sister. It's a law of their society, a rule vehemently obeyed by prominent families in the nobility, and it's always been Ella Harrington's buffer. Ella has never been interested in marrying for anything short of love itself. Unfortunately for her, love is a rarity in the marriages of the aristocracy. Fortunately for her, her sister Emily is precisely one year older than her and is the most unpleasant, disagreeable, sulking woman to ever debut in all of England. So Ella may never have to marry at all. A free woman, she enjoys her time on the sidelines and wishes for nothing more. That is, until a tall, dark, and brooding Duke comes to town alongside an old friend of her brother's. Suddenly, Ella finds herself questioning the antiquated marriage order rule as her buffer begins to feel more like a barrier. Not that it matters. The Duke isn't interested in her anyway. Right?

One disastrous spill. One powerful man. Maya Knight's mistake at a high-end Malibu restaurant lands her in the unexpected servitude of the undeniably alluring and intensely private Theodore Duke. Across the Atlantic, as she works to repay her debt, a far deeper connection sparks between them. Beneath Theodore's wealth and brooding exterior lies a wounded soul, and Maya discovers her own heart holds unexpected vulnerabilities. In this journey from obligation to intimacy, can they truly mend each other's broken pieces?