One-Knight Stand — Barbara Devlin

Book 4 in the Brethren of the Coast series.

Do old friends truly make the best lovers?

When Cara Felicity Douglas, known throughout the ton as Miss Perfect, sets her cap for childhood chum and Nautionnier Knight Lance Prescott, she enlists the aid of the Brethren women to chart a course for the altar. But her plans go awry, when her prospective bridegroom refuses to cooperate, and the hunter becomes the hunted. Soon Cara is forced to choose between staunch obedience of societal expectations, or throw caution to the wind and take a chance on love, as the young lady finds herself entangled in the trap she set for her knight.

After an injury at sea leaves Lance bedridden, and his rival captains Lance's ship, he drowns in a dangerous mix of anger, frustration, and jealousy. Harboring more than physical wounds, a past tragedy haunts his present and future. When Cara proclaims him the man of her dreams, Lance vows, “I will never be your husband.” But Miss Perfect will not be deterred and acts completely out of character, making him an offer he dare not refuse, if only he can win her heart. For two people so alike in every way, what could possibly go wrong? In a word: Everything.