A Casualty of the Heart Rachel — Kelley Stones

Her first London Season has arrived, but Clare Compton is far from enthusiastic. In fact, she finds the experience positively nauseating, and when her first ball ends in disaster, the consequences threaten to upend her entire Season. She wants nothing more than to retreat to her country home away from Society’s judgmental stares. Instead, respite comes from a most unexpected source. Patrick Milton, Clare’s childhood enemy, offers a cunning solution: he will serve as her escort for the final five weeks of festivities to help repair Clare’s reputation. The plan seems foolproof. But can she repair her reputation without forfeiting her heart?Patrick has more than Clare’s welfare in mind when he proposes his ruse. He needs to stay close to the ballrooms of the ton, where he can keep an eye on his wayward twin brother—and serving as Clare’s escort offers the perfect pretense, with the added advantage of saving himself from matrimonial matchmakers. But as the weeks fly by in a whirlwind of candlelit ballrooms and dizzying dances, Patrick’s scheme takes on a life of its own, forcing the now friends to navigate feelings they never expected.