One Perfect Rose — Mary Jo Putney

Few romance novels have touched readers as deeply or as lastingly as this classic by New York Times bestselling author Mary Jo Putney. Poignant, passionate, and tender, One Perfect Rose is the story of two mismatched lovers drawn into a fragile, unforgettable union...

Stephen Kenyon, the new Duke of Ashburton, has always behaved exactly as society expects. But a doctor's grim diagnosis sends him fleeing from his duties to experience life as never before. Traveling incognito, he falls in with a warm-hearted theatrical family and becomes entranced by their lovely adopted daughter, Rosalind Jordan.

Despite his misgivings, Stephen proposes to Rosalind -- marriage will benefit them both. The warm companionship and profound passion they share is greater than Stephen has ever known, and far more than his family and his own guarded natured ever allowed. But each passing, perfect day together is a bittersweet reminder that love is the one thing he is not at liberty to offer, and the one thing she can never admit...