Brand Ellsworth turned down his father's viscountcy in favor of the dukedom held by Aaron North, a close family friend who had a three-year-old daughter but no son. The price of the rise in rank was his betrothal to the daughter, Adria. At the time it seemed a small price for a big gain - even if Brand had to endure Uncle Aaron and Adria's inane babbling about him being the little tyke's fated soul mate. The North family's sense of "direction" - intuition about future events - was famous. Brand thought that this time, it was famously wrong. To avoid the looming marriage, Brand deliberately stepped into a clumsy marital trap set by his best friend's little sister. It isn't until he sees the announcement in the morning paper that he learns that for all of these years he hasn't been the Duke of Warren. He's merely held the title until his wedding to Adria. Her husband will be the Duke. But that's not the worst part. When he lays eyes on Adria to break their betrothal, he hasn't seen her in three years and the woman who walks into his study proves again that the North sense of direction is never wrong. Brand takes one look at her and knows that the exquisite redhead is just what Uncle Aaron said she'd become - she's his Eden without the apple. But he chose the apple. Is their paradise lost?
