Author: LJ Shen
Genre: Romance
Year: 2022
Series: Book 4 of the Boston Belles
SUMMARY
Boston’s most infamous femme fatale meets her match in a dangerously mild Englishman who has vowed to never marry in this romantic standalone from Washington Post bestselling author L.J. Shen
Emmabelle Penrose has cruised through life never needing a man, a plan that has worked stunningly well until about five minutes ago, when she decided she must have a baby.
Devon Whitehall is 6’2” of premium DNA, financial security, and British royal titles. Best of all, he fears the one thing she dreads the most: getting hitched.
Emmabelle figures it’s a no-brainer when Devon offers his services—sperm and involvement in her future child’s life.
What begins as an innocent, modern-family arrangement, quickly erodes into a web of lies, dark pasts, and unfurled secrets.
Inside this chaos, Emmabelle and Devon are forced to face the awful truth—they are capable of love.
Even worse, they might feel it toward each other.
PROLOGUE
DEVON
I’d been betrothed shortly before I was conceived.
My future written, sealed, and agreed upon before my mother had her first ultrasound appointment.
Before I had a heart, a pulse, lungs, and a spine. Ideas, wishes, and preferences. When I was no more than an abstract idea.
A future plan.
A box to be ticked off.
Her name was Louisa Butchart.
Lou, really, to those who knew her.
Though I would not be aware of the arrangement until I turned fourteen. Told right before the traditional pre-Christmas hunting trip the Whitehalls had with the Butcharts.
There was nothing wrong with Louisa Butchart. Nothing that I could find, at any rate.
She was lovely, well-mannered, of excellent pedigree.
Nothing wrong with her at all, except for one thing—she wasn’t my choice.
I suppose this was how it all started.
How I became who I am today.
A fun-loving, whiskey-drinking, fencing, skiing hedonist who answered to no one and tumbled into bed with everyone.
All the numbers and variables were there to create the perfect equation.
Great expectations.