The Wallflower Wager

Christmas magic is in the air.... From the ballrooms of London, to abandoned Scottish castles, to the snowy streets of Gilded Age New York, four best-selling authors whip up some unforgettable romance - with a little help from some enchanted shortbread. Included: "Meet Me in Mayfair" by Tessa Dare; "The Duke of Christmas Present" by Sarah MacLean; "Heiress Alone" by Sophie Jordan; and "Christmas in Central Park" by Joanna Shupe.

When the Duke of Ashbury returns from war scarred, he realises he needs an heir - which means he needs a wife! When Emma Gladstone, a vicar's daughter turned seamstress visits wearing a wedding dress, he decides on the spot that she'll do. His terms are simple: They will be husband and wife by night only. No lights, no kissing. No questions about his battle scars. Last, and most importantly...Once she's pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again. But Emma is no pushover. She has secrets and some rules of her own....

When Wicked Comes Calling... When a mysterious stranger finds his way into her bedchamber and offers his help in landing a duke, Lady Felicity Faircloth agrees - on one condition. She’s seen enough of the world to believe in passion, and won’t accept a marriage without it. The Wallflower Makes a Dangerous Bargain... Bastard son of a duke and king of London’s dark streets, Devil has spent a lifetime wielding power and seizing opportunity, and the spinster wallflower is everything he needs to exact a revenge years in the making.

At birth, Mick Trewlove, the illegitimate son of a duke, was handed over to a commoner. Despite his lowly upbringing, Mick has become a successful businessman, but all his wealth hasn’t satisfied his need for revenge against the man who still won’t acknowledge him. What else can Mick do but destroy the duke’s legitimate son - and woo the heir’s betrothed into his own unloving arms.... Orphaned and sheltered, Lady Aslyn Hastings longs for a bit of adventure. With her intended often preoccupied, Aslyn finds herself drawn to a handsome man who seems to understand her so well.

Henry, Duke of Torquil, wouldn't be caught reading the wildly popular "Dear Lady Truelove" column, but when its advice causes his mother to embark on a scandalous elopement, an outraged Henry decides the author of this tripe must be stopped before she can ruin any more lives. Though Lady Truelove's identity is a closely guarded secret, Henry has reason to suspect the publisher of the notorious column, beautiful and provoking Irene Deverill, is also its author.

Major Calborne Rutherford returns to England on the trail of an assassin, only to find he's become Lord Ashendon, with the responsibility for vast estates and dependent relatives. Cal can command the toughest of men, but his wild half-sisters are quite another matter. They might just be his undoing. When he discovers that Miss Emmaline Westwood, the girls' former teacher, guides them with ease, Cal offers her a marriage of convenience.

Anna Snow grew up in an orphanage in Bath knowing nothing of her family. Now she discovers that the late Earl of Riverdale was her father and that she has inherited his fortune. Avery Archer, Duke of Netherby, keeps others at a distance. Yet something prompts him to aid Anna in her transition from orphan to lady. As London society and her newfound relatives threaten to overwhelm Anna, Avery steps in to rescue her....

Shopgirl Poppy Fairchurch knows it's pointless fantasizing about the Duke of Autenberry. Still, dreams can't hurt anyone, unlike the carriage Poppy spies bearing down upon the unsuspecting duke. After she pulls him to safety, the duke lapses into a coma, and Poppy is mistaken for his fiancée. But one person isn't fooled: his arrogant and much too handsome half brother, Struan Mackenzie. Soon Poppy isn't sure what she wants more: the fantasy of her duke or the reality of one smoldering Scot who challenges her.

Welcome to Spindle Cove, where the ladies with delicate constitutions come for the sea air, and men in their prime are..nowhere to be found. Or are they? Spindle Cove is the destination of choice for certain types of well-bred young ladies: The painfully shy, young wives disenchanted with matrimony, and young girls too enchanted with the wrong men; it is a haven for those who live there. Victor Bramwell, the new Earl of Rycliff, knows he doesn't belong here.

From the hallowed halls of London's Almack's to the unkempt taverns of Drury Lane, from whispered words in glittering theaters to seductive kisses at Vauxhall Gardens - an earl must pursue his lady. Propriety be damned. Anything is allowed. But for success, the Earl of Kelmarsh may have to enact the Rules of the Rogue....

Hidden away in rural Devonshire, Phyllida Satterthwaite has always been considered more odd than beautiful. But in London, her oddity has made her a sensation. Far worse, it’s caught the eye of the sinister Duke of Moreland - a notorious art collector obsessed with acquiring one-of-a-kind treasures. To escape the duke’s clutches, she’s going to need a little help. Captain Arthur Heywood’s days of heroism are long past. Grievously injured in the Peninsular War, he can no longer walk unaided, let alone shoot a pistol. What use can he possibly be to a damsel in distress?

She wanted sanctuary... Helena Reynolds will do anything to escape her life in London, even if that means traveling to a remote cliffside estate on the North Devon coast and marrying a complete stranger. But Greyfriar's Abbey isn't the sort of refuge she imagined. And ex-army captain Justin Thornhill - though he may be tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome - is anything but a romantic hero. He needed redemption... Justin has spent the last two decades making his fortune, settling scores, and suffering a prolonged period of torture in an Indian prison.

When Sophie, the least interesting of the Talbot sisters, lands her philandering brother-in-law backside first in a goldfish pond in front of all society, she becomes the target of very public aristocratic scorn. Her only choice is to flee London, vowing to start a new life far from the aristocracy. Unfortunately, the carriage in which she stows away isn't saving her from ruin. It's filled with it.

Adair Thorne has just watched his gaming-hell dream disappear into a blaze of fire and ash, and he’s certain that his competitors, the Killorans, are behind it. His fury and passion burn even hotter when he meets Cleopatra Killoran, a tart-mouthed vixen who mocks him at every turn. If she were anyone else but the enemy, she’d ignite a desire in him that would be impossible to control. No one can make Cleopatra do anything. That said, she’ll do whatever it takes to protect her siblings - even if that means being sponsored by their rivals for a season in order to land a noble husband.

Lady Philippa Marbury is...odd. The brilliant, bespectacled daughter of a double marquess cares more for books than balls, for science than the season, and for laboratories than love. She's looking forward to marrying her simple fiancé and living out her days quietly with her dogs and her scientific experiments. But before that, Pippa has two weeks to experience all the rest - 14 days to research the exciting parts of life. It's not much time, and to do it right she needs a guide familiar with London's darker corners.