An Engagement with the Enemy (Castles and Courtship #1)

James Aldwick isn’t ready to settle down, but his father, Baron Retford, doesn’t give him a choice. The stigma of illegitimacy has haunted the baron his whole life, and it’s up to his son to reestablish their good name by marrying into a family with a perfect pedigree. A series of summer parties is the obvious course of action and the perfect opportunity to parade eligible ladies before the reluctant James. Jessica Westcote, the youngest daughter of an earl, has resisted marriage to every stuffy lord her parents present to her. She wants a love match, not a business alliance.

Unfortunately, the only man to ever evoke more than a tepid response from her heart is Mr. Aldwick, and passionate fury isn’t the same thing as ardent love. When an invitation to Retford Castle’s long list of events arrives, Jessica surprises herself by accepting. James is just as surprised to see his childhood nemesis and neighbor as a frequent guest, but he is certain his former foe won’t lay down arms long enough for a truce, let alone a courtship. Battle lines are drawn, but it isn’t long before those lines begin to blur. Are they friends or foes? Enemies or allies? As the end of summer approaches and James must make his choice, can Jessica forget the past long enough to imagine a future with him?

Enjoy the other books in the multi-author Castles & Courtship series, which can be read in any order: An Amiable Foe by Jennie Goutet
To Know Miss May by Deborah M. Hathaway
A Heart to Keep by Ashtyn Newbold
A Noble Inheritance by Kasey Stockton
The Rules of Matchmaking by Rebecca Connolly
A Suitable Arrangement by Martha Keyes
and a title to come from Mindy Burbidge Strunk