Seven years ago, Claire Hotchkiss thought she’d found her very own happily-ever-after with Gabriel Newsom, the Marquess of Leighton—but when she discovered that her marriage license hadn’t been worth the paper it had been written on, her fairytale swiftly turned into a nightmare. Since then she has found a place for herself in the world working as a housekeeper, but when circumstances compel her to seek out a new post, she finds herself unwittingly accepting a position within the household of the man who destroyed her life. And, to her shock, he doesn’t seem to remember her at all.
Gabriel Newsom has spent the last seven years pretending there’s nothing wrong with him. Plagued by migraines—a remnant of the accident that stole years of his life from him—he spends the majority of his time avoiding society, lest his condition be discovered. He cannot bear the seething jealousy he holds for people who are whole and unburdened by the loss of self he has suffered. When his father confesses that within those missing years he might have been married, he is shaken anew. Somewhere out in the world is a woman whom he unwillingly abandoned, a woman he had once loved. And he doesn’t even know her name.
His new housekeeper is perhaps the only person in his life who is unflinching in the face of his temper, unwilling to leave him to wallow in his misery. Like a guardian angel she watches over him, expects better of him, and against all odds he finds himself comforted by her presence and seeking her approval. He entrusts to her his secrets, never knowing that Claire has secrets of her own…
