A prequel novella to The Gentleman Courtesans series After her first lackluster experience with intercourse, Clare Dunnaby swears off romantic entanglement for good. At twenty-one years old, she remains unattached and content-pursuing the study of botany and geology with single-minded focus. She remains certain she has no need for the amorous attentions of the opposite sex ... at least, until she enters her bedchamber to find a nude man waiting in her bed. Desperation has driven Edward Norton to accept an arrangement as a courtesan to Clare. Purchased as a surprise for her birthday, his mission seems cut and dry: seduce the outspoken bluestocking into bed with him and keep her happy for the duration of their one-month contract. If he can do that, he'll earn enough money to set his failing shipping company right again. But when a strong physical attractions evolves into something more, it becomes clear that thirty days will never be enough. When their time runs out, will they choose to build on the visceral connection born of a contract, or will pride and stubbornness keep them apart?