The Rake's Proposition

by Bess Greenfield

Alternate cover edition for ASIN B002RI9RXE
You can find all editions of this work here

A heart-wrenching tale of love, mystery, and second chances in Gilded Age Manhattan...

A lady on the run

Betrayed and disillusioned, Claudine Valencourt is determined to leave her past behind any way she can--even if it means she must reinvent herself as a cabaret singer and deceive the one man she could never quite forget. Gilded Age entertainment tycoon Leonardo Barnett has no idea "his discovery" was once the infatuated teenager who used to gawk at him. When he promises her exactly what she needs--escape, a means of independence, a new beginning in New York--she can't resist.

Despite her best judgment, she can't resist Leo either. When the allegedly self-absorbed millionaire surprises her with compassion, tenderness, and wit, her dormant longings flame back to life stronger than ever. But dare she trust a notorious rake with her secrets and her heart?

A tycoon with dark secrets

It takes years for Leo to rebuild his life after a vicious and false accusation nearly destroys him. But it only takes a few days for a vulnerable young beauty with a heartbreaking voice to pierce through his cynicism and defenses. Her warmth and guileless sensuality reveal a protective instinct he never knew he had and a desire that was there all along. As his self-restraint battles with his yearning to keep his precious discovery for himself, he realizes the folly of promises he could never keep.

302 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2015

About the author

Originally from Pittsburgh, Bess Greenfield graduated from Cornell University and University of Pittsburgh School of Law. After a succession of jobs (cocktail waitress, receptionist, journalist, lawyer), she finally came to the realization that her true calling was writing historical romance. A lifelong fan of romance novels, she began compiling material by traveling extensively and independently in her early twenties. Looking back on her many narrow escapes from precarious situations, she marvels that she's still alive. But she has plenty of material. Now she saves her bold adventures for her heroines and hopes her three children will have more common sense. When she's not immersed in her imagination and history, she can often be found reading or hiking in one of Colorado's many mountains with her husband and the children (after some serious coaxing). Sometimes she even takes along her chocolate labrador, Houdini, who needs no coaxing at all.