Lady Georgette Thorold has always been wary of marriage, so when she wakes up next to an attractive Scotsman with a wedding ring on her finger, it’s easy to understand why she panics and flees. Convinced that Georgette is a thief, her may-be husband, James McKenzie, searches for her. As both try to recall what happened that fateful night, they begin to realize that their attraction and desire for each other is undeniable. But is it enough?
Georgette wakes up and finds herself in bed with a man. Since she’s a widow and has no current bed partner she’s a bit confused about what’s happening. She discovers not only a bedroom that’s practically been torn apart (what the heck happened?) but also the Scot in the bed calling her wife! She answers his call to get back in bed with a crack over his head with the chamber pot. Since she’s just visiting the town she has no idea who this man is so she runs.
Her cousin Randolph finds her on the street and as he’s looked for her all night long he’s not pleased when he finds her. He takes her back to his cottage and is even angrier when he finds out she’s married. But is she? Randolph takes off to find the groom and Georgette finds one surprise after another. It seems that she had a great time the night before but she can remember none of it. It seems each townsperson knows a little bit of what happened and as things come to light Georgette finds herself almost more confused than when she was completely in the dark.
James might have remembered Georgette when he first woke but after the crash in the head he finds himself forgetting what happened as well. He finds his money missing and goes to the magistrate to get a summons for Georgette as he’s sure that she took it. He is recalling a wedding done by the magistrate in the bar but he’s not sure if it’s real or not.
With Georgette investigating her night and James investigating his it was inevitable that they eventually meet. While the money issue is worked out and the summons dismissed, there are still a lot of questions unanswered. As they spend the day together they find themselves falling in love with each other but there are many obstacles in their way. Her desire not to be married ever again, his trust issues and of course the person who’s trying to kill James. Not an auspicious way to start a marriage – if it is one.
I have to admit to being pretty drunk a time or two in my life (in my younger days, of course ;)) but never drunk enough to not remember what happened the night before. Now in this story Georgette has a little help with her memory loss (something that’s discovered later) but for a buttoned up Lady who doesn’t even like nudity in herself much less others I can’t imagine how she would feel when she found out all she did in this book. She’s such a…I don’t want to say prude but she’s definitely someone who’s always worried about what other people think. To be told that she was sitting on the laps of strange men and flirting shamelessly would have definitely sent her into a tailspin. As the day wears on (as the book all takes place in one day) she kind of finds herself, which I liked. She got to see a side of herself that she didn’t know existed and let some emotions that she didn’t know she had come out to play. Even when she was upset at James she still was his fierce defender and I had to admire her for that.
Now James, while being an upstanding citizen, really rubbed me the wrong way at times. He assumed the worst about Georgette without knowing the full story and that didn’t set well with me. While he was easily swayed in her favor initially, that didn’t stop him from being distrustful of her later on in the story. His seesawing back and forth was a bit annoying. I did like that he and his father, who hadn’t talked for 11 years, got to kiss and make up so to speak. That showed a side of him that was admirable and that was a definite plus in his direction.
Overall the book was fun. While I usually like the h/h to know each other longer than a day there was so much going on in the story it probably felt more like a couple of weeks for them – at least. 🙂 I liked McQuiston writing style and will look for more from her in the future.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
This one had caught my eye when looking for upcoming new releases. So I'm glad you enjoyed it!