Lord James and his bride (The Duke's Brothers Book 1)

She expected a marriage proposal…but he proposed she be his mistress instead.Miss Abigail Roth must marry to save her family from financial ruin. Scorned by society after a failed engagement, her dreams of finding love have long since faded. Until the handsome Lord Melton sweeps her off her feet. She's expecting a proposal of marriage. Instead, he proposes she become his mistress. Embarrassed and ashamed, Abigail is determined to forget the man who broke her heart. But he has other plans…Lord James Melton is home from the war after six long years. Believing he is too damaged to be of any use to anyone, he travels to Weymouth to spend the summer at his family's estate. There, an accidental meeting throws him in the path of the lovely Abigail, whose stunning smile and sparkling wit hold him captive. But James doesn't believe he's capable of love, and while his nightmares still cause him to cry out in the middle of the night, he won't even try. So, he'll hold onto Abigail the only way he knows how. As his mistress.When she brutally rebuffs his offer, James realises he's done the unthinkable. He's found love… and lost it.Can this repentant gentleman rise above the pain in his past, and win back the heart of the woman he loves?