Book excerpt: Lilah Stevens first season was the worst a lady could ever have. She hadn’t been a mere wallflower, she’d been the Wallflower. The one that had ended up with her name on everyone lips and a ruined reputation. Before that fateful day no one had ever noticed her. Afterwards, she couldn’t show her face in society without the whispers being uttered at her mere presence. It had been enough to make anyone run and hide, but she refused to allow him that satisfaction. She would make that infernal viscount rue the day they had ever crossed paths, even if it made her reputation terminally unrepairable. Henry Collins, the Viscount of Harcrest had always been a consummate rake. He didn’t see any reason to change. He loved his life and it was a grand one. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t have a care in the world, and he liked it that way. He doesn’t pay any attention to rumors, but after that fateful encounter he wonders if perhaps it is time he should. Surely, he couldn’t have done what she suggested. Even he wasn’t that depraved… Lilah wishes she could once again embrace the identity of a wallflower, a role she used to hate, but that is a past she can never reclaim. But somehow, she starts to wonder if she had it all wrong and it might be enough to lead her to a place she never expected: love.