The Reluctant Heart

the long version

Beautiful young Lady Serena Whitlow had a very brief but violently bitter taste of men and marriage. The fourth Earl of Whitlow taught her how horrendous a husband could be--before his sudden demise delivered her from bondage to that handsome brute. Now Serena meant to stay free--even when the elegant Lord Peter Phillips chose her as his future bride...and even when Adrian, the dashing fifth Earl of Whitlow, proposed that he take his late cousin's place with her in the marriage bed. Serena might be single-minded -- but her vow not to wed faced double danger as the two most attractive lords in London attacked her resolve with all the weapons of love at their command....