Secret Desires of a Gentleman by Laura Lee Guhrke

Book Three in the Girl-Bachelor Chronicles

Maria Martingale has a dream: to own her very own patisserie and now, thanks to the good fortune of her best friend Prudence (also known as the Duchess of St. Cyres from The Wicked Ways of a Duke) she's now able to afford her dream. And she has just found the perfect location for the shop. There is only one little problem: Phillip Hawthorne, the Marquess of Kayne lives right next door.

Phillip and Maria go a long way back, to when Maria was seven and Phillip was nine and they were the best of friends. Once, Maria thought Phillip was the one person she could count on to stand next to her and be her friend but 12 years ago - shortly after Maria's father died leaving her alone and scared - Phillip's brother Lawrence (who was also friends with Maria from childhood) offered to marry her. Sad and alone, Maria agreed but their would be elopement was fouled by Phillip, who was against it for more reasons than what he let on.

Then, Phillip broke her heart in a way that had nothing to do with Lawrence's abandonment and now, twelve years later, Maria just isn't willing to let him take her dream away. Well, things quickly fire up! and we are in for a delicious story.

One of the things I LOVE best about Laura Lee Guhrke is the way she creates true tension between her characters, Phillip and Maria are no exception. There is so much there, so much feeling and history, and things that won't stay int he past. I love how Ms Guhrke leaves you with the sense that you really know the characters and the whys of their actions.

I loved this book, I had been looking forward to it since January when The Wicked Ways of a Duke came out and I read the first excerpt for it. And it did not disappoint. And I'm still looking forward to the next Girl Bachelor Chronicle.

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