“He leaned forward. “Bathsheba,” he said in the soft Scottish drawl that always caused unwarranted tremors to shiver through her. “Are you trying to seduce me?” Yes. She would die before saying it out loud. “Would it be faster to try to hire you?” Liam laughed. “You couldn’t afford me, love.”

“He leaned forward. “Bathsheba,” he said in the soft Scottish drawl that always caused unwarranted tremors to shiver through her. “Are you trying to seduce me?” Yes. She would die before saying it out loud. “Would it be faster to try to hire you?” Liam laughed. “You couldn’t afford me, love.”

— Caroline Linden