After a whirlwind courtship and elopement, Lady Alexandra Marshall watched helplessly as her husband was shipped off by her irate father. An annulment followed, and though Alexandra waited with packed bags, Christopher never returned for her. She has tried desperately to forget the only love she's ever known and now devotes herself to the British Museum... until she discovers that someone has pilfered a fortune in jewels. His scandalous marriage to Alex had hardened Sir Christopher Donally against the aristocracy that labeled a man's worth by the titles he carried rather than by his deeds. Now with a new bride in his future and a sister who is about to enter Society, Christopher is determined to put the past behind him. But when Alex asks for his help in finding a thief, he agrees, in exchange for her support in launching his sister. Though running into Alex was not planned, nor his emotional reaction welcomed, he can't help but be undone by one single, soul-stirring kiss.