Pink is not what Eleanor Braddock ordered, but maybe it
would soften the tempered steel of a woman who came through a war—and still had
one to fight.
Eleanor
Braddock—plain, practical, no stunning Southern beauty—knows she will never
marry. But with a dying soldier’s last whisper, she believes her life can still
have meaning and determines to find his widow. Impoverished and struggling to
care for her ailing father, Eleanor arrives at Belmont Mansion, home of her
aunt, Adelicia Acklen, the richest woman in America—and possibly the most
demanding, as well. Adelicia insists on finding her niece a husband, but a
simple act of kindness leads Eleanor down a far different path—building a home
for destitute widows and fatherless children from the Civil War. While Eleanor
knows her own heart, she also knows her aunt will never approve of this endeavor.
Archduke Marcus
Gottfried has come to Nashville from Austria in search of a life he determines, instead of one determined for
him. Hiding his royal heritage, Marcus longs to combine his passion for nature
with his expertise in architecture, but his plans to incorporate natural beauty
into the design of the widows’ and children’s home run contrary to Eleanor’s
wishes. As work on the home draws them closer together, Marcus and Eleanor find
common ground—and a love neither of them expects.
But Marcus is not the
man Adelicia has chosen for Eleanor, and even if he were, someone who knows his
secrets is about to reveal them all.
