He has to marry. She would rather marry anyone but him.

Sebastian Blakely has tried—and failed—to become the viscount his father and grandfather would have been proud of. With both men gone too soon and memories of their faces beginning to fade, he fears he will never measure up. So when offered the chance to acquire the only portrait of the men together, he cannot refuse. Even if it requires agreeing to a ridiculous bargain: find a wife by Twelfth Night.

No amount of wealth can erase Clara Whitmore’s humble beginnings—or convince her that any gentleman might truly care for her. With the marriage mart looming, Clara gladly accepts an invitation to spend Christmas with her sister. It promises to be the perfect escape.

Until Lord Blakely arrives.

Determined, infuriating, and entirely too interested in her, Lord Blakely is the last man Clara would ever deign to marry.

But as their small party forces them together, Clara begins to see that the boy she remembers is not quite the man before her. And as old memories and long-buried truths begin to surface, they find themselves wondering if the past is truly as impossible to overcome as they once believed.

Refusing Lord Blakely is a sweet, no-spice Christmas romance filled with banter, growth, and simmering tension—perfect for lovers of Jane Austen and romances where the last person you expect might be exactly the one you need.