The Actress and the Aristocrat by Katie Ashley

Charlotte aka Charlie

For years, my acting career consisted of bit parts in forgettable Hallmark movies along with a few embarrassing commercials for feminine hygiene products. But then the fates finally aligned, and I’d been given my big-budget break: the lead in an Edwardian era social drama set on a sprawling estate in Sussex. Everything was going great until I discovered my costar and current flame was banging his way through the upstairs and downstairs of the cast. That’s when this Southern girl channeled her inner Scarlet O’Hara by hurling a vase at him. Turns out the owner of said vase, the infuriating Earl Whittingham, did give a damn about the priceless heirloom. Just as I was imagining a life of servitude to pay him back, he gave me an unorthodox proposal.

Randall “Rand” Halsey, Earl Whittingham

Being a member of the British aristocracy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. As a matter of fact, it can be a royal pain in the ass, especially when it comes to the required social season. The only thing worse than having to attend all the myriad of events from horse races to garden shows is attending them single. Throw in the likelihood of running into my ex-wife with her new boy-toy and it’s bloody insufferable. I’d resigned myself to keeping a stiff upper lip while drowning my sorrows in Lagavulin for the month when an opportunity fell into my lap. Actually, it crashed into the wall of my drawing room. As an actress, Charlie is used to playing a part, but she’ll need to turn an Oscar-worthy one to prove she’s in love with me.