The Matchmaker by Kay Hooper

It’s public knowledge in Richmond that the only wife the infamous Cyrus Fortune wants is one who belongs to some other man. He has a knack for sensing an unhappy bride—and a talent for showing her what she needs to be happy. Obsessed with uncovering the circumstances of his own mysterious birth and the father he never knew, Cyrus doesn’t have the time or patience for a serious romance. Even so, an intelligent man knows when he’s at the crossroads of destiny, the moment when everything in his life changes. For Cyrus, that’s when he meets Julia Drummond.

Julia Drummond is painfully aware that no red-blooded woman should be able to deny the sensual assault of Cyrus Fortune, who wears power and influence like a finely tailored suit, and whose eyes promise passionate seduction. Still, she says no. She’s got her reasons—dangerous reasons—and yet she can’t trust her own body and heart from surrendering to the astonishing pleasure Cyrus reminds her she’s capable of simply when his knowing gaze meets hers across a crowded ballroom. He doesn’t know her secret, desperate terrors, but the passion he offers is irresistible. Just once, she tells herself. Just one night to know what sweet sin tastes like. And doesn’t every woman deserve that?