Julian Hale, Duke of Ashworth, does not want a wife. He wants an heir and a practical arrangement, and he has spent six years ensuring he wants nothing more than that. Miss Clara Hartley does not want a duke. She wants a library, a kitchen garden, and enough peace to read without interruption. She is in London for one season, for reasons that are entirely her own, and she does not intend to be there long. They meet at a dinner where neither of them wants to be. By the end of the evening, the Duke has made a proposal that has nothing to do with romance, and Clara has said yes for reasons that have nothing to do with his title. A Bride for the Brooding Duke is a love story about two people who agreed to want nothing from each other — and found, over the course of one long English year, that they had been wrong about what they wanted. No cheating. No cliffhangers. Happily ever after guaranteed. The Reluctant Brides, Book 1.