A Lady to Lead

Helen Crofton longs for a chance to show her new friends in the colonies everything she’s capable of. When she’s elected president of her charitable society, she convinces the other ladies that selling tarts is the best way for them to raise funds. There are just two small problems: Helen doesn’t actually know how to cook or run a business. Still, she’s certain she doesn’t need the advice of the rudest man she’s ever had the misfortune to meet, no matter that he’s a successful businessman (and the handsomest man she knows).

Nathaniel Carter spent most of his life on the sea, working his way up from cabin boy to ship owner. He’s perfectly happy with his simple life and he certainly doesn’t need a woman to disrupt it. Despite his intentions to have nothing to do with Helen, Nathaniel finds himself offering to help his friend’s beautiful, confusing sister-in-law with her business problems, even though he has problems of his own to contend with; he must smuggle a shipload of stolen tea into Philadelphia or he’ll never be able to pay back his investors.

As Helen and Nathaniel work together, they’re shocked to discover the spark of attraction growing between them. Once the governor’s greedy son takes notice of their activities, Helen stands to lose all the money the society has earned while Nathaniel could lose his livelihood–or even his life! After some poor choices land a friend in jail for murder, they must learn to trust each other in order to save their friend and their fledgling relationship. No matter how much they’ve grown to care for each other, can two such different people ever make things work?