Laura Lee Guhrke: Guilty Pleasures (2004)

Every woman has her guilty pleasures... For prim and shy Daphne Wade, the sweetest guilty pleasure of all is secretly watching her employer, the Duke of Tremore, as he works the excavation site on his English estate. Anthony hired Daphne to restore the priceless treasures he has been digging up, but it´s hard for a woman to keep her mind on her work when her devastatingly handsome employer keeps taking his shirt off. He doesn´t know she´s alive, but who could blame her for falling hopelessly in love with him anyway?

Anthony thinks that his capable employee knows all there is to know about antiquities, but when his sister decides to turn the plain young woman in gold-rimmed glasses into an enticing beauty, he declares the task to be impossible. Daphne is devastated when she overhears... and determinated to prove him wrong. Now a vibrant and delectable Daphne has emerged from her shell, and the tables are turned. Will Anthony see that the woman of his dreams has been right there all along?

Todella lämmin tarina tavallisesta naisesta, joka lopulta saa komean ja rikkaan herttuan omakseen. Tarina siitä, kuinka ihastuksen raunioista kasvaa vahva rakkaus ja kuinka sen pyörteissä työnantaja-työntekijä-suhteen raja-aidat murenevat. Lisäpisteitä kirja saa museollisesta taustakehyksestä, joka lämmitti museoihmistä suuresti. Kirja on ensimmäinen osa Seduction-sarjasta. Alunperin kiinnostuin Laura Lee Guhrkesta sarjan kolmannen osan, The Marriage Bed, kautta. Kiinnostuin takakannen juonikuvauksesta, ostin kirjan e-version, luin ensimmäiset pari lukua... ja sorruin helmasyntiini, eli tilasin kaikki neljä osaa kerralla. Ensimmäisen osan perusteella tämä ostos on kuitenkin napakymppi. Seuraava osa, His Every Kiss, odottaa jo vuoroaan.