A Match for a Reluctant Bride by Tess Thompson

An ugly duckling and a charming scoundrel have nothing in common. But fate has a different plan.

Faith
Devastated after both my fiancée and best friend betrayed me, I traveled to a distant isle in the Pacific Northwest, clinging to a job as an artist’s assistant to escape my broken heart. Little did I know that I would find something else entirely when I met Briggs Tutheridge. His kindness and sensitivity were not at all what I expected. Still, his reputation was well-known and notorious, with bevies of admirers who wanted nothing more than a brief affair. That wasn’t me. I was a wallflower destined to live in the shadows, and no amount of wishing could change that.

Briggs
I agreed to my mother’s suggestion to hire an artist’s assistant without much thought.
All that changed when Faith Fidget arrived in my studio. Timid and introverted, she was not the type of woman who usually turned my head. Yet, in her presence I felt something undeniable stirring inside me. Soon enough, I found myself daydreaming about spending a lifetime with her instead of fleeting moments with women who were nothing more than meaningless trysts. But she deserved someone much better than a scoundrel with a reputation. No matter my feelings, I knew it would never work between us.