Much Ado About a Storme by Sandra Sookoo

Love is even sweeter when it’s found later in life, and quite by accident.

Now that Lavinia Storme’s—the Dowager Countess of Hadleigh—family is settled and content, she doesn’t need to worry over them anymore, which leaves her a bit lost. When she meets a silver-haired duke and feelings she once thought dead awake, she wonders all the more.
Allan Montrosse, 4th Duke of Tattersham has been waylaid on a snowy lane near Hadleigh Hall when his traveling coach breaks an axle. It doesn’t matter because his life has been much the same since he became a widower, and perhaps an adventure will liven things up. The moment he sets eyes on the dowager, he is immediately smitten.
In the days leading up to a masquerade ball on Christmas Eve, Lavinia and Tattersham are thrown together. An attraction springs between them—as does scandal—but when a contretemps at the ball worthy of Shakespeare himself threatens the budding romance, it will take charm and encouragement—Storme family style—to make certain the Christmastide match takes.

(Note: This story was first published as part of the Anthology set titled A Duke in Winter in December 2022.)