A Scandalous Deal: The Four Hundred Series, Book 2

In Shupe’s shimmering second Four Hundred historical romance (after A Daring Arrangement), set in the late 19th century, a daring architect falls for her employer. Lady Eva Hyde travels from London to New York to start working on the Mansfield hotel project in lieu of her father, famed architect E.M. Hyde, who was commissioned for the project but is too ill to complete it. While aboard ship, Eva shares a memorable champagne-infused evening with Phillip, a handsome fellow passenger. Both are shocked when they meet again in New York: Phillip is Phillip Mansfield, the hotel’s owner. He reluctantly agrees to allow Eva at the construction site if she purports to be Hyde’s secretary and only stays until Hyde can join them. He is unaware that the designs are Eva’s own and that her father will never be well enough to come to New York to work. As Phillip starts to thaw towards her professionally and becomes increasingly enamored of her personally, sexual tension leads to romantic interludes. Readers will adore Eva’s determination to succeed professionally and insistence that Phillip must respect her career goals if they are to have any chance at love. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary. (Apr.)