There's precisely three and a half weeks until Christmas Day, and Imogen Abernethy is turning her back on the ton. Forever.

Her lacklustre experiences at this year's marriage mart have forced her to conclude that though she'd secretly love her own fairy tale ending, it's never going to happen.

And with a looming Christmas deadline to pay off her family's extraordinary debt - acquired no thanks to the expense of her failed season - there's nothing for it, Imogen must get a (whisper it) job. It's the only way to save their home, save her beloved aunts from debtor's prison, and save Christmas. But in order to do so she'll need someone to vouch for her good name, and introduce her to potential employers . . .

Rafe Holloway, Duke of Campion, is dealing with a impossible deadline of his own. When his bride-to-be chooses to marry someone else, Rafe, a man with a desperate family secret, has no choice but to look for another to wed - by Christmas. With no time - or inclination - for romance, he needs to find a sensible applicant who can see the merit of a loveless match with a duke.

When she secretly desires a fairy tale romance, but he absolutely does not, could they still be each other's perfect gift this Christmas?