A Match to Fool Society - Laura Martin (HH #1697 - Jan 2023)

A convenient arrangement…
…a complicated attraction
 
Jane Ashworth dreams of being an author, yet Society insists she become a debutante -- so play the game she must! Jane finds an unlikely ally in notorious rake Tom Stewart. As a new guardian to his nephew, Tom is out of his depth and intent on remaining a bachelor. They agree to fool society with a pretend courtship, but both are unprepared when the lines of their agreement start to become blurred…

Excellent book that caught my interest from the beginning and held it to the end. Jane is not your typical debutante. Though she was sent to London to find a husband, her true ambition is to find a publisher for the children's books she has written. While looking for one of the publishers, she encounters Tom, a recent acquaintance, who is horrified to find her in that neighborhood and escorts her home.
 
Tom has cultivated a reputation as a rake, all in the name of avoiding marriage. He stays far away from young women and the Marriage Mart, believing marriage is not for him. He likes his life - doing what he wants when he wants. Then he comes home one day and finds that he is his nephew Edward's guardian.
 
Both Jane and Tom want to avoid marriage. Tom needs help with his nephew, and Jane needs help finding a publisher. When Jane, who has several younger siblings, offers to help Tom with his nephew, he reciprocates by offering to help her find a publisher. Jane and Tom enter into a pretend courtship to facilitate spending time together and protect themselves from matchmakers. Neither expects the feelings that spring up between them.
 
I liked seeing the relationship develop between Jane and Tom.  Their connection was immediate, bonding over their lack of interest in marriage. It didn't take them long to become friends, finding it very easy to talk to each other. Tom envies Jane's easy manner with Edward and pays close attention to her instructions on how to get to know the boy. Jane can talk about her writing ambitions with Tom. But the more time they spend together, the more their fake relationship feels real. Each finds themselves thinking of their little group as a family. Jane realizes she's falling in love with Tom but doesn't believe he feels the same way. Tom fights his growing feelings for Jane, convinced he's incapable of caring for another person (his reasons are heartbreaking). Tom offers to do the honorable thing when their growing attraction causes a compromising situation. But Jane refuses to settle for a loveless marriage. It takes an eye-opening conversation with his best friend for Tom to see the truth, but it is nearly too late. I loved seeing Tom's determination to make things right. It wasn't easy, and Jane made him work for it, but seeing them come together was terrific. I loved the epilogue and catching up with them a few years later.