Logan McLaughlin can’t lose his Scottish family estate. But to rescue it, his grandfather’s will demands he wed! Logan avoids real relationships, having failed so significantly at love before. So when housemaid Layla suggests he take a convenient wife, he’s intrigued…

Untouched Layla never imagined Logan would choose her! With her scars, she feels far from the perfect bride. Yet to protect the only home she’s ever known, she’ll wear Logan’s ring… But can she ignore the burning connection threatening to destroy their paper-only arrangement?

To my darling little black poodle Gonzo,

who sadly passed away during the writing of this

novel. I miss you sleeping on the sofa behind me in

my office while I write. I miss your ebullient nature

and zest for life—as if you always knew, like us, that

it wasn’t going to be a long one. Your life may have

been short but you have left love footprints all over

our hearts. Rest in peace. No more seizures now.

CHAPTER ONE

LAYLA CAMPBELL WAS placing dust sheets on the furniture in the now deserted northern wing of Bellbrae Castle when she heard the sound of a firm footfall on the stairs. Goosebumps peppered her skin like Braille and a cold draught of air circled her ankles like the ghost of a long-dead cat.

No such things as ghosts. No such things as ghosts.

Her old childhood chant wasn’t working any better than when she had first come to live in the Scottish Highlands castle as a frightened and lonely twelve-year-old orphan. Taken in by her great-aunt, who had worked as housekeeper for the super-wealthy aristocratic McLaughlin family, Layla had been raised in the kitchen and corridors of the castle. In the early days, downstairs had been her only domain, upstairs out of bounds. And not just because of her limp. Upstairs had been another world—a world in which she did not and could not ever belong.

‘Is anyone th-there?’ Her voice echoed in the silence, her heart thumping so loudly she could hear it booming in her ears. Who would be coming up to the north tower at this time of day? Logan, the new heir to the estate, was working abroad in Italy, and last time Layla had heard, Logan’s younger brother Robbie was doing a casino crawl in the US. Fear crept up her spine with ice-cube-clad feet, her breathing coming to a halt when a tall figure materialised out of the shadows.

‘Layla?’ Logan McLaughlin said, with a heavy frown.

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