Student of letters, Micah Yardley wants one thing: to meet the poet Jefferson Dering. After hearing his idol speak at Harvard, Micah travels to Jefferson’s home in nearby Wroxham, entertaining visions of discussing poetry over dinner and drinks. What he experiences exceeds anything he ever anticipated.<br><br>Jefferson finds Micah mesmerizing and passionate, everything he has ever wanted. But after getting caught in a compromising position with another young man a decade earlier, he exiled himself from Boston and from affairs of the heart. Jefferson represses his longing for Micah, but his tumultuous emotions cannot be contained.<br><br>Micah denies the truth of his desire for Jefferson. Jefferson refuses to act on his passion for Micah. But all it takes is a single kiss in Wroxham's haunted church to change the course of their lives ... and ignite the flame that could fulfill a generations-old promise.

A Hidden Beauty

He was still disheveled from the journey. When he had returned to the inn, he had woken Ewan from a sound sleep and demanded he start packing immediately. An hour later, Mrs. Ruark was paid, looking very sleepy and disappointed in her kerchief, and they were on the road for Boston. Micah had attempted to sleep on the way, but images of Jefferson had plagued him the entire course.


How he’d smiled when he heard Micah’s first recitation.


How he’d frowned when he heard about Micah’s family.


How he’d gazed at him with those burning slate eyes as he pinned him to the church wall.


How he’d spat out that final comment, stabbing Micah in the gut.


Chapter 28