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

Not for the first time since leaving, Micah felt a palpable ache for Wroxham. Life had been so much happier there. Jefferson had never attempted to force him to be anything other than what he was. Until the kiss.


He banished the rest of his thoughts. He was exhausted. His head would be much clearer after he got some solid sleep.


Gritting his teeth, Micah smiled as the last of the guests pulled out of the courtyard. Dinner had been as excruciating as he’d anticipated, worsened by the fact that his mother had invited not one, not two, but three families with available daughters all near his age. He had been forced to sit opposite Abigail Stewart and listen to her prattle on about her recent trip to Philadelphia. Then afterward, Father had insisted he accompany Sarah Lafayette on the piano as she entertained the guests with a song.


Chapter 29