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

The steeple crumpled to the side, the crash of burning wood as its path was arrested echoing through the crowd.


Micah leapt forward without any further thought.


A strong hand grabbed his arm and yanked him back. He whirled to see Ewan restraining his flight.


“You’ll both die,” he said before Micah could protest.


“Or we’ll both live.” Micah twisted free. “I have to do this.”


He fully expected Ewan to try and stop him again. He had never been so grateful as he was when his feet hit the splintering front steps, and he was allowed to shove the doors open with his shoulder unencumbered.


A wall of heat rushed forward, wrapping around him like a cocoon ready to smother. Micah bowed his head, blinking against the smoke, and fumbled in his pocket for his handkerchief to cover his mouth. How long had Jefferson been in here? How could the town have simply let him enter on his own? Did they not care what happened to one of their own?


Chapter 80