Secret Desires of a Gentleman

There's not a plot I like more than reunited lovers or sweethearts. Maria Martingale had a crush on the younger brother of the Marques of Kayne, not only a crush but they were going to elope! No doubt they would have if not for the intervention of the said Marquess of Kayne one Phillip Hawthorne.
It would have been a pure scandal had word gotten out that any member of the royal family so much as touched any of the servants intimately. Phillip Hawthorne did what he had to do, he sent little Maria on her way with a hefty check in her pocket and strict orders not to come into contact with his family-or his heart again.
So, it is a surprise twelve years later when Maria unknowingly rents out the bakery shop right next door to where the Marquess of Kayne is currently residing for the season. It is his strict policy to behave like a gentleman of the royal family at all costs, so that is why Phillip evicts Maria on the spot. Because God knows she will be a temptation he could not resist twice. But Maria has already taken a fancy to the bakery's kitchen and will not be deterred in making her delicious pastries in a cook's dream kitchen.
The love between Maria and Phillip progress's gradually, the flashbacks are heartrendingly funny, making you smile here, making you nod your head in understanding of the setbacks there. In complete, this novel is a keeper and I cannot recommend it more. I believe Secret Desires is part of a series, if not I hope it is.
I have no idea how to describe Secret Desires of a Gentleman. It made me sigh, it made me laugh, and yes it made me cry. I have never heard of Laura Lee Guhrke before, but you can bet your last dollar that I won't forget her name, and I'll be waiting for her next book. I have never or rather it has been a very long time if at all that I have read such an endearing read as Secret Desires... I have just looked up Laura Lee's website at www.lauraleeguhrke.com and I'm astonished to learn that Secret desires is not her first book. Granted, I have been out of the loop for a while and since being brought back in I will continue to read her latest as well as all of her backlist books. And please, feel free to peruse her website as I have indicated above. You will not be sorry. She brings so much emotion into these characters.

And you know it is a truly good read when somewhere in the pages you get lost and you forget for a moment that you are not the heroine.