She didn’t plan to say yes.

But neither of us can deny what’s between us.

It’s more than we intended.

It’s more than we imagined.

There’s nothing I won’t do for my piccolina.

Once upon a time . . .
That’s how a good story should begin, or so I’ve been told. Sweet young maidens attending royal balls, falling in love with charming princes, and living happily ever after.

That is not my story.
Meet Ella Upton, a spirited young woman who’s simply trying to survive in Arcady, the kingdom of happily never after, where the taxes are high, the laws are harsh, and a girl can end up in the Dismal Dungeons for merely swooning in the presence of royalty.

Anna Wilks went straight from her parents’ house to her husband’s. After thirteen years of trying to give him a son, she’s told she’s sterile. Her marriage crumbles and her husband leaves her for a younger woman who’s pregnant with his child. Anna finds her deceased aunt’s journal and discovers her secret. When Anna was little, she wanted to be just like her aunt, but then she grew up and forgot what it was like to be adventurous and fearless. Having no idea who she is now that she can’t be a wife and mother, Anna shocks her family by setting out on a desperate search to find herself. She follows her aunt’s journal to Mystic Valley, Vermont. Something about the place calls to her soul, except she doesn’t have a clue how to make it on her own. She falls into old habits and the welcoming supportive town comes to her rescue, especially Officer Drew Jones who makes a living at helping others and longs to find someone to take care of, even if that’s the last thing Anna needs. He is the perfect man on paper. The complete opposite of cynical, pessimist Editor-in-chief Clay Sullivan.