Handfasted by Jane Charles

I don't remember who had recommended this book to me -- but I had just finished reading Eloisa James's e-novella and this was right next to it on the e-shelf.

Katrina needs to travel to a nearby town to secure a position as a governess -- and it is to her benefit that Lord Timothy Strotham was going in the same direction.

Katrina fell in love (and in lust) with Timothy the first time he stepped inside her father's bookshop.  Realizing that marriage and family would not be in her future, she has come up with a plan -- to seduce Lord Timothy and know everything about the physical side of love.

Timothy also felt an instant attraction to Katrina but he has stayed away, out of respect for Katrina's deceased father.  He refuses Katrina's request to travel with him -- afraid that he would succumb to temptation.

Someone suggests that they be handfasted -- to avoid the scandal and tarnish to their reputation.  Both agree (one of them reluctantly) -- and their journey begins.

This was a wonderful read -- we learn enough of Timothy and Katrina to like them and to root for them as they discover just how deeply their attraction to and their love for each other is.

This was a "travel" story done nicely -- a balance of journey and action.