An Unsuitable Engagement - Victorian Grand Tour, #5

Spontaneous and serious. Young and old. Opposites clash and attract, but they can't ignore each other for long. Seventeen-year-old Octavia Shelford tries to live up to her mother's expectations and dazzle the beau monde and her suitors. Trying to please everyone has her muddled and exhausted, but the one person whose opinion matters the most never seems to approve. She's spent a year traveling through Europe, trying to avoid him. Twenty-nine-year-old Guy Claybury, the Duke of Woodford, knows precisely how he feels about everything and isn't worried about anyone's opinion of him.
He hasn't been able to find a fit and proper wife to help run the embassy in Paris, and he has given up on love matches. His only concern is trying to prove that England did not order the assassination attempt on Napoleon III. With the threat of war between France and England, Octavia is forced to stay at the British embassy in Paris until it's safe to travel again. No matter how hard the duke tries to overlook his attraction to his entirely inappropriate friend, the more she seems determined to solve the riddle that he is. But he cannot allow her to piece together the puzzle his heart has become, because unlocking that secret can only lead to one thing: an unsuitable engagement. This age gap novel is a "sweet" or closed door historical romance, which means there are swoony kisses and plenty of yearning, but no spicy scenes.
It has both enemies-to-lovers and friends-to-lovers vibes. You might cry as well as laugh, but there's a happily ever after with no cheating. This book can be enjoyed as a stand alone or as part of the Victorian Grand Tour series.