Kitty Boxford isn't the sort of girl that gets invited to the ball of the century, but she has other plans to find herself a husband. The very serious but oh-so handsome Marquess of Ellsworth needs an assistant for his observatory, and it's the perfect opportunity to earn the money she needs to hatch her husband-hunting plan. What isn't in her plans is to fall in love with a Duke-in-waiting...someone as out of reach as the stars. For Colin Middleton, Lord Ellsworth, his scientific endeavors have been the distraction for his broken heart, not the bevy of ladies his marriage-minded parents have invited for a grand ball. When a gamekeeper's daughter demands the job as his assistant, he initially discounts her as far too unqualified and far too female for the job. But the alluring Miss Boxford is more than just an excellent assistant, and there is nothing logical about the way she makes him feel. Still, there is a formula for marriage in the peerage…and marrying a gameskeeper's daughter is not part of the equation. When Colin's father becomes ill, the pressure to take his place in the family - with an appropriate bride and the requisite heirs - mounts. Logically, Kitty is the last woman he should want to marry. But there's nothing logical about love...