Raleigh Beaumont has spent his entire life preparing to run the Texas ranch that has been in his late mother's family for generations, so it comes as a shock when his father passes away and leaves the ranch to his second wife, Raleigh's (wicked) stepmother Twila, instead of him. Twila has no interest in running a ranch, so she accepts a buyout offer from developers to fund her designer lifestyle in Dallas. Realizing that he needs to get away from the situation, Raleigh's best friend Zeke takes him to Las Vegas, where he meets a mysterious woman who, after hearing his tale, invites him to a private poker game. He's not sure if he should accept, but curiosity gets the better of him. Later that evening, Raleigh is stunned to find himself the new Baron of Lochmara, an estate in Scotland.
Meanwhile, Kyla MacKean has been busy preparing her family's estate, Ardinmuir, for her brother's upcoming wedding, which she hopes will establish them as a premier Highlands wedding destination. Her plans are threatened when the bride, Afton Lennox, runs away a week before the wedding. They soon learn that Afton lost her ancestral estate, Lochmara, in a poker game and the new owner has arrived to claim his prize. In order to keep it, Raleigh will have to fulfill the terms of an ancient marriage pact by taking Kyla as his bride. With ownership of Ardinmuir on the line as well, Kyla agrees to a one-year marriage of convenience; after that, she and Raleigh will divorce, having satisfied the terms of the pact. But a year is a long time, and when all is said and done, Kyla and Raleigh may just find that their feelings for each other are more than mere convenience.
I completely adored this story! We're only two weeks into January and I'm pretty sure it's going to end up being one of my favorite books of the year. After the initial fireworks when they first met, I liked that Kyla and Raleigh became friends and partners as they worked to save both of their estates. The romance that blossomed between them was kind of sneaky and unexpected, but it made perfect sense given their mutual interest in preserving the land and heritage. They supported each other and their ideas, which was particularly important for Kyla because she felt as if she'd carried the burden of her family's legacy alone for so long. For her, it was refreshing and gratifying to find someone willing to help her.
I highly recommend "Cowboy in a Kilt" for all contemporary romance fans and can't wait to get my hands on the next book of the series.
*Review copy provided by the author via Wildfire Marketing Solutions. All opinions expressed are my own.
About "Cowboy in a Kilt"
A cowboy without a home
Robbed of the family ranch that should have been his legacy, Raleigh Beaumont is a man with no roots and no purpose. When a friend drags him to Vegas, he figures he’s got nothing to lose. But after a hell of a lot of whiskey and a high stakes poker game with a beautiful stranger, he finds himself the alleged owner of a barony in Scotland.
An heiress with a crumbling heritage
When her brother’s bride disappears just days before the wedding that’s meant to save their ancestral home from the mad marriage pact that’s held their family captive for generations, Kyla McKean believes they’ve been granted a reprieve. Until she finds out about the new, single—male—owner of Lochmara and knows she’s next on the chopping block or ownership of both their estates reverts to the crown.
A modern answer to a three-hundred-year-old problem
Raleigh’s lost his land once. He’s not about to lose it again. Not even because of some lunatic pact made centuries before he was born. Kyla’s desperate to save Ardinmuir. She agrees to marry him on one condition: They wed for one year to satisfy the pact, then get a quick and quiet divorce. There’s no stipulation against it, and they’ll both get what they want.
But this displaced Texan and his fiery bride are about to find so much more than they bargained for.
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