Miss Alexi Starlight should be a Diamond of the First Water; she's lovely, kind, polite, the daughter of a princess & a viscount but she is extremely clumsy - stepping a lord's feet during dancing, stumbles for no reason at all. Now she has proven all the gossip about her missteps as she accidently, literally stumbles upon a gentleman & a lady sharing a tryst outside the ballroom she had just escaped from the gossips.
Dillan, Baron Brightmore is a handsome, well-established rake, heavy drinker & after Alexi's stumble got their attention, the lady in his company runs from the scene & escapes in the dark leaving Alexi & a drunk Dillan alone in the garden. That was bad enough but when the hosts of the ball assume she is out having a tryst with Dillan, the newspapers gossip about it in their column & Alexi's father insisting on Dillan marrying his daughter before she is ruined.
Alexi will not be forced to marry, nor does she wish to force Dillan to marry her - she is innocent & will prove it plus she wants to marry for love. Together, she & Dillon agree to investigate the identity of the mysterious lady as Dillan was too foxed to remember & Alexi calls on some very influential friends to help them. The investigation, their friendship & attraction builds & feelings become real. It was a bumpy road, but the mysterious lady is found, friends & family help with society & other obstacles to give the couple their HEA. I voluntarily read & reviewed an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book; all thoughts & opinions are my own.