Bookshop Cinderella

Contents
 
 
 Cover
 Copyright
 Dedication
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
 10
 11
 12
 13
 14
 15
 16
 17
 18
 19
 20
 21
 Discover More
 Don't miss...
 About the Author
 
 
 Navigation
 
 
 
 
 
 Table of Contents
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
 Copyright © 2023 by Laura Lee Guhrke
 Cover design by Daniela Medina. Cover art by Anna Kmet. Cover images © Period Images; Shutterstock. Cover copyright © 2023 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
 Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
 The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
 Forever
 Hachette Book Group
 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104read-forever.comtwitter.com/readforeverpub
 First Edition: June 2023
 Forever is an imprint of Grand Central Publishing. The Forever name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
 The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
 The Hachette Speakers Bureau provides a wide range of authors for speaking events. To find out more, go to hachettespeakersbureau.com or email [email protected].
 Forever books may be purchased in bulk for business, educational, or promotional use. For information, please contact your local bookseller or the Hachette Book Group Special Markets Department at [email protected].
 Print interior design by Taylor Navis.
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 Names: Guhrke, Laura Lee, author.
 Title: Bookshop cinderella / Laura Lee Guhrke.
 Description: First Edition. | New York ; Boston : Forever, 2023. | Series: Scandal at The Savoy |
 Identifiers: LCCN 2022057903 | ISBN 9781538722626 (trade paperback) |
 ISBN 9781538722633 (ebook)
 Subjects: LCGFT: Novels. | Romance fiction.
 Classification: LCC PS3557.U3564 B66 2023 | DDC 813/.54--dc23/eng/20221208
 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022057903
 ISBNs: 978-1-5387-2262-6 (trade paperback), 978-1-5387-2263-3 (ebook)
 E3-20230330-DA-NF-ORI
 
 
 
 
 
 
 For the incomparable Sophie Jordan.
 She knows why.
 
 
 
 
 
 Explore book giveaways, sneak peeks, deals, and more.
 Tap here to learn more.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1
 
 London, 1896
 
 Darling Max, just the man I need!”
 Maximillian Shaw didn’t have to turn his head to recognize the owner of the feminine voice murmuring so persuasively in his ear. “Delia? What a delightful surprise.”
 He set aside the newspaper he’d been reading and turned, smiling into the piquant face of his favorite cousin. “Even though it’s clear you’re about to cage a favor.”
 Unrepentant, Delia bestowed a dazzling smile on him. “I’ve gotten myself into a terrible pickle, Max, and I need your help. I realize that asking favors of a duke is the height of impertinence—”
 “As if that’s ever stopped you before,” he cut in wryly.
 Still smiling, she leaned closer, the wide brim of her hat raking over the crown of his head and ruffling his dark hair. “It’s nothing difficult,” she promised and gave his cheek an affectionate pat, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were in the foyer of the Savoy, London’s most luxurious hotel. “A mere trifle.”
 Max knew well the dangers of participating in Delia’s so-called trifles. A year younger than him, she’d been embroiling him in her schemes almost from the moment she learned to walk. “The last time you said something like that,” he said, standing up as she came around to the front of his chair, “I ended up with a bloody nose and a black eye.”
 She waved away his discomfort over the occasion in question with an airy gesture of her hand. “All part of our misspent youth. May I join you?” she added before he could reply, nodding to the empty chair to his right.
 It would never have occurred to Max to object. Doing favors for Delia did tend to land a chap in trouble, but he liked a bit of trouble now and again; and besides, he’d never been able to turn his back on a beauty in distress.
 “I’d be delighted to help, of course. Shall we have tea and talk about it?” he added, gesturing to the Savoy’s famous dining room nearby. “Or would you prefer the American Bar? Frank is probably on duty by now. We could have him mix us some delectable new libations.”
 “Women aren’t allowed in the American Bar,” Delia reminded him, making a face that clearly conveyed her opinion of that particular rule.
 “The bar isn’t open yet, so Frank won’t mind.”
 “Do stop tempting me with these delights. I’ve no time for cocktails or tea. Not today. I’ve only half an hour to get to Charing Cross station or I shall miss my train for Dover.” Despite those words, she sank into the empty chair beside his. “I’m just waiting for my maid and the bellman to bring my luggage down,” she went on, casting a glance past him down the length of the Savoy’s opulent foyer. “Then I’m off to the Continent.”
 “The Continent, eh?” he echoed as he resumed his own seat. “Pleasure or business?”
 “Both, of course. If work didn’t amuse me, I’d never do it.”
 That, Max reflected, was undoubtedly true. After all, it wasn’t as if Delia needed an income. Her third husband had left her an absolute packet when he died. No, she chose to work for her own amusement, though Max was rather at sea as to just what her job entailed. Something for the hotel, reporting to César Ritz himself, with