John Toogood always prided himself on being the perfect gentleman's gentleman: skilled, discreet, and professional. But now he finds himself laid off and blacklisted, stuck in tiny Lively St. Lemeston until he can find a new job. Any job.His instant attraction to his happy-go-lucky maid Sukey Grimes couldn't come at a worse time. Her manners are provincial, her respect for authority nonexistent, and her outdated cleaning methods...well, the less said about them, the better.

Sukey can tell that John's impeccably impassive facade hides a lonely man with a gift for laughter-and kissing. But she also knows he'll leave her sleepy little town behind the moment he gets the chance, and she has no intention of giving him her heart to take with him.

Then John learns that the town vicar needs a butler-but the job is only for a respectable married man. Against both their better judgments, John and Sukey tie the knot. The ring isn't on her finger long before Sukey realizes she underestimated just how vexing being married to the boss can be...