What happens in the ballroom

Jeffries fills Regency London's ballrooms with steamy trysts and scandalous secrets in her sexy second Designing Debutants romance (after A Duke for Diana). When widow Eliza Pierce, who co-owns party planning service Elegant Occasions with her sisters, agrees to help Nathanial Stanton, Earl of Foxstead, launch his mysterious new ward, Jocelin, a single mother, into society, she decides to also use the opportunity to get closer to handsome Nathaniel. Nathanial has always fancied intelligent, mild-mannered Eliza, but her late husband was his best friend, so he's never allowed himself to act on his feelings--until now. Enjoying the independence of widowhood, Eliza has vowed never to remarry, meanwhile Nathanial harbors a secret that keeps him from forming a permanent connection. As the pair embark on a steamy affair, however, they soon realize that they have more than just their bedroom proclivities in common and love grows. The characters' chemistry is strong, and the mystery of Nathanial's connection to Jocelin keeps the pages turning. Jeffries delivers. Agent: Pam Ahern, Ahern Agency. (Apr.)