The Tribune Temptation

He married her to win the vote. Now, he has to win her heart.

In the cutthroat world of Roman politics, family is everything. Aelius, a freedman turned ambitious politician, knows winning his next election will require a marriage alliance with a powerful patrician family. But finding a woman who will entertain courtship from a freedman is near impossible.

Crispina is the daughter of one of Rome's oldest families, but after failing to give her husband a child, a humiliating divorce sends her back to her parents' restrictive house in shame. All she wants is the freedom to pursue her true passion: a secret venture to educate the children of Rome's poorest.

When Aelius meets Crispina at a dinner party, he knows her powerful family name could secure his victory. Desperate for freedom, Crispina agrees to a marriage of convenience. Prickly one moment and icy the next, Crispina is determined to keep her charming husband at a distance. That is, until Aelius undertakes a campaign to win not just the city's vote, but his wife's heart.

But Crispina has an agenda of her own, and when a political rival leaks her unconventional activities, it sparks a scandal that could cost Aelius the election. Distancing himself from his wayward wife should be easy, but as the election looms, Aelius must decide which victory is truly worth fighting for.