If You'll Have Me (Paperback or Softback)

A lady desperately seeking freedom. A prosperous younger man. An unexpected connection.

“I loved everything about If You’ll Have Me—the warmth, the charm, the Austen-esque romance and circumstance. It was a joy to read.” —Amy Harmon, New York Times best-selling author

Anna Atwood returns to Breckenridge, where she spent one blissful summer as a young woman. This time, though, she comes to the quaint town as a penniless spinster with a single hope: to build a life free from the constraints her father’s death put on her and free from the persistent suitor Mr. Green, whose plans for marriage are Anna’s worst nightmare. When she runs into David Tate, the boy she knew from that memorable summer, she finds he has grown into a confident and striking man. As they rekindle their friendship, David offers her warmth and protection in the moment she needs it most—when Mr. Green appears in town and threatens to destroy Anna’s carefully laid plans.

David Tate remembers Anna as the spirited woman who once brought light into his dark childhood. Now a man of means, he has a promising future, if he can withstand the powerful Lord Murphy—a man whose menacing hold on the town he owns is surpassed only by his relentless hold on David’s life. When David meets Anna again, he realizes he has a chance to save her from Mr. Green’s schemes, even if it means putting himself in danger of Lord Murphy’s wrath and revealing his own deepest secrets.

In a moment of desperation, David and Anna agree to a proposal of convenience to provide the safety they both need. But as their attraction ignites, the looming dangers from Lord Murphy and Mr. Green threaten to destroy their budding happiness.

Esther Hatch grew up on a cherry orchard in rural Utah. After high school, she alternated living in Russia to teach children English and attending Brigham Young University to earn a degree in archaeology. She began writing when one of her favorite authors invited her to join a critique group. The only catch was she had to be a writer. Not one to be left out of an opportunity to socialize and try something new, Esther started on her first novel that week.