Series: The Cheshire Set #3
Publication date: November 6th, 2025
Synopsis:
Building an impossible tea farm in the Cheshire countryside was Sofia's second chance. A way to prove herself. A fresh start. She knew it would be graft. She anticipated a degree of isolation. But with Christmas imminent and the farm failing, her thoughts have grown darker. She's searching for something--an ineffable force to make this year the magical wonderland she always craves and never finds.
Yet with the farm failing there's no time to fix her ailing social life. Sofia resigns herself to another lonely holiday.
Enter Matt.
Delaware Grange's twenty-one-year-old assistant gamekeeper. Nice enough, a bit dopey.
As she hunkers down for winder, Sofia thinks she's prepared for everything. Nothing could prepare her for Matt. For the abrupt awareness of him. For the way he's far more capable than he seems. Thoughtful. Considerate. Quietly intelligent.
Way sexier than he appears.
Suddenly impossible to ignore.
But Matt isn't what he seems. A darkness runs beneath Delaware Grange--insidious, creeping, buried deep.
Sofia was little more than a challenge, a box for Matt to check, an assignment to complete. Until he fell.
Hard.
Now all he sees is her. All he wants is her. And all he knows is she has no idea who he truly is. While Sofia fights her feelings in the face of forbidden fruit, and Matt wrestles with the reality of his true purpose on the estate, the pair fall into an intoxicating, passionate, volatile romance.
As winter deepens and Christmas closes in, two lonely souls struggle to find peace in each other, and trust becomes the most dangerous choice on the estate.
Falling for Matt threatens everything Sofia has worked so hard to build. Falling for Sofia might just be the making of Matt.
That Boy is a high-heat, secret-identity romance where desire, deception, and devotion collide in a snowy small-town Christmas.
While not required, it is highly suggested to read Nightshade before That Boy.
Author's Note: Each novel in The Cheshire Set can be read as a standalone, but the following order avoids spoiling the reading experience of earlier books.
Recommended Reading Order for The Cheshire Set:
1. Bane
2. Nightshade
3. That Boy
Eve Was Framed, a prequel novella to Bane, isn't strictly part of The Cheshire Set but is available for free download on the author's website.
Available at:
Excerpt
She stood in the open garage doorway, glaring at her sling. Like a feral little tiger kitten, realizing its legs weren't long enough to keep pace with mama yet. Sofia's blonde hair fell loosely around her face, the shaggy cut messier on her right side. Still slightly damp.
I guess styling left-handed isn't so easy.
She looked up as she realized someone had pulled onto her drive. The frown deepened, blue eyes narrowing.
"Christ, Van. I don't need a babysitter, I--"
I slid out of the truck.
"Oh. It's you."
"Nice to see you, too."
"I didn't mean... why are you in Evander's truck?"
"I don't have one of my own."
She rolled her eyes.
She tried again. "Why are you here?"
"Figured you'd need a lift."
"I'm fine." The eyes narrowed.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Think you can drive one-handed?"
She huffed. "I was about to take this--" she shook her arm savagely "--off."
"That would be unwise."
She glowered.
I snorted a laugh. "You're so cute when you're angry."
"Fuck off."
I raised an eyebrow. "We are sassy this morning."
"I mean it, Matthew--"
"Oof!" I clutched my heart dramatically at the full naming.
"I will cut you if you try to manage me."
"Adorable." I smirked. "Get in the truck."
"I can drive myse--"
"Woman, I will pick you up and throw your arse in the back if you do not get in."
That shut her up.
Her eyes widened. A deep flush crept up her neck, into her face. And I had a sneaking suspicion she was tempted to refuse. Just to see if I'd do it. Just to find out what would happen next.
She grabbed her bag. Slammed her car door shut with a bump from one hip, and stomped to the passenger side of Evander's truck. As she awkwardly climbed up and pulled the door shut, I slid back into my own seat.
"Good girl."
"Eat me."
"With relish."
A sidelong glance told me that had made her blush even more.
She looked away, suddenly fascinated by the passing scenery of Upper Hollow's quaintly quiet streets.
BRIAR BLACK has been a professional copywriter for many years (far more than she cares to admit). She began her career working for large companies and agencies before realizing she could do it all for herself. Now, she happily writes for businesses and entrepreneurs she's passionate about and dreams of the day her fiction becomes popular enough for her to retreat into fictional worlds full-time. Growing up in Cheshire and falling in love with its countryside, small towns, and villages, she's enjoyed creating a fictional world that reflects her own.
