Kuchizuke No Yukue / Original Title: WINTER ROSES (Harlequin SP Bunko HQSP-276 Texas No Koi 35)

[Machine Translation] Ivy, who has been pushed around by her older sister since she was a child, has lost her late father's inheritance to her sister and is in dire straits. Her best friend, Mary, is her rock. One day, when Ivy stays at Mary's house with her brother, she runs into Stuart in the bathroom in the middle of the night. Ivy didn't like him. He makes her heart ache when he is around her. He thinks that Ivy is just as wild and playful as her sister and treats her harshly, but for some reason, that night was different. He looked at Ivy with a puzzling gaze and suddenly kissed her.

幼いときから姉に振りまわされてきたアイヴィは、亡き父の遺産も姉に奪われ、困窮していた。そんな彼女の心の拠りどころは、親友のメリー。ある日メリーが兄と住む家に泊まったアイヴィは、真夜中のバスルームで、スチュアートと鉢合わせてしまう。アイヴィは彼が苦手だった。そばにいると胸が苦しくなるから。彼はアイヴィが姉と同じ奔放で遊び好きだと思いこみ、辛辣な態度で接してくるのだが、なぜかその夜は違った。不可解なまなざしでアイヴィを見つめ、突然、キスをしたのだ。