The Flowering Year — Iris Bromige

On New Year's Day, Nicola's mother wished her "a happy, flowering year". Though the first day of it produced nothing but thistles from her meeting with Garth Courtney, as the months went by they began to blossom in a quite unexpected manner.

From their first meeting, when Garth Courtney had nearly run Nicola down in the lane, their relationship seemed fated to be a stormy one. Until Garth moved into the house next door, Nicola had always run her dog-breeding business in the paddock. But when Garth arrived at Wood Rising, he refused to rent her the land. Her small enterprise was at an end, and her quiet but happy life was rudely shattered.

But that wasn't the last time that Nicola was to cross swords with her impossible neighbor. When she found work at a nearby horticultural station, there was the wretched man again -- none other than Director of the place! And giving her orders in his usual peremptory way! It was clear to Nicola that Garth Courtney was a complete male chauvinist. But as the year went one, she found to her horror that her feelings towards him were slowly changing. Surely she couldn't be falling in love with a man who so obviously despised her?