by Nika Rhone
The sight had her shaking her head. After all the horrible things she’d thought about him, it turned out the only thing Roman was guilty of was a severe case of being Felicity’s nephew. Felix had broken his own anti-nepotism rule, and it had come back to bite him in the butt when Roman—or rather, Roger—proved to be a lot less experienced in the art world than he led his aunt and uncle to believe.
But for as much as he sucked at being an art dealer, Roman was outstanding as the Landis Gallery’s new receptionist. Go figure.
Thea hip-bumped her out of her thoughts. “What?”
“Just…I still can’t quite wrap my head around it all. This is my dream. And…it’s almost perfect.”
“Only almost?”
She shrugged. “I know it’s tough for Mellie to get away when school’s in session.” Not to mention the fact that Boulder held some pretty awful memories for her. Their friend had only been back to visit a handful of times in the year and change since she moved to South Dakota. “It would have been the icing on my cake if she could have been here.”
Thea’s lips curved into a sly grin. “Would that be vanilla or chocolate icing?”
“Huh?” Confused, Lillian turned to see what Thea was looking at behind her and squealed like a little girl. “Mellie!” She hugged the woman who, like Lillian and Thea, was wearing one of Des’s original dresses, which told her louder than words she’d been the only one in their little circle kept in the dark. “I can’t believe you made it! What about school? And the ranch?”
“Like I’d miss your very first show.” Amelia rolled her eyes as she pulled back from the hug to make room for her boyfriend, who gave both women a quick, uncomfortable cheek-kiss hello.
“Congratulations, Lillian.”
“Thanks, Daryl. And thank you for driving Mellie all the way down here.”
True to form, the tall former bodyguard gave a laconic shrug. But it was obvious from the look he gave Amelia he’d move heaven and earth if it would make her happy. Lillian felt a tug in her chest. After a lifetime of crappiness, Amelia deserved that kind of love. Proof that money absolutely could not buy happiness.
“The guys are over by the bar,” Thea told him.
Lillian almost laughed at the relief that crossed his face as he excused himself. Turning her attention back to Amelia, she said, “You look amazing, Mellie. Life in Hayseed looks like it agrees with you.” It was no lie. No longer dangerously thin and popping antacids like they were candy, the form-fitting dress emphasized her health and fitness. The sun had put streaks in her long blonde hair, and toasted her once-translucent complexion a healthy golden hue. But it was the happiness that radiated from the inside that showed the most change in her life. That and…
“Holy shit.” Sucking in a breath, Lillian grabbed up Amelia’s left hand and stared at the diamond ring sparkling there. “You finally said yes!”
“I finally said yes.” Amelia’s grin was almost wider than her face as first Lillian, then Thea, hugged her.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Thea asked.
“I didn’t want to take away from Lillian’s big day. But I also didn’t want to take it off, even for one night,” she added, sounding sheepish.
“Don’t be silly! I wouldn’t want you to take it off for even one second. And you putting that poor man out of his misery in no way takes from my day. It only adds to it.”
“Thank God.”
Flagging down one of the waiters, Thea grabbed them each a glass of champagne. She tipped hers forward in a toast. “To Lil and her triumphant debut.”
After they drank, Lillian raised her glass. “To us. The Royal Court. The three girls everyone said would never be friends, but look at us now. I can’t imagine being closer to blood sisters than I am to you two. We’ve seen each other at our best, and our worst, and everything in between. We’ve followed our dreams, and our hearts, and they’ve led us here, to this moment.” She had to pause and clear her throat. “Despite everything we had to go through to get here, the Lady, the Princess, and the Queen have finally gotten their fairytale endings.”
“And their princes,” Amelia added, making them all laugh.
“And their princes,” Lillian agreed. “So, here’s to the fairytale.” They touched glasses. “May we all get our happily-ever-afters.”
And, like in all good fairytales, they did.
A word about the author…
Nika Rhone spent her childhood wearing out library cards as she read her way through the extraordinary worlds far beyond her small hometown on Long Island, New York. By her teens, her imagination was taking her places all on its own, forcing her to learn how to type (badly) so she could get all the stories down on paper. After a long love affair with science fiction and fantasy, she finally discovered romance, fell head-over-heels, and now spends her days crafting happily-ever-afters for the characters who still tell their stories faster (and better) than she can type them.
http://NikaRhone.com
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Author’s note:
I can’t tell you how much fun I’ve had bringing you Thea, Amelia, and Lillian’s stories. I hope you’ve enjoyed them as much as I did. But even as this series comes to a close, I can’t help but think about those Beaumont brothers, and what kind of women it will take to finally bring them to heel. I guess we’ll have to find out…
A million thanks to everyone who helped me with this series. Thank you to the great team at Wild Rose Press for giving my bodyguards a home and making each book special. Gracias to my sister-in-law, Liz, who helped to keep me from mangling Rafe’s Spanish too badly. All mistakes are entirely my own. But most of all, thank you to my husband, Dan, who saw the dream in my heart and gave me the love and encouragement to chase it. Te adoro, mi amor.
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