by Isobel Carr
Lady Andrena reads (most) people with uncanny ease and communicates with the birds and beasts of her family’s remaining estate. That estate itself holds secrets and seems to protect her family.
Her younger sisters have their own gifts.
And as for Mag Galbraith… Well, let’s just say he has “gifts” of his own that make the sparks fly.
I hope you’ll enjoy THE LAIRD’S CHOICE. Meantime, suas Alba!
www.amandascottauthor.com
From the desk of Dee Davis
Dear Reader,
Sometimes we meet someone and there is an instant connection, that indefinable something that creates sparks between two people. And sometimes that leads almost immediately to a happily ever after. Or at least the path taken seems to be straight and true. But sometimes life intervenes. Mistakes are made, secrets are kept, and that light is extinguished. But we rarely ever forget. That magical moment is too rare to dismiss out of turn, and, if given the right opportunity, it always has the potential to spring back to life again.
That’s the basis of Simon and Jillian’s story. Two people separated by pride and circumstance. Mistakes made that aren’t easily undone. But the two of them have been given a second chance. And this time, just maybe they’ll get it right. Of course to do that, they’ll have to overcome their fears. And they’ll have to find a way to confront their past with honesty and compassion. Easily said—not so easily done. But part of reading romance, I think, is the chance to see that in the end, no matter what has happened, it all can come right again.
And at least as far as I’m concerned, Jillian and Simon deserve their happy ending. It’s just that they’ll have to work together to actually get it.
As always, this book is filled with places that actually exist. I love the Fulton Seaport and have always been fascinated with the helipads along the East River. The buildings along the river that span the FDR highway have always been a pull. How much fun to know that people are whizzing along underneath you as you stare out your window and watch the barges roll by. The brownstone that members of A-Tac use during their investigation is based on a real one near the corner of Sutton Place and 57th Street.
The busy area around Union Square is also one of my favorite hang-outs in the city. And so it seemed appropriate to put Lester’s apartment there. His gallery, too, is based on reality—specifically, the old wrought-iron clad buildings in SoHo. As to the harbor warehouses, while I confess to never having actually been in one, I have passed them several times when out on a boat, and they always intrigue me. So it isn’t surprising that one should show up in a book.
And I must confess to being an avid Yankees fan. So it wasn’t much of a hardship to send the team off to the stadium during a fictional World Series win. I was lucky enough to be there for the ticker-tape parade when they won in 2009. And Boone Logan is indeed a relief pitcher for the Yankees.
I also gave my love of roses to Michael Brecht, deadheading being a very satisfying way to spend a morning. And finally, the train tunnel that the young Jillian and Simon dare to cross in the middle of the night truly does exist, near Hendrix College in Arkansas. (And it was, in fact, great sport to try and make it all the way through!)
Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading Jillian and Simon’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
For insight into both of them, here are some songs I listened to while writing DOUBLE DANGER:
“Stronger,” by Kelly Clarkson
“All the Rowboats,” by Regina Spektor
“Take My Hand,” by Simple Plan
And as always, check out www.deedavis.com for more inside info about my writing and my books.
Happy Reading!
From the desk of Isobel Carr
Dear Reader,
I have an obsession with history. And as a re-enactor, that obsession frequently comes down to a delight in the minutia of day-to-day life and a deep love of true events that seem stranger than fiction. And we all know that real life is stranger than fiction, don’t we?
RIPE FOR SEDUCTION grew out of just such a real-life story. Lady Mary, daughter of the Duke of Argyll, married Edward, Viscount Coke (heir to the Earl of Leicester). It was not a happy marriage. He left her alone on their wedding night, imprisoned her at his family estate, and in the end she refused him his marital rights and went to live with her mother again. Lucky for her, the viscount died three years later when she was twenty-six. And while I can see how wonderful it might be to rewrite that story, letting the viscount live and making him come groveling back, it was not the story that inspired me. No, it was what happened after her husband’s death. Upon returning to town after her mourning period was over, Lady Mary received a most indecent proposal… and the man who made it was fool enough to put it in writing. Lady Mary’s revenge was swift, brutal, and brilliant. I stole it for my heroine, Lady Olivia, who like Lady Mary had suffered a great and public humiliation at the hands of her husband, and who, also like Lady Mary, eventually found herself a widow.
And don’t try finding out just what the poor man did or what Lady Mary’s response was by Googling it. That story isn’t on Wikipedia (though maybe I should add it). You’ll have to come let Roland show you what it means to be RIPE FOR SEDUCTION if you want to find out.
www.isobelcarr.com
Contents
Welcome
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Epilogue
A Preview of Ripe for Pleasure
A Preview of Ripe for Scandal
Also by Isobel Carr
Praise for The League of Second Sons Series
The Dish
Newsletters
Copyright
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2012 by Isobel Carr
Excerpt from Ripe for Pleasure copyright © 2012 by Isobel Carr
Excerpt from Ripe for Scandal copyright © 2012 by Isobel Carr
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Forever
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ISBN 978-1-4555-1055-9
