But you, Chase and Mattie, have paid more than enough. My beautiful children. I couldn’t be more proud of either one of you. I wish I’d been man enough to let you know that when it mattered the most.
Live. Love. Let the past lie where it should.
Be happy. I know you’ll be better—you already are.
Dad
And when they finally emerged from the study, Chase felt like a different man. Weightless. Washed clean. He’d told Mattie everything he knew. They’d talked about their memories, their guilt. Their shared dismay over the distance in their relationship. Mattie wasn’t the only one to grow a bit misty-eyed.
As they walked down the great stairs of Greenleigh together, Chase was sure he could feel all the usual ghosts around them. But this time, there was nothing but joy. And, finally, hope.
A great, bright future instead of the terrible past.
As they walked into the kitchens, they could see Zara sitting up on one of the counters, talking with great animation to Nicodemus, who looked as ferocious as ever, even as he listened closely to whatever it was she was saying. Zara waved her hands about, the light catching the rings she wore on her left hand—two that Chase had put there the day he’d married her, and the pretty band of yellow diamonds that reminded him of her eyes when she was happy, that he’d put there a month later. When he’d been able to admit he was in love with her.
Mattie laughed beside him, a sound that reminded him of the happy girl she’d been the last time he’d heard it. “What do you think they’re talking about?”
“With Zara?” Chase grinned as Zara looked over and caught his eye, and her broad smile was still like sunshine, even inside. Even when she taught him every day how deeply he could love, and how fiercely she could love in return. How beautiful all of this was, if they were together. “It could be anything. Let’s hope it’s not the story of her bloody lost kitten.”
Because that particular story was his.
And the truth was, Chase really had been terrified of the one thing he’d wanted most, and Zara had saved him, too.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from CHRISTMAS IN DA CONTI'S BED by Sharon Kendrick.
Ten years ago one devastating night changed everything for Austin, Hunter and Alex. Now they must each play their part in the revenge against the one man who ruined it all.
Austin Treffen has the plan… Hunter has the money… Alex has the power!
Read each of their stories in the captivating Fifth Avenue trilogy,
only from Harlequin Presents:
Avenge Me by Maisey Yates (June 2014)
Scandalize Me by Caitlin Crews (July 2014)
Expose Me by Kate Hewitt (August 2014)
And don’t miss the Fifth Avenue prequel that started it all, Take Me, by Maisey Yates!
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SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM
Sharon Kendrick brings you another spectacular book, full of passion, excitement and secrets!
Read on for an extract from CHRISTMAS IN DA CONTI’S BED…
* * *
ONE DANCE and it will all be over.
Alannah tried to relax as they began to move in time with the music and for a while they said nothing. But it wasn’t easy to pretend that it meant nothing to be wrapped in Niccolò’s arms again. Actually, it was close to impossible. His body was so hard and his arms were so strong. His unique scent of sandalwood and raw masculinity seemed to call out to something deep inside her—to touch her on a subliminal level, which no one else had even come close to. She could hear the thunder of her heart as he lowered his head to her ear, and even his voice seemed to flood over her like velvety-dark chocolate.
“Enjoying yourself?” he said.
“Not with…” Her words trailed off, because now he had moved his hands upward and his fingers were spanning her back. She could feel their imprint burning through the delicate material of her dress and her throat constricted.
“With what?”
“You’re holding me too tightly,” she croaked.
“I’m barely holding you at all.”
“You are a master of misinterpretation.”
“I am a master of many things,” came the silken boast, “but misinterpretation wouldn’t have been top of my list.”
She looked up from where she had been staring resolutely at his black tie and forced herself to meet the mocking light in his eyes.
“I don’t understand what it is you want,” she said. “Why you’re dancing with me. Taunting me. Trying to get underneath my skin. Especially when you don’t even like me—and the feeling is mutual.”
He pulled her closer. “But not liking doesn’t stop us wanting, does it, Alannah? Desire doesn’t require affection in order to flourish. On the contrary, sometimes it works better without it. Don’t you find that, mia tentatrice?” He stroked a reflective finger along her waist. “That sex can be so much more exciting when there is a frisson of animosity between a man and a woman?”
* * *
Find out what happens next in CHRISTMAS IN DA CONTI’S BED December 2014
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Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books, S.A.
ISBN-13: 9781460343524
His for Revenge
Copyright © 2014 by Caitlin Crews
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His for Revenge Page 18
