“Even if it means I am not quite the material pioneer women were made of?”
“Does that still rankle?”
“Not really, since I might never have known you had ever thought so highly of me if it hadn’t come out when you were angry.”
“I would have told you sometime. I will tell you now that it is truer this minute than it ever was. You not only have the qualities I mentioned before, you have shown that you are willing to fight for what you believe in. That is something any pioneer woman worth her salt would certainly have needed. There is only one other virtue I wish you had.”
Clare tilted her head, a steady inquiry in her gray eyes. “What is that?”
“The generosity to go on loving, despite the hurt I have given you.”
“Oh, Logan,” she said, a catch in her voice as she met his eyes, seeing in their dark blue depths the reflection of his remorse and the promise of a recompense of love. “I do love you.”
He caught her close once more, the breath swelling in his chest. “Don’t ever leave me again,” he said. “Stay with me always, as my wife.”
Clare closed her eyes, letting her head rest on his shoulder. “The publicity will be terrible,” she murmured, a trace of real horror in her voice.
“I can stand it, if you can.”
“I suppose I will have to.”
His arms tightened and he smoothed the soft silk of her hair that spilled down her back. “Of course, if you would prefer to write your own, I still might be persuaded to grant that interview.”
Clare drew back to look at him. “Would you really let me do that?”
“If it is what you want.”
There was a radiant smile in her eyes as she lifted her hands to clasp them behind his neck. “I think,” she said slowly, “that there are other benefits to being your wife that I would enjoy more. All in all, I would rather live our life together than write about it.”
The look in his eyes was warm with love. His reply, though unspoken, was more than satisfactory. As they stood close together under the trees, the winter sun dropped lower, tinting the clouds in the west with rose and shedding a soft pink light over the blue-shadowed snow. They did not see it.
About the Author
Since publishing her first book at age twenty-seven, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Blake has gone on to write over sixty-five historical and contemporary novels in multiple genres. She brings the story-telling power and seductive passion of the South to her stories, reflecting her eighth-generation Louisiana heritage. Jennifer lives with her husband in northern Louisiana.
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To find out more about Jennifer’s books, see the Steel Magnolia Press website at www.steelmagnoliapress.com.
Purchase Steel Magnolia Press ebooks direct from Amazon.com at: http://smarturl.it/smp.
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Subscribe to Fresh Leaves, the Steel Magnolia Press newsletter, to be notified of new releases and subscriber-only specials: http://eepurl.com/gCgrX.
(You can also subscribe from the Steel Magnolia Press website.)
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Jennifer would love to hear from you! Other places to connect with her:
Website: www.JenniferBlake.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.blake.3914
Twitter: @JenniferBlake01
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If you enjoyed this work, please leave a review to help other readers decide if it’s a story they too would like to read. A couple of sentences are all you need to write. Thank you!
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Much of Jennifer’s backlist — historical and contemporary — is still available in print and/or digital format.
Browse all the Steel Magnolia Press ebooks at Amazon’s Steel Magnolia Press display site:
http://smarturl.it/smp
Note: if you’re browsing from a UK-based device, the url above will take you to the Amazon UK store. Everyone else will be directed to Amazon.com.
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HISTORICAL ROMANCE
THE LOVE AND ADVENTURE COLLECTION
The LOUISIANA PLANTATION COLLECTION
The LOUISIANA HISTORY COLLECTION
THE ROYAL PRINCES OF RUTHENIA
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CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
THE ITALIAN BILLIONAIRES COLLECTION
Jennifer’s brand-new contemporary romance is an Amazon Top 100 bestseller, with over 50,000 copies downloaded in its first 2 weeks.
SWEETLY CONTEMPORARY COLLECTION
And look for 5 of Jennifer’s most popular backlist Contemporary Romances to be released for the Kindle in early January 2013.
http://smarturl.it/smp
Table of Contents
CAPTIVE KISSES
BEGINNING
MID-POINT
LOVE AT SEA
BEGINNING
MID-POINT
SNOWBOUND HEART
BEGINNING
MID-POINT
ABOUT JENNIFER BLAKE
Sweetly Contemporary Collection - Part 2 (Sweetly Contemporary Boxed Sets) Page 51
