by Lauren Royal
His fingers lingered on her waist a little longer than necessary, and she felt their warmth through her habit. She looked up at him. He looked older than her, but not as old as most of her suitors. He had a wide mouth, the full lower lip perfectly straight across the center bottom edge. She wanted to touch him, just there.
Her eyes locked on his, and her breath caught in her throat.
A crash of thunder rent the air, and big raindrops began pelting to the earth. He jumped back, motioning her to follow him inside.
She should leave. Now. But it was pouring…
The cottage looked more like a well-appointed hunting lodge, warm and cozy and very masculine. He shut the door behind them and wandered to a leather-upholstered couch, throwing his long form onto it with a surprising grace. “Close, aye? Five more minutes, and my hats would have been ruined. I thank you for your help.”
“You’re welcome,” Kendra said from just inside the door where she still stood in a daze. She couldn’t believe she was in a hunting lodge with this dangerous man. It was incredible—and, all of a sudden, incredibly scary. She couldn’t remember ever having been alone with a man, save her brothers. And she didn’t know the first thing about this one—except that he was an outlaw.
The fear must have shown on her face, because he sat straight and waved at the cushion beside him. “You can sit—I don’t bite. You’ll stay till it stops raining, aye?”
“Aye—I mean, yes.” Outlaw or not, she loved the way he talked, the words slow and melodic. Though her heart was pounding, she screwed up her courage and moved to sit gingerly beside him. “I’m Kendra. Kendra Chase.”
“Trick Caldwell.”
“Trick?” she echoed, startled. She turned to him, forgetting for a moment that he was supposed to be frightening. “What kind of a name is Trick?”
“Ah, and that’s a story.” He smiled at her, a wide white smile that seemed to light up the cottage and belie the dreary day. Leaning forward, he reached out a hand and placed it on her wrist, just lightly, but a tingle raced up her arm and throughout her, warming her in the strangest way. Something snapped inside her, and the sense of unreality was gone.
She was here, really here, with the amber highwayman—no, Trick, she corrected herself—alone, and he wasn’t scary at all.
Well, not very.
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ABOUT LAUREN & DEVON ROYAL
LAUREN ROYAL decided to become a writer in the third grade, after winning a “Why My Mother is the Greatest” essay contest. Now she’s a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of humorous historical romance novels. Lauren lives in Southern California with her family and their constantly shedding cat. She still thinks her mother is the greatest.
DEVON ROYAL is the daughter of romance novelist Lauren Royal. After attending film school, she wrote an award-winning TV comedy pilot and spent several years working in digital video production before turning her focus to fiction writing. Devon lives in Southern California with her fiancé. She also thinks her mother is the greatest.
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THE LAIRD’S FAIRYTALE BRIDE by Lauren Royal & Devon Royal
Published by Novelty Books, a division of Novelty Publishers, LLC
205 Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente, CA 92674
COPYRIGHT © Lauren Royal & Devon Royal 2016
ISBN-10: 1-63469-045-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-63469-045-4
5th Edition, July 2017
Cover by Kimberly Killion
Book Design by Typesetter For Mac
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced or transmitted in any manner whatsoever, electronically, in print, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Lauren Royal, Devon Royal, and Novelty Books, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Authors work months or years on their books and need to feed their families, just like you do. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Learn more about the authors and their books at LaurenandDevonRoyal.com.
