“Not until the day after tomorrow you don’t.” He plopped her down onto his bed. God, he wanted her. He needed her.
Hell. Want and need were words that didn’t suffice for the sensations he felt when he saw her in his bed.
He placed his knee on the edge of the bed to climb in after her.
“Wait!” She sat up suddenly.
“No more,” he ground out.
“No really,” she said, her eyes sparkling.
“Verity, my love, I can’t wait any longer.”
Her eyes softened. “All right, Rory, but promise me that the first thing you’ll do the day after tomorrow is to return what is rightfully mine.”
“You already have my heart. You had it at ‘cheetah.’ ”
She burst out laughing. God how he loved her laugh.
“So you’re not referring to my heart, I take it.”
“No. I want my hat back.”
He still hadn’t quite figured out this particular species known as woman.
She rolled her eyes. “The one you held as blackmail all those years ago under my pine tree.”
His eyes widened in disbelief. “It was you?”
“Of course it was me. Who did you think it was?”
“I didn’t see anyone. It was so hideous, I thought someone had put it out of its misery by leaving it to molder. You know, ashes to ashes and all that.”
“You love my hats.”
“Indeed,” he replied. “I would even die for them.”
It was the last coherent word that was heard by either of the sole occupants of Rutledge Hall for a good long time.
Unless one considers broken phrases, punctuated by pleading and much laughter, as coherent.
Only one thing was certain.
Goodness of spirit proved it triumphed in the end as long as one part charm is mixed with a large pinch of wit, with side helpings of courage and perseverance. It was, indeed, a perfect recipe for happiness.
About the Author
SOPHIA NASH was born in Switzerland and raised in France and the United States, but says her heart resides in Regency England. Her ancestor, an infamous French admiral who traded epic cannon fire with the British Royal Navy, is surely turning in his grave.
Before pursuing her long-held dream of writing, Sophia was an award-winning television producer for a CBS affiliate, a congressional speechwriter, and a nonprofit CEO. She lives in the Washington, D.C., suburbs with her husband and two children.
Sophia’s novels have won twelve national awards, including the prestigious RITA® Award, and two spots on Booklist ’s “Top Ten Romances of the Year.” Readers may contact her via her website: www.sophianash.com.
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Romances by Sophia Nash
THE DUKE DIARIES
THE ART OF DUKE HUNTING
BETWEEN THE DUKE AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
SECRETS OF A SCANDALOUS BRIDE
LOVE WITH THE PERFECT SCOUNDREL
THE KISS
A DANGEROUS BEAUTY
Copyright
THE DUKE DIARIES. Copyright © 2013 by Sophia Nash. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition MARCH 2013 ISBN: 9780062198037
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062022349
FIRST EDITION
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