Brenda Joyce - [Francesca Cahill 06] (43 page)

He stared, incredulous. Then, “I don’t think you understand. You have always wanted Rick. In a few months, you can marry him, Francesca. Don’t you see that?”

She was aghast and horrified. “On the altar of Leigh Anne’s grave?” Her feelings for Rick remained strong—he was everything she admired in a man, and everything she had once believed was right for her—but she could never marry him that way. She would always care about him, far too much, she supposed, but in a way, she was glad—she wanted him in her life. But not the way Hart was suggesting. Never the way Hart was suggesting.

he took her hands. “What are you saying to me, Francesca?” he demanded harshly. “What, exactly, does this mean?”

She bit her lip, hard. Her mind sped, spun, gyrated, raced. There was only one coherent thought, one coherent feeling. But Julia’s face appeared there in her mind’s eye,
and she could hear her mother as clearly as if she were in the room.

Do not tell him that you love him, Francesca. Do not say a word until after the wedding, if then!

“I am saying,” she said softly, her heart beating with explosive force, “that everything has changed since we first met, Calder. Our friendship has become as important to me as it is to you. I also agree: we will have a very interesting union—one in which neither of us shall ever be bored.” She smiled up at him. “But eloping is out of the question.”

His grip tightened upon her hands. And Hart, for once, seemed speechless.

“Well?” She managed, smiling tremulously. “Do you not have something cynical and caustic to say?”

He pulled her close, tilted up her chin. “I do not want you to
ever
have regrets.”

She hesitated. “I won’t.”

He studied her closely and slowly began to smile. “Actually, in that department, I might be able to help.”

And she gave in to the giddy delight, the bubbling anticipation. “Help,” she said. “Help all that you want.” She moved into his welcoming arms.

His smile softened and he whispered, pulling her close, “You have become the sunshine in my life, Francesca.”

She jerked back, meeting his gaze, stunned.
“What did you say?”

He pulled her close again and feathered her mouth with soft, heated kisses.

She pushed him away. “Did you just say what I think you said?” she cried, breathless with surprise, and now, delight. In fact, she was thrilled!

He smiled tenderly at her. “I’m afraid I did—and that I may soon live to regret it.”

She laughed. The sound was exultant even to her own ears. Calder Hart had said, quite off the cuff and from the heart, she was certain, that she had become the sunshine in his life. How romantic was that?

He reeled her closer. “Darling, do not gloat.”

“Ha,” she chuckled in glee. “Ha! I am the sunshine in your life!”

He rolled his navy blue and gold-flecked eyes. “Ladies do not gloat.”

“This lady does,” she said, seizing the lapels of his jacket. She was ready for his lovemaking now. “Kiss me, Hart. Kiss me while I am gloating.”

He smiled and did just that.

Experience love at its most dangerous,
and pleasure at its deadliest
.

The FRANCESCA CAHILL Novels

DEADLY LOVE

DEADLY PLEASURE

DEADLY AFFAIRS

DEADLY DESIRE

New York Times
Bestselling Author

BRENDA JOYCE

Brenda Joyce has enthralled millions of readers with her
New York Times
bestselling novels. Now, join us in the next chapter of her unforgettable storytelling: the Francesca Cahill novels. Travel back in time to turn-of-the-century New York City, where a metropolis booming with life also masks a dark world of danger, death, and daring desire . . .

“Joyce excels at creating twists and turns in her characters’ personal lives.” —
Publishers Weekly

“Joyce carefully crafted a wonderful mystery with twists and turns and red herrings galore, then added two marvelous, witty protagonists who will appeal to romance readers...Add to this a charming cast of secondary characters and a meticulously researched picture of society life in the early 1900s. I can hardly wait to see what Francesca and Rick will be up to next.” —
Romantic Times

“A delight!”—
Reader to Reader

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C
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has no idea that her world is about to be shattered: at the conclusion of her husband’s fortieth birthday party, he is found murdered, his throat cut with a WWII thumb knife. He has no enemies, no one seeking revenge, no one who would want him dead. But the mysterious ian marshall, an acquaintance of her husband’s, seems to know something. Because someone has been killing this way for decades. Someone whose crimes go back to WWII. Someone who has been a hunter . . . and the hunted. As claire and ian team up to find the killer, they can no longer deny the powerful feelings they have for one another. Then ian makes a shocking revelation: The murderer may be someone close to her . . .

“Joyce excels at creating twists and turns
in her characters’ personal lives.”
—Publishers Weekly

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