To Please A Lady (The Seduction Series) Page 30

  “James.” Alex sighed. “There is nothing to forgive. We all did what we had to do to survive.”

  “It’s done,” Gideon said gruffly. “It’s in the past. You can’t help it if you’re as dunce as a sheep.”

  James sighed; Alex grinned.

  “Come on,” Gideon said. “I have some investment opportunities that just might make you rich.”

  They started toward their families. The women were already in deep discussion, and Eleanor had been accepted quickly into the fold. She practically glowed. James realized in that moment that everything was going to be all right.

  “No offense, Gideon, but what the hell do you know about investments?”

  “Not me.” He grinned. “My wife. She’s smart as a whip, and has already made Alex quite wealthy.”

  “Lucky bastard,” James said with a grin.

  Alex slapped him on his back. “We are, aren’t we? All of us.”

  James glanced toward the women, meeting Ellie’s gaze. The warmth he felt overwhelmed him. He pressed his hand to his heart, hoping the tightness never faded. “Indeed.”

  Ellie had been right all along, he realized as he settled on the wicker settee next to her. He couldn’t help himself and leaned over to press a quick kiss to her lips. If he hadn’t let go of the bitterness, the betrayal, his anger, he wouldn’t be here now. He wouldn’t have a family. A life. Love.

  Alex and Gideon were not reminders of his past, they were here to remind him of where he had come from and how much he had changed for the better.

  The three of them were a reminder that anything was possible if one believed.

  About the Author

  Photo by One Six Studios, 2009

  As a child, Lori Brighton relished the thought of a life filled with adventure in far-off places. Determined to become an archaeologist, she earned a degree in anthropology—only to discover that digging in the dirt beneath the punishing sun wasn’t much fun. She packed up her love of history and took a job in an air-conditioned museum, yet still her thirst for adventure wasn’t satisfied. And so she began to write, bringing the people in her imagination to life on the printed page. With her debut novel Wild Heart, she finally married her love of history and her thirst for adventure. Today she is the author of more than a half dozen historical romance, paranormal romance, and young adult novels.