“I prefer early these days.”
“I will remember that.”
She was almost hopping from one foot to the other in anticipation. Only the long-standing desire to settle things once and for all keeping her from pouncing.
“I hear that you are hiring servants,” he said, smiling. Smiling.
“Yes.” Her smile grew as she looked at him. “Only the most loyal and stubborn.”
“I’m here to apply for a position then.”
“Oh?” She couldn’t help the lift, or the break, in her voice.
“I will likely be the worst, most foul-tempered employee—or husband—you will ever hire, though.”
She smiled and stroked his cheek. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He leaned into the touch, his fingers sliding along the edge of her lips. “I’ve missed your smile. It is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
And he kissed her. Not a farewell kiss, or an evening kiss, or a friendly kiss at all. It was a forever kiss, and it was everything she’d ever wanted.
“And I love you too, Phoebe.”
Twenty years later, Phoebe Merrick still anticipated weekly notes, placed in different spots where she had to hunt to find them. No one had ever said the man was not difficult. But now he always smiled readily and laughed when she chased him down.
The twins were a constant joy. Gregarious and adventurous. Independent Frederica Jane and her cousin Viola were the toast of the new season. James Andrew had soared through Cambridge. A financial wizard, he worked beside his uncle Christian, expanding Pace & Co. of London, Dover, Sussex, York . . . etc.
And every debt had been paid.
Kissing was still Phoebe’s favorite way to do it.
And though he would never admit it under threat of outside torture, it was Andreas’s favorite too.
About the Author
ANNE MALLORY is a lifelong romance reader who sold her first novel to Avon Books after becoming a finalist in RWA’s Golden Heart contest. In Total Surrender is her eleventh book. A native Michigander, Anne currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit her online at www.annemallory.com. She loves hearing from readers, so feel free to drop her a line if you’re there!
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Romances by Anne Mallory
In Total Surrender
One Night Is Never Enough
Seven Secrets of Seduction
For the Earl’s Pleasure
The Bride Price
Three Nights of Sin
What Isabella Desires
The Earl of Her Dreams
The Viscount’s Wicked Ways
Daring the Duke
Masquerading the Marquess
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
IN TOTAL SURRENDER. Copyright © 2011 by Anne Hearn. 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.
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062017314
FIRST EDITION
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