Lynne Graham Books -

“Yes.” He kissed her forehead. Then her mouth. Gentle, then fierce, then desperate. “Marry me again. For real this time. No debt. No blackmail. Just us and a greenhouse by the sea.”

He helped her up, kissed the dirt from her cheek, and whispered against her ear: “I would have burned the world down to find you again.”

“She has your stubbornness,” Lily shot back. lynne graham books

“Perhaps.” He moved closer, and the scent of cedar and power overwhelmed her. “My father is dying. His one demand before he goes is to see me settled. Respectable. Married to a woman of… humble virtue.” His mouth curved without warmth. “You fit the bill perfectly. Six months. A contract. In return, I erase your father’s debt and give you the shop free and clear.”

“You’re late,” she said flatly, because her heart was already splintering again just looking at him. “The funeral was three months ago.” “Yes

“Rio—”

Lily’s eyes burned. “Then why marry me now? Revenge?” “Marry me again

“And if I say no?”

Lily Hart stood in the doorway of her tiny, rain-streaked flat, clutching a wilting bouquet of peonies she’d been trying to revive for a wedding order. The man in front of her hadn’t aged a day in five years. Same sculpted cheekbones. Same eyes the color of a stormy Aegean Sea. Same mouth that had once whispered forever against her throat before he’d vanished without a trace.