Stephanie Laurens - The Perfect Lover

“Therein lies the rub.”

“I’m not going to change.”

He looked into her eyes. “I don’t want you to. If you can accept that I’m similiarly unlikely to change, we can go on from there.”

Portia smiled. Theirs would not be the marriage she’d wanted; it would be the marriage she needed. “Despite all prior experience, we’ve managed remarkably well so far. If we try, do you think we could make this last a lifetime?”

“With both of us trying, it’ll last.” He paused, then added, “We have the right reasons, after all.”

“Indubitably.” She drew his lips to hers. “I’m starting to believe that love can indeed conqueror all.”

He paused, their lips separated by a breath. “Even us?”

She made a frustrated sound. “You, me- us . Now kiss me.”

Simon smiled. And did.

He’d reached the end of his journey and found all he’d been seeking; in her arms, he’d found his true goal.

New York Times -bestselling author Stephanie Laurens specializes in writing historical romances set in Regency England. Her first such novel was Captain Jack’s Woman , published by Avon Books in 1977. Ms. Laurens is best known for her long-running, award-winning tales of the ducal Cynster dynasty: Devils’ Bride ; A Rake’s Vow ; Scandal’s Bride ; A Rogue’s Proposal ; A Secret Love ; All About Love ; All About Passion (the story of “honorary Cynster” Gyles Rawlings); the “twin novels,” On a Wild Night & On a Wicked Dawn ; The Perfect Lover ; and The Promise in a Kiss: A Christmas Novel , about the founders of the Cynster dynasty. All these titles are available from PerfectBound e-books. Ms. Laurens is also the author of The Bastion Club novels, commencing with The Lady Chosen and A Gentleman’s Honor in late summer 2003. She resides in a leafy bayside suburb of Melbourne, Australia with her husband and two daughters and their cats, Shakespeare and Marlowe. Please visit www.stephanielaurens.com.