Stephanie Laurens: It Happened One Night Anthology

When she was settled beside him, he kissed her softly on the mouth. “No looking back, Willie.”

“No looking back.”

“I mean it.”

“I know.”

“Say it again.”

“No looking back.”

He took her in his arms and kissed her more thoroughly. “I’m proud of you, my girl. I knew you could not be so hen-hearted. You always had spunk.” He smiled so broadly, he thought his face might crack. “Dear God, I am surely the happiest man alive! I love you, Wilma Jepp. I always have. And I always will. I’m hoping you love me a little, too.”

“More than a little.”

He grinned like an imbecile at her words. “I don’t care that it took almost twenty-five years to finish what we started in your father’s hayloft. It was worth the wait. But from this moment on, it’s full speed ahead.”

“Then what are you waiting for, Captain? Let’s get this pitiful excuse for a carriage to Town and start that new scandal you were talking about.”

Sam threw back his head and laughed with pure joy, gave the horses their heads, and set sail for London and a new life with the only woman he’d ever truly loved.

CANDICE HERNhas always enjoyed escaping into the history and literature of Regency England. After years of rereading the novels of Jane Austen and other women of the period, she by chance discovered the great Georgette Heyer-and all her contemporary stepchildren-and was instantly hooked.

Candice lives in San Francisco in a house cluttered with African violets, orchids, Regency-period antiques, and mountains of reference books. She loves to hear from readers. Contact her via email at candiceh@candicehern.com, or the old-fashioned way at PO Box 31499, San Francisco, California 94131. Please visit her website at www.candicehern.com.

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This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT. “The Fall of Rogue Gerrard” Copyright © 2008 by Savdek Management Proprietory Ltd. “Spellbound” copyright © 2008 by Mary Balogh. “Only You” copyright © 2008 by Jacquie D’Alessandro. “From This Moment On” copyright © 2008 by Candice Hern. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, 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.

Mobipocket Reader August 2008 ISBN 978-0-06-170820-6