Catch a Falling Heiress: An American Heiress in London (33 page)
Read Catch a Falling Heiress: An American Heiress in London Online
Authors: Laura Lee Guhrke
“I don’t know anything about running an English estate.”
He smiled. “I’ll be helping you every step of the way. But I don’t think you’ll need much help. You’re such an army general, you’ll have my stewards quaking in their boots within a week. And I’ve no doubt you’ll manage to turn Featherstone Gate—which is a fusty old mausoleum of a house, by the way—into a home. We’ll have half a dozen children, at least, all of whom will no doubt be as stubborn and hardheaded as their mother—”
“I’m hardheaded?” She snorted. “Pot, meet kettle.”
She pulled her hands out of his, and he was sure that despite all his efforts, she was going to turn him down again, but then, her arms slid up around his neck. “You are the most hardheaded man who has ever lived, Jack Featherstone, and if our sons prove to be anything like you, it’ll be a good thing indeed that I’m an army general.”
With those words, joy welled up in his chest, pressing against his heart, but with all the will he had, Jack kept his expression as implacable as possible. “Those sons are damn well going to be legitimate sons, so you’d better marry me.”
“You’re so romantic when you propose marriage,” she murmured. Keeping one arm around his neck, she slid her other hand down to toy with his jacket lapel. “You aren’t really going to carry me up the aisle of the church if I refuse you, are you?”
“Damned right I am. In my best Petruchio fashion.”
Those stunning eyes narrowed a fraction. “Are you calling me a shrew?”
“Not at all,” he said without blinking. “I’m likening our situation to the play, darling. So . . .” He paused, and his arms slid around her. He pulled her close. “Now that I’ve explained everything, declared my love, and proved that I’ve got the means to support you, even if it is through your bastard of a father—are you going to agree to marry me?”
She laughed. “You mean you’re actually going to allow me to decide something for a change?”
“I always let you decide. If you decide wrong, I work to change your mind.”
“Your self-delusion knows no bounds, Jack. And it’s a pretty safe bet if I marry you, our life is going to be full of fights just like this one.”
“Oh, you love fighting with me, and you know it.”
“That’s not true.” She paused and grinned at him. “I like the making-up part much more than the fighting part.”
He laughed. “I believe we’re in complete agreement for once. So now that we’ve mended our quarrel, your consent to my suit had better be forthcoming. Otherwise, I shall drag you behind the rosebushes and employ much naughtier means of persuasion.”
“Oh, very well,” she said, heaving a sigh of long suffering he wasn’t quite sure was exaggerated. “I suppose I must marry you. If I don’t, there’s no telling what outrageous thing you’ll do next.”
“Quite so,” he agreed. “So kiss me, damn it all, for I really don’t want to use force.”
She laughed. “I believe that’s the first time you’ve given me an order I’m willing to obey.” She kissed him then, and quite lusciously, too, but before Jack could contemplate the possibility of a sweet, compliant Linnet, any such notions were dashed.
“Speaking of obeying,” she said, pulling back, “I know marriage vows are written so that the wife promises to obey, but I must warn you, I’m not going to be very good at keeping that part of my vows.”
“Good, because the day you ever start obeying me, Linnet, I shall keel over from the shock,” he said, then hauled her against him, and kissed her before she could reply. Sometimes, a man just had to have the last word.
LAURA LEE GUHRKE
spent seven years in advertising, had a successful catering business, and managed a construction company before she decided writing novels was more fun. A
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author, Laura has penned more than twenty historical romances. Her books have received many award nominations, and she is the recipient of romance fiction’s highest honor: the Romance Writers of America RITA® Award. She lives in the Northwest with her husband (or, as she calls him, her very own romance hero), along with two divacats and a Golden Retriever happy to be their slave. Laura loves hearing from readers, and you can contact her via her website:
www.lauraleeguhrke.com.
www.avonromance.com
www.facebook.com/avonromance
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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.
CATCH A FALLING HEIRESS. Copyright © 2015 by Laura Lee Guhrke. 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 hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition FEBRUARY 2015 ISBN: 9780062334664
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062334657
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