Royal Marriage Market (40 page)

There’s that erotic laughter of hers. “You’re not going anywhere, Chris.”

“Excellent. Now that we’ve got that settled—”

“Oh, it is far from settled.” Determination fills her eyes. “Come hell or high water, I refuse to allow you abdicate. If we have to be the ones to drag the MC into the twenty-first century kicking or screaming, then that’s exactly what we’ll do. You and I should not have to choose between love and duty. Tradition be damned. There is room for both. Why couldn’t we jointly rule both countries?”

I also love her optimism. Actually, I love everything about this woman.

I love
her
.

I take a deep breath and tell her what I’ve thought about for weeks now. “Until then, I have a first to put on the table for discussion.”

“Oh?”

My hands curl around her waist. “Let’s run amuck and cavort together from here on out.”

Her eyes widen significantly as she takes in my meaning. “You really are bloody Prince Charming, aren’t you?”

“No,” I tell her. “I’m just Chris, a guy who happens to be ridiculously in love with a girl named Els.” Because that’s what it all comes down to, really. Crowns and thrones and obligations matter, yes.

But so does this.

She asks me softly, “All the best agreements are sealed with a kiss, right?”

The corners of my lips tug upward at the memory. “Oh, absolutely.”

In a kitchen eight thousand miles away from the one we shared our first kiss in, my mouth touches hers in sweet promise. We meet in the middle of that bridge we’ve searched for for months, and then we cross to the other side.

And then, after much kissing and the opening of a celebratory bottle of champagne, we finally share a first of apple pie, just like all good PIN members of the RFC should do when they’ve agreed to spend their lives together.

New traditions, I’m learning, can sometimes be even better than the old.

Acknowledgements

As someone who normally thrives in fantasy worlds while writing, I wrote
Royal Marriage Market
as a challenge to myself. I wanted to create a book that had no magic, no fantastical worlds. Only, the deeper I got into the story, the more I realized RMM
does
have a fantastical world (anyone who has been to the immensely gorgeous Hearst Castle will agree), and there is plenty of magic, too—only this time, it’s the real kind.

I want to thank my wonderful agent and editor Suzie Townsend for her love and guidance for this story. Gratitude also goes out to Danielle Barthel and Jackie Lindert for their work on the book, my lovely publicist KP Simmon, and Daniela Conde Padrón for the beautiful cover.

Obviously, I must issue a huge shout out to Hearst Castle, as it’s virtually its own character in the story. I spent several delightful days there in 2014 doing research, and I could not love the place more. Thanks to all the staff for putting up with my tons of questions!

Vilma Gonzalez, Andrea Johnston, Tricia Santos, Jessica Mangicaro, and Cristina Suárez-Muñoz, please know I deeply appreciative for all the time, feedback, and care you gave Elsa and Christian’s story.

To the fab members of my street team, the Lyons Pride, your support means so much. (in alphabetical order) Alexandra, Amy, Ana, Andi, Andrea, Ashley, Ashley, Autumn, Brandi, Bridget, Candy, Carine, Cherisse, Christina Marie, Courtney, Cynthia, Daniela, Ethan, Eunice, Evelyn, Gina, Ivey, Jenn, Jenni, Jennifer, Jennifer, Jessica, Jessica, Jessica, Jessica, JL, JoAnna, Kate, Kathryn, Kelli, Kelly, Keri, Kiersten, Kristina, Lauren, Leigha, Lindsey, Lissa, Maria, Martina, Melissa, Meredith, Natalie, Nicole, Nikki, Peggy, Rachel, Rebecca, Samantha, Sheena, Tina Lynne, Tracy, Tricia, Vilma, Whitney, Yvonne, and all the rest . . . you rock. Hugs to you all.

Jon, you are my true Prince Charming. Thank you for believing in me. Love and gratitude are also sent out to my children and family for all their support, and for sharing me with my computer. You all mean the world to me.

Also by Heather Lyons

“Each of us here has a story, but it may not be the one you think you know . . .”

"The
most unique, fascinating, wondrous book
I've read in a very long time! I was glued to every page."

-Shelly Crane, New York Times bestselling author

From the author of the Fate series and The Deep End of the Sea comes a fantastical romantic adventure that has Alice tumbling down the strangest rabbit hole yet.

After years in Wonderland, Alice has returned to England as an adult, desperate to reclaim sanity and control over her life. An enigmatic gentleman with an intriguing job offer too tempting to resist changes her plans for a calm existence, though. Soon, she’s whisked to New York and initiated into the Collectors’ Society, a secret organization whose members confirm that famous stories are anything but straightforward and that what she knows about the world is only a fraction of the truth.

It’s there she discovers villains are afoot—ones who want to shelve the lives of countless beings. Assigned to work with the mysterious and alluring Finn, Alice and the rest of the Collectors’ Society race against a doomsday clock in order to prevent further destruction . . . but will they make it before all their endings are erased?

The series continues with . . .

"
This is not a series for fantasy lovers or new adult lovers.

This is a series for
all book lovers
."

-Book Briefs

Sometimes, the rabbit hole is deeper than expected . . .

Alice Reeve and Finn Van Brunt have tumbled into a life of secrets. Some secrets they share, such as their employment by the clandestine organization known as The Collectors' Society. Other secrets they carry within them, fighting to keep buried the things that could change everything they think they know.

On the hunt for an elusive villain who is hell-bent on destroying legacies, Alice, Finn, and the rest of the Society are desperate to unravel the mysteries surrounding them. But the farther they spiral down this rabbit hole, the deeper they fall into secrets that will test their loyalties and pit them against enemies both new and old.

Secrets, they come to find, can reveal the deadliest of truths.

“If I could give a book
a million golden stars
, it would be this one.”


-Typical Distractions

After years spent in Wonderland, Alice Reeve learned the impossible was quite possible after all. She thought she left such fantastical realities behind when she finally returned to England.

Now Alice has become a member of the clandestine Collectors’ Society, and the impossible has found her again in the form of an elusive villain set on erasing entire worlds. As she and the rest of the Society race to bring this mysterious murderer to justice, the fight becomes painfully personal.

Lives are being lost. Loved ones are shattered or irrevocably altered. Each step closer Alice gets to the shadowy man she hunts, the more secrets she unravels, only to reveal chilling truths. If she wants to win this war and save millions of lives, Alice must once more embrace the impossible and make the unimaginable, imaginable.

Sometimes, the rabbit hole leads to terrifying places.

Be on the outlook for the fourth Collectors’ Society book, coming soon!

An enthralling mythological romance two thousand years in the making . . .

"Heather Lyons's
The Deep End of the Sea
is
a radiant, imaginative romance that breathes new life into popular mythology
while successfully tackling the issue of sexual assault. Lyons is a deft storyteller whose engaging prose will surprise readers at every turn. Readers will have no trouble sympathizing with Medusa, who is funny, endearing and courageous all at once. The romance between her and Hermes is passionate, sweet and utterly engrossing.

This is a must read!"
–
RT Book Reviews

What if all the legends you’ve learned were wrong?

Brutally attacked by one god and unfairly cursed by another she faithfully served, Medusa has spent the last two thousand years living out her punishment on an enchanted isle in the Aegean Sea. A far cry from the monster legends depict, she’s spent her time educating herself, gardening, and desperately trying to frighten away adventure seekers who occasionally end up, much to her dismay, as statues when they manage to catch her off guard. As time marches on without her, Medusa wishes for nothing more than to be given a second chance at a life stolen away at far too young an age.