Kipp Llewellyn, the proverbial poor little rich boy, can have whatever he wants, except the one thing he wants most: his father’s love. When the opportunity arises to obtain it, Kipp jumps at the chance, even though it means breaking a date with “Ham,” the man he’s sure he’s falling in love with. However, the opportunity turns out to be an arranged marriage with his father’s biggest competitor. Even worse, Kipp discovers his proposed groom is Hyde Wyndham, the man of his dreams. Having lived in a gilded cage his entire twenty-one years, Kipp refuses to settle for anything less than love and walks away from both his father and his future husband. Hyde didn’t achieve his position in the financial world by taking no for an answer, however, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make Kipp realize he’s wanted for himself, including wooing the young man he intends to marry, prenuptial agreements be damned. He’s certain he’s succeeded, until Kipp learns something that puts an insurmountable barrier between them. Will Hyde be able to overcome Kipp’s doubts, and will Kipp realize that some things are worth the sacrifice?

Two Lips, Indifferent Red

There was a taxi stand at the end of the block. I slung the strap of my duffel over my shoulder, picked up my laptop case, and walked toward it.


A buzzer sounded as I opened the door, and the dispatcher looked up. “Help you?”


“Sure thing. Hey, Alec, get your ass out here. You have a fare.”


I heard the sound of a toilet flushing, and then Alec Stuart came out of the bathroom, casually zipping his jeans. He didn’t notice me at first.


We’d gone to Martin High together. Maybe he wouldn’t recognize me.


The dispatcher nodded toward me. Stuart narrowed his eyes and looked me up and down.


For a second it was as if he was stripping off my clothes with his eyes. He’d never looked at me that way in high school, and while I didn’t like it, I wasn’t going to let him see it bothered me. I made my expression politely inquiring.


He shrugged and nodded toward the door. “Let’s go.”


Chapter 14