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

Sir took the glass without bothering to thank him. “Now get out of here.”


Higgins gave a polite bow. Always the perfect butler, his face was blank. He left, closing the door firmly behind him. It wouldn’t have caught otherwise, and anyone passing by would have heard the conversation that would be taking place in here. 8


“Don’t stand there hovering like a—a—” Sir’s lips were in a tight line. “Put that goddamned case down and sit.”


I felt as if he’d struck me. I sank down onto a chair, my laptop on the floor beside me, and sat, stiff-backed. What a fool I was to think, after all these years, Sir could have come to care for me.


“I suppose you’re wondering why I had you come home.” He glowered at me from over the rim of his glass.


“I have a marriage arranged for you.”


“M-marriage? But this is 2019, not 1819.”


“How like you to state the obvious,” he sneered.


Chapter 16