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

“Frankly, Kipp, it would give me a great deal of comfort to know you’re being looked after by someone who cares for you.”


I was about to remind him I was an adult who didn’t need anyone looking after me, but his last words distracted me.


I whirled around to find Mr. Wyndham standing in the doorway to the garden.


The golden got to her feet and approached him, waving her plume of a tail gracefully. He ruffled her ears, then glanced at me.


“You forgot your laptop. It’s in the car, along with your duffel bag. I gathered you wouldn’t be returning to that mausoleum.”


“You’re right.” Sir had made it clear I was no longer welcome. “Thank you.”


I was relieved beyond belief, mostly because I didn’t have to take the laptop from him. My fingers would have touched his. They’d have trembled, but I’d have made no effort to avoid the contact, and he would have seen, in spite of everything, I was still in lo—infatuated with him.


Chapter 24