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

“My size didn’t help; there were six of them, and I…I was with someone I felt needed to be protected.”


“A girl?” That depressed me, which was foolish. Just because he wanted to marry me didn’t mean he was gay. He could be bisexual, and that meant I’d have to worry about both men and women catching his eye. I sighed.


“Oh? Oh!” I couldn’t help it. I felt much better. Of course I was sorry he’d been gay-bashed, but…I’d only have to worry about half the population instead of all of it.


“I’d gotten to the point where I was actually imagining a wedding—an arch of ivy and gardenias for us to stand under, a reception at the Saratoga Trunk.”


“But that’s the most expensive place in town.”


Chapter 39