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A royal wager
Playboy prince Roland DeSaunters is ready to live up to his royal legacy—by betting on his future. Winning the beautiful Valora Harrington in a poker game is a scandal waiting to happen. Lucky for him, Val has no intention of getting involved with the younger brother of the man to whom she was once engaged. But after sharing an earth-shattering kiss with Val, Roland is the one swept off his feet.
An ill-fated engagement to a man she didn’t love convinced Val that finding Prince Charming wasn’t in her cards. That was before she was drawn into a passionate clandestine affair with the handsome bad boy of the reigning family. With dangerous enemies plotting the noble dynasty’s downfall, are Val and Roland ready to gamble on an uncertain future? Or could a last-minute challenge lead to the biggest surprise wedding Grand Serenity has ever seen?
“You never know what people truly think about you when all they’ve ever heard was gossip,” she admitted.
“Misjudgments,” Roland commented as his eyes seemed to search her face for something she wasn’t quite sure she possessed. “People tend to do that far too often.”
“I agree,” she said, her throat suddenly dry.
“Honesty is a beautiful thing,” he continued as he rubbed his hands down his thighs.
“It can be,” Val replied. “On the other hand, some people can’t accept the truth as well as they can a lie.”
“You want to know what’s true at this very moment?” Roland asked.
Was he leaning closer?
Val clenched the napkin she’d been holding more tightly in her hand.
“What?” she asked in response.
She didn’t really think she wanted to know what Roland was going to say next, but at the same time, she didn’t want this moment to end.
He was in fact leaning closer. He’d planted a palm on the blanket to hold himself steady as his face neared hers.
“I want you,” he whispered.
She gulped, loudly. Then as she licked her lips impulsively, his gaze lowered to her mouth.
“Yes, Valora, I definitely, unquestionably want you.”
It’s time for the big royal wedding! I so enjoyed writing Roland’s story because throughout the first two books he’s been in the background keeping his thoughts and feelings to himself. Well, Val has stepped onto the scene, and she’s brought out every feeling Roland has been desperately trying to keep at bay. I love this couple so much. Neither of them imagined they would ever find someone special, and when they do, they almost still can’t believe it. So it was very fitting to wrap up this trilogy with their love story. I hope you have enjoyed your time on Grand Serenity Island!
Happy reading,
ac
Prince Ever After
A.C. Arthur
A.C. ARTHUR is an award-winning author who lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her husband and three children. An active imagination and a love for reading encouraged her to begin writing in high school, and she hasn’t stopped since.
To all the dreamers.
Contents
The breeze cut across his face like a million tiny pinpricks. Beneath him the engine purred like a satisfied female as the wheels smoothly took on another sharp turn on a road where there was only one lane’s worth of space.
He’d traveled this road so many times before and most times at the same rate of speed. His fingers hugged the steering wheel in an easy embrace, his back and body comfortable against the smooth leather seats of the silver-metallic Jaguar XJ220. Night had fallen over the mountains and cliffs of the island an hour ago, and he’d itched to get out of the confines of his everyday dress clothes and the formal dining room of the royal palace.