Reuniting with a Former Love...with Vicky Dreiling and Giveaway

Reuniting with a Former Love on Christmas Eve - Vicky Dreiling

Triple RITA finalist Vicky Dreiling is a confirmed historical romance junkie and Anglophile. Frequent business trips to the UK allowed her to indulge her passion for all things Regency England. Bath, Stonehenge, and Spencer House are among her favorite places. She is, however, truly sorry for accidentally setting off a security alarm in Windsor Castle. That unfortunate incident led her British colleagues to nickname her “Trouble.” Vicky is a native Texan and holds degrees in English literature and marketing.

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A CHRISTMAS REUNION

When Danielle suggested a Christmas story about a former love, I thought it was a fabulous idea. After all, who doesn’t wonder about the one who got away?

***

Melinda Brookes looked out the wavy glass, wishing it would snow. At least if it snowed, everyone would focus on the weather and take no more notice of her. Not that anyone voiced the concerns about the visitor who would soon arrive. Edwin, Viscount Caldecott, the man who had had chosen duty over love.

Six years had passed. There was no reason whatsoever for even the slightest awkwardness. Still, she wished it would snow so that there would be a safe topic for everyone to expound upon.
Perhaps she would get her wish before the day ended.

Melinda returned to her chair and her embroidery. Her mother nodded once, a sign of her approval. She did not believe in showing one’s restlessness by pacing about the room. Melinda did her pacing alone behind her closed bedroom door.

Her sister Ruth sat next to her. “I imagine you are somewhat anxious at seeing Edwin again.”

“I am not. It happened long ago.” Six years ago, Ruth had counseled her not to attend Edwin’s wedding, but she’d insisted. Melinda had refused to hide from anyone. So she’d lifted her chin and ignored the rude stares.

Ruth smiled. “You lie prettily, dear sister, but anyone in your slippers would find the situation unsettling.”

She pressed her lips tightly. “Whether I do or not is irrelevant. All that matters is how I respond—or not.”

Ruth winced. “I beg your pardon, Melinda.”

“Never mind, Ruth. I am out of sorts to be honest, but I will bear up to his visit.”

***

Four hours later

Edwin stepped out of the carriage and assisted his widowed mother. Years ago, his parents had been on the best of terms with the late Mr. Brookes and his family, but that was before he’d learned the extent of his father’s debts. He’d fully intended to do his duty, but his bride had jilted him—left him at the altar.

He should have been mortified, but all he’d felt was relief. It had been short-lived.
All the family came to greet them on the horseshoe steps. Mrs. Addison, her married eldest daughter, Ruth Longley and Mr. Longley, and at last Melinda.

She looked him in the eyes without wavering, curtseyed and said nothing.

He inclined his head in acknowledgement. “Miss Brookes, may I escort you?”

She lifted her chin just a bit and took his arm.

“Welcome, Caldecott,” Mrs. Addison said. “It’s chilly. Everyone let us go inside and warm up by the fire.”

After Edwin and everyone else shed their wraps, they adjourned to the drawing room where a yule log burned. Mrs. Addison served tea and biscuits. He was gratified to see his mother’s spirits enlivened upon seeing her friend again. He walked to the window with his dish of tea in hand. The cold gray day looked ripe for precipitation—possibly snow if the temperature continued to drop. He heard the footsteps and wondered if it was Ruth, come to remind him of his ill treatment of her sister, but it was Melinda.

“I’ve been wishing for snow,” she said with a wry expression. “It would break up the tedium.”

“The house party has just begun, and you are bored already?” he asked arching a brow.

“Of being indoors,” she said.

“It is easily remedied,” he said. “You don’t need snow to go outdoors.”

“Will you accompany me?” she asked.

He would prefer to stay indoors, but after six years, he supposed she deserved to call him a blackguard to his face. “I would be happy to escort you.”

***

Melinda released Edwin’s arm once they were out of doors. She noted that he put his hands behind his back—a far cry from the spring day six years ago when he’d first kissed her. Of course, she’d tumbled in love with him and could think of nothing or no one but Edwin. He’d professed tender feelings for her as well, but it had not lasted.

She was hardly the only woman to be crossed in love, but he had humiliated her, whether he knew it or not. She’d attended his ill-fated wedding to prove to everyone she was not moping for Edwin. In retrospect, she doubted she’d fooled anyone.

For more than a year after Edwin’s engagement and subsequent jilting, Melinda had often thought of things she would say if she met with him again. She’d wanted to tell him that he was lower than a snake. He’d trampled her heart, and she’d despised him for it. Now, after six long years, she had the opportunity, but it occurred to her that calling him on the carpet would only reveal the bitterness she’d once felt. Now it wasn’t anger that troubled her, but rather questions that had gone unanswered.

He stopped by the old oak where a swing was suspended from a branch. “I thought you meant to cut up at me.”

“Would that flatter you?” she said.

Disappointment showed in his eyes. “No, Melinda. Whatever you may think, I never meant to wound you. At the time, I thought I had no other choice but to marry a woman of fortune.” He took a deep breath. “I suppose you believe I deserved to be jilted at the altar.”

She sat on the swing and pushed with her toe. “At the time, I thought so.”

“And now?”

“Now I think I am overdue an apology.”

His jaw clenched. He took off his hat. “I am sorry, Melinda. I loved you dearly, but my father was in terrible debt. I felt an obligation to my family—and most of all to you. I could not bring you into that situation.”

She’d known he’d married for money, but she’d not known about the debts. “It was bad?” she whispered.

He nodded. “I made investments that have paid off handsomely after six years, but money as I’ve discovered is cold comfort when you’ve wronged the only woman you’ve ever loved.”

A few snowflakes fell on his coat and on her cloak. Before long, the snow came down in earnest. He knelt before her. “Melinda, I never stopped loving you, and I never stopped hoping that one day you would agree to marry me. Will you?”

Her eyes welled. “I never stopped loving you, Edwin, and yes, I will marry you.

Will the Rogue's Perfect Plan...

Colin Brockhurst, Earl of Ravenshire, has no desire to wed, this season or any other. So when his father demands he give up his wild ways and take a wife, Colin refuses. But his father raises the stakes and threatens to sell the ancestral home if Colin doesn't comply. Now Colin has no choice but to find a wife. Unfortunately, the only woman he wants is the one whose heart he broke years ago.

Lead to the Perfect Seduction?

Regardless of the ton's whispers, Lady Angeline Brenham won't settle for anything less than true love. After rejecting more than her share of suitable suitors, spinsterhood looms before her—until the devilishly handsome Colin reappears in her life with a proposition. Angeline vows to keep her feet on the ground and her heart in check. That is, until one searing kiss melts her resolve and reignites a burning desire for more.

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Up For Grabs:

• 1 copy of What a Wicked Earl Want

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