Mistletoe and Mayhem - Cheryl Bolen Page 0,315

her face.

Tobias tried his utmost not to laugh.

Huffing out an annoyed breath, Louisa spun on her heel and marched up to a rather bewildered-looking Phineas. “Don’t read anything into this,” she told him before her hands seized his face and pulled him into a kiss.

Tobias couldn’t help but stare at them, and neither could Anne, her hand now like an iron vice upon his arm.

Phineas seemed momentarily caught off guard as Louisa’s lips claimed his; however, he quickly recovered, returning her kiss with utter enthusiasm. His hands settled on her waist, holding her to him when she made to pull away.

“I told you not to read anything into this,” she snapped at Phineas, shoving him away with another annoyed eye roll. Then she turned to Anne, one brow arching upward. “There. Satisfied?”

Anne opened her mouth to reply; however, Phineas was faster. Tobias watched with wide eyes as his brother pulled Louisa back into his arms. “Far from it,” he answered her question, a wide grin on his face. Then he dipped his head and kissed her again, cutting off her startled gasp.

Anne turned to her husband then, clutching his arm. “Your brother and my cousin?” she whispered, her eyes wide and her lips twitching as she grinned up at him.

Tobias chuckled, “I thought you suspected them from the start.”

“I was merely jesting,” Anne mumbled as her eyes darted back to the other two in the room. “But now…”

“Do you think they’d ever admit that they care for each other?” Tobias asked, surprised by his brother’s strong reaction to Louisa. Was it possible that Phineas genuinely cared for her?

Anne shook her head. “Not in a thousand years. They’re far too stubborn. Both of them.”

Again, Louisa tried to free herself from Phineas’s hold on her, her hands curling into his lapels and giving him a slight, rather feeble-looking push.

Tobias frowned. “Should we…interfere?” He glanced at Anne. “Should we…save her?”

Anne shook her head, grinning. “Oh, she’s more than capable of saving herself. If she doesn’t, perhaps she simply does not wish to be saved.”

Smiling, Tobias pulled his wife into his arms. “This was to be our day,” he whispered before he placed a gentle kiss upon her lips.

“It still is,” Anne pointed out, a deeply seductive smile curling up the corners of her mouth. “Perhaps we should find another room.” She glanced at Phineas and Louisa, who seemed to have forgotten the world around them. “One with fewer people in it.”

Wrapping an arm around his wife’s waist, Tobias pulled her from the room and out into the hall. “That is an excellent idea, Wife.”

“Thank you, Husband,” Anne laughed as they sneaked down the hallway, leaving the other two to figure this out on their own.

After all, what could happen?

The End

About Bree Wolf

USA Today bestselling and award-winning author, Bree Wolf has always been a language enthusiast (though not a grammarian!) and is rarely found without a book in her hand or her fingers glued to a keyboard. Trying to find her way, she has taught English as a second language, traveled abroad and worked at a translation agency as well as a law firm in Ireland. She also spent loooong years obtaining a BA in English and Education and an MA in Specialized Translation while wishing she could simply be a writer. Although there is nothing simple about being a writer, her dreams have finally come true.

"A big thanks to my fairy godmother!"

Currently, Bree has found her new home in the historical romance genre, writing Regency novels and novellas. Enjoying the mix of fact and fiction, she occasionally feels like a puppet master, forcing her characters into ever-new situations that will put their strength, their beliefs, their love to the test, hoping that in the end they will triumph and get the happily-ever-after we are all looking for.

You can find details of her work at

www.BreeWolf.com

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A ROGUE AND SOME MISTLETOE

~ Book 5 of The Rogue Chronicles ~

by

LANA WILLIAMS

Lucy Gray lost everything just after her sixteenth birthday—her parents, her home, and her future. Since that terrible time, she’s lived with her great aunt in the quiet countryside. But an invitation from her cousin, Emma Waverly, to join their Christmas house party, along with a request to help Emma choose between several suitors, proves irresistible, even if it brings forth bittersweet memories of Christmas past.

Hugh Raybourne is pleased to be invited to a holiday house party at the fabulously wealthy Waverly’s country estate. The time has come to set aside his roguish ways and marry.