An Impossible Attraction

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoy reading
An Impossible Attraction
as much as I enjoyed writing it. I wanted Stephen and Alexandra’s story to be a bit off the beaten path, and hopefully you’ll be intrigued by their trials and tribulations. And now I am happy to announce that the story you have been waiting for—and asking me for—is on its way to you! I am halfway through Alexi and Elysse’s epic love story, which will be released later in 2010.

This is truly a thrill ride! As you know from
A Dangerous Love
, Alexi married Elysse in 1833—then left her at the altar and hasn’t seen his bride in the six-year interim. In
An Impossible Attraction
, Elysse and Alexi are ecstatically together, with a child on the way. So what happened, exactly?

I always follow my muse. That is why I wrote these stories out of order; I simply wasn’t ready to delve into Elysse and Alexi’s incredibly intense and passionate love story. The novel opens in the spring of 1833, with Alexi returning home after a two-and-a-half-year absence. Elysse can’t wait to see him, and to get his attention, she flirts shamelessly—with his friend. Her reckless flirtation leads to murder and marriage—and to Alexi coldly and furiously leaving Elysse right after their wedding vows are exchanged.

Six years later, Elysse is one of London’s reigning socialites. And Alexi has become a national icon—a China trader, he has set the record for the Canton to London run, and has been the first ship home two years in a row. Outwardly, Elysse is the woman every other woman wishes to be—beautiful, gracious, witty and wealthy, and not only are her invitations fought over, she is married to one of the country’s most dashing men. But Elysse has spent six years maintaining a terrible pretense—that her life is exactly as she wishes it to be, and that her marriage is a successful one. But that lie is about to be exposed….

That spring, when Alexi’s ship is spotted off Plymouth, Elysse is convinced by her friends to greet him at the docks. Obviously he is not expecting her; obviously he has gone to great pains to avoid her. After six years, their reunion finally takes place. And nothing has changed. He is furious with her—and she is furious with him. But now he intends to stay in London, and she instantly realizes he must play the role of a proper husband, because her pride is at stake….

And so begins the clash of love, pride and passion!

I can’t wait to share their story with you!

Happy reading,

Always,

Brenda Joyce

T
HERE WAS SO MUCH LIGHT
, and Alexandra hesitated, confused.

“Alex…andra?” her mother whispered from the bed.

Gold-and-burgundy wallpaper adorned the walls, and dark draperies were closed over the bedroom’s two windows. The bureau was a dark, rich mahogany, as was the bed, and the bedding was wine and gold. The room’s single armchair was a dark, intense red. Yet the light within almost blinded her. “I am here, Mother,” she whispered back.

And then, because Elizabeth Bolton was dying and would not last another night, because she had wasted away from the cancer eating at her, because she was so frail and weak now that she could barely see, much less hear, Alexandra hurried forward. She held back the tears. She hadn’t cried, not even once, not even when her father had told her that her mother had a terrible and fatal disease. It hadn’t been a shock. Elizabeth had been fading away before Alexandra and her younger sisters’ eyes for months. Being the eldest—all of seventeen—meant she had to hold the family together now in this crisis.

Alexandra rushed to her mother’s side, her heart clenching as she looked at her gaunt, unrecognizable face and frame. Elizabeth had been so beautiful, so lively, so alive. She was only thirty-eight years old now, but she looked ninety.

Alexandra sat, reaching for her thin, frail hands. “Father said you wished to see me, Mother. What can I get you? Do you want a sip of water?”

Elizabeth smiled wanly, lying prone on the large bed, dwarfed by the pillows behind her, the blankets over her. “Angels,” she whispered. “Can you see them?”

Alexandra felt the tears rise. She batted her lashes furiously. Her mother needed her, as did her two sisters, who were only seven and nine. Father needed her, too—though he was locked in the library with his gin. But now she understood the odd light in the room, and the equally strange warmth. “I can’t see them, but I can feel them. Are you afraid?”

Elizabeth shook her head ever so slightly, and just as slightly, her grasp on Alexandra’s hands increased. “I don’t…want to go, Alexandra. The girls…are so young.”

It was hard to hear her, so Alexandra leaned even closer to her mother’s face. “We don’t want you to leave us, but you’ll be with the angels now, Mother.” Somehow she managed to smile. “I am going to take care of Olivia and Corey—you needn’t worry. I will take care of Father, too.”

“Promise me…darling…promise.”

She laid her cheek against her mother’s bony face. “I promise. You have done everything for this family, you have been its guiding light, its rock and its anchor, and I will do everything for Father and the girls now. We will be fine.
They
will be fine.” But it didn’t feel as if anything would ever be fine again.

“I am so proud…of you,” Elizabeth whispered.

Alexandra had straightened so they could look into one another’s eyes. She was the oldest, the firstborn, with years separating her and her two younger sisters, and she and her mother had always been close. Elizabeth had taught Alexandra how to manage the household, how to entertain and how to dress for tea or for a ball. She had taught her how to bake cinnamon cookies and how to make lemonade. She had shown her how to smile, even when upset, and how to behave with grace and dignity, no matter the occasion. She had shown her the true power of love, of family, of diligence and respect.

Alexandra knew her mother was proud of her. Just as she knew she could not bear this last moment with her. “Don’t worry about the girls or Father. I will take good care of them.”

“I know.” Elizabeth smiled sadly and fell silent. And it took Alexandra a full moment to realize that her eyes had become sightless.

She gasped, hard, the intense pain blinding her. The tears finally overflowed, even as she fought them. She grasped her mother’s hands more firmly and lay down beside her, already missing her acutely, the pain unbearable now, and that was how her fiancé, Owen, found her.

“Alexandra.” He gently lifted her to her feet.

She met his concerned, searching gaze and let him guide her from the death room. It was dark and somber now—the warm light long gone. In the hall, he held her for a long time. Alexandra let him, even as her heart broke all over again.

Because she knew what she must do.

Owen was her best friend, her one and only true love, but that didn’t matter now.

“Why are you looking at me that way?” he asked, eyes wide.

She clasped his beautiful cheek. “I love you, Owen.”

He was alarmed. “You are in shock. This is the time to grieve.”

She began shaking her head. “I can’t marry you, Owen. I told her I would take care of this family, and I meant it. My life is no longer my own. I can’t marry you, I can’t be your wife, or the mother of your children. I can’t. I have to take care of my sisters.” And in that moment, she knew it was the truth and was overwhelmed by the turn her life had taken.

“Alexandra!” he cried. “Allow yourself a period of mourning. I will wait for you. I love you, and we will get through this together.”

But she pulled away, the hardest thing she had ever done. “No, Owen. Everything has changed. Corey and Olivia need me, and so does Father.”

“I am going to wait for you,” he warned, and tears glistened on his lashes.

There were no choices now. She would hold the family together, no matter what it meant or what it took. “Goodbye, Owen,” she said.