Sealing the Deal (34 page)

Lucinda Cardington doesn’t care that she is close to being “on the shelf.” She has more serious pursuits in mind and is perfectly content to leave dreams of romance to silly young ladies like her sister. Yet when her sister places herself in a compromising situation with London’s most scandalous bachelor, the entire family’s reputation comes perilously close to ruin. Suddenly Lucinda is in the limelight… and in need of a husband.

James Simpson’s rakish ways have finally caught up with him. Snared in a scandal that for once is not his doing, he is forced to do the honorable thing and offer marriage to the lady. But her father won’t agree to a dowry unless James can also find a suitable husband for the lady’s elder sister—quiet, reserved Lucinda Cardington. As James gets to know the vibrant, charming, and passionate woman behind Lucinda’s shy exterior, he comes to the distressing realization that he doesn’t want her in anyone’s arms but his own…

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Contents

1. Cover
   
2. Title Page
   
3. Welcome
   
4. Dedication
   
5. Acknowledgments
   
6. Chapter One
   
7. Chapter Two
   
8. Chapter Three
   
9. Chapter Four
   
10. Chapter Five
    
11. Chapter Six
    
12. Chapter Seven
    
13. Chapter Eight
    
14. Chapter Nine
    
15. Chapter Ten
    
16. Chapter Eleven
    
17. Chapter Twelve
    
18. Chapter Thirteen
    
19. Chapter Fourteen
    
20. Chapter Fifteen
    
21. Chapter Sixteen
    
22. Chapter Seventeen
    
23. Chapter Eighteen
    
24. Chapter Nineteen
    
25. Chapter Twenty
    
26. Chapter Twenty-One
    
27. Chapter Twenty-Two
    
28. Chapter Twenty-Three
    
29. Chapter Twenty-Four
    
30. Chapter Twenty-Five
    
31. Chapter Twenty-Six
    
32. Chapter Twenty-Seven
    
33. Chapter Twenty-Eight
    
34. Chapter Twenty-Nine
    
35. About the Author
    
36. A Preview of the Next Ladies Who Lunch Novel
    
37. Also by Sandy James
    
38. Don’t Miss the Other Titles in Sandy James’s Ladies Who Lunch Series!
    
39. You Might Also Like…
    
40. Newsletters
    
41. Copyright
    

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Sandy James

Excerpt from the next Ladies Who Lunch novel copyright © 2014 by Sandy James

Cover design by Elizabeth Turner

Cover copyright © 2014 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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First published as an ebook and as a print on demand edition: November 2014

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ISBN 978-1-4555-5893-3 (ebook edition)

ISBN 978-1-4555-5894-0 (print on demand edition)

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