Mary is very intelligent, but she and Corey have led a simple life in a tiny little town where no one is wealthy, not by Houston standards. “Because she’s the opposite of mercenary and status conscious. “Then why would she have turned you down?” “I’m completely sure she did, and she does.” Her father grinned, his eyes warming with affection. “But are you sure that Mary truly wanted you?” Diana asked, thinking of his statement that Mary would have turned him down. “No, honey, most of them wanted what I could give them in the form of financial security and social acceptance. “It seems to me that practically every woman you’ve taken out has wanted you.” Previous women had gone to absurd lengths to attract and hold her father’s interest. Loyalty and common sense made that possibility seem entirely unlikely to Diana. However, all my instincts warned me that if I gave Mary more than a little time to decide, she’d start thinking about all the obstacles and agonizing over them, and that in the end she’d turn me down.”
“I knew within hours of meeting Mary that she was just what I wanted for myself, and for you, and I knew when I met Corey that the four of us were going to be an exceptionally happy family. Ignore logic, ignore the odds, ignore the complications, and just go for it.” Listen to your instincts and ignore everything else. “There will be a few times in your life when all your instincts will tell you to do something, something that defies logic, upsets your plans, and may even seem crazy to others. He looked sheepish, but his answer was unquestionably heartfelt. “I just don’t understand why you were in such a hurry.” “Mary seems really nice,” she said after a moment. Now he’d actually married someone, but it was a lady she’d never set eyes on before. During the years since her mother died, he’d dated some really beautiful and very nice Houston women, but before things got too serious, he’d always introduced them to Diana and insisted the three of them spend time together. “You said you did-”ĭiana nodded, but she didn’t understand why he’d married someone he hardly knew and she’d never met until today. You do like her, don’t you?” he asked anxiously, searching her face. Please believe that I would never have married Mary without giving you a chance to get to know each other if I hadn’t been positive, absolutely positive, that the two of you will learn to love each other. “I know how strange it must have seemed to you to come home today and find out I’d remarried. “Diana-” he began then he hesitated, sat down on the bed beside her, and took her hand in his. He wanted to talk to her about her new stepmother and stepsister, whom she’d met for the first time this afternoon when she arrived home from a vacation in Europe with school friends. Although she was only fourteen, she wasn’t silly enough to think he’d come there to talk about whether she had jet lag. Tonight, he looked distinctly uneasy, and Diana knew why. “Are you exhausted?” At forty-three, Robert Foster was a tall, broad-shouldered Houston oilman with prematurely gray hair who normally exuded self-assurance, but not tonight. “How’s the jet lag, honey?” her father asked as he walked toward her bed. ExcerptĭIANA, ARE YOU STILL AWAKE? I’d like to talk to you.”ĭiana stopped in the act of turning off the lamp beside her bed and leaned back against the pillows. “Judith McNaught once again works her unique magic in this charming, sparkling romance” ( RT Book Reviews, 4 stars). And he certainly has no idea that a match made in what he considers logic’s heaven might be headed straight for an unexpected, once-in-a-lifetime love. But when she spots the pride of Dallas billionaires, Cole Harrison, closing in on her with two crystal flutes and a bottle of champagne, she has no idea that he has ulterior motives for seducing her tonight. Her Beautiful Living magazine is her family’s success story, and Diana knows that as a single, childless, and suddenly unengaged woman, she is not living up to its lucrative image of upscale domestic tranquility. The most lavish social event of the Houston season had brought out Texas aristocracy in glittering array but Diana only agreed to attend to save face after reading about her fiancé leaving her for an Italian heiress in a sleazy gossip magazine. When multinational tycoon Cole Harrison approaches her on a moonlit balcony at the White Orchid Charity Ball, Diana Foster has no idea how life-changing the night ahead will be. Discover the sensual and sweeping power of love in New York Times bestselling author Judith McNaught’s contemporary romances that will make “you laugh, cry, and fall in love again” ( RT Book Reviews).