Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels, #6)

by Lisa Kleypas

“There’s no such thing as an old maid.” “Wh-what would you call a middle-aged lady who’s never married?” “A woman with standards?” West suggested.

“You may not know this, but talking about mathematics eliminates any possibility of being kissed in the first place.” Mr. Severin grinned. “Yes, I know.”

asked unsteadily. “This . . . feeling.” He uttered the word as if it were a profanity. “I don’t know what it is. But you’re a weakness I can’t afford.”

“You bought an entire newspaper business . . . for my sake?” Tom thought for a long moment before answering. Now his voice was different than she’d ever heard it, quiet and even a little shaken. “There are no limits to what I would do for you.”

“Your body isn’t an ornament designed for other people’s pleasure. It belongs to you alone. You’re magnificent just as you are. Whether you lose weight or gain more, you’ll still be magnificent. Have a cake if you want one.”

“You can’t,” Tom said, knowing he was taking the words more seriously than she’d intended. But the very idea was like an ice pick to the heart. “That is, don’t. Please. Because I . . .” He couldn’t break their shared gaze. Her blue eyes, as dark as a cloudless midnight, seemed to stare right inside him, gently and inexorably prying out the truth. “. . . need you,” he finally muttered.