Dom retrieved the vase and settled it back on the table. “No harm done. Nary even a crack in it, lad.”
“Come here,” Adele said, opening her arms wide. “All of you.”
Her family raced toward her. Three little sets of arms wrapped around Adele instantly, and another set of arms, large and strong, gently encircled her.
“I love you,” she told them, unable to keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks now. Her heart was bursting.
“We love you too, angel.”
Warm, knowing lips found hers.
* * *
Dom kissed his beloved wife, his heart beating with more happiness than any man had a right to feel. Her belly was full and round between them, carrying their fourth child who would arrive soon. Georgianna, Colin, and Tessa surrounded them, embracing both him and their mama’s skirts.
Her lips were silken and soft, moving beneath his, telling him without words everything she felt. He cupped her face, breaking the kiss to stare down at her loveliness.
Gratitude hit him, and with it came that warm trickle in his chest, much like honey. Filling and overflowing.
“Am I dreaming?” he asked her softly, an old joke between them now.
Sometimes, it certainly felt as if he were.
“Not dreaming,” she said, echoing the words he had told her years ago, her smile beautiful.
Floating hell, that smile hit him directly in the heart, like an arrow.
“Good,” he whispered.
And then he kissed his wife again as they stood in the drawing room he had never imagined would one day ring with such love and laughter, in the circle of his family’s arms.
* * *
Thankyou for readingWinter’s Wallflower! I hope this eighth book in myThe Wicked Wintersseries hit you right in the feelings and that Adele and Dom’s happily ever after made you as happy to read as it made me to write. Thank you for spending your precious time reading my books!
Please consider leaving an honest review ofWinter’s Wallflower.Reviews are greatly appreciated! If you’d like to keep up to date with my latest releases and series news, sign up for my newsletter here or follow me on Amazon or BookBub. Join my reader’s group on Facebook for bonus content, early excerpts, giveaways, and more.
But wait! There are more Winters on the way. Have we seen the last of Davy the pickpocket? Who was behind the attacks at The Devil’s Spawn if it wasn’t the Suttons? And what happens when Devil Winter has to play bodyguard for a fancy duke’s daughter he can’t seem to resist? If you’d like a preview ofWinter’s Woman, Book Nine inThe Wicked Wintersseries, featuring the plucky Lady Evie Saltisford and the surly yet sexy Devil Winter, do read on. Love the Suttons? Check outThe Sinful Suttonsseries, beginning with Book One,Sutton’s Spinster!
Until next time,
Scarlett
* * *
Winter’s Woman
The reigning toast of the Season, Lady Evangeline Saltisford is betrothed to the most eligible bachelor in London and a scant few weeks from having everything she has ever wanted. Until danger comes calling, and she is forced to accept aid from a decidedly unlikely—and infuriating—source.
Devil Winter is the illegitimate offspring of a wealthy merchant and a prostitute. He detests fancy aristocrats and has no patience for a cosseted duke’s daughter. But he will do anything for his family, and when his older brother asks Devil to play bodyguard to Lady Evie, he has no choice but to accept the loathsome task.
Evie wants nothing to do with the boorish man from the rookeries who favors growls and glowers to polite manners. She is perfectly happy with her handsome, aristocratic fiancé. At least, that is what she tells herself. Until her gruff protector reveals a side she never imagined existed. A side she finds increasingly difficult to resist.
Devil is determined to eliminate the threat to Evie and cull her from his life. But being forced to remain by her side proves not so loathsome a duty. And before long, protecting the stunningly gorgeous duke’s daughter is only the beginning of what Devil wants to do…
* * *
Chapter One
