Chapters (53)
- Cover
- About Alison Stuart
- Also by Alison Stuart
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgements
- Preview of The Goldminer's Sister
‘I never said it was.’ He ran his thumb along her cheekbone, his heart twisting as he looked into her troubled eyes. ‘We can make it right, Adelaide.’
‘How?’
‘You could marry me.’ The words came out in a rush.
Her eyes widened. ‘Marry you? Why would you want to marry me? You, more than anyone, know I am soiled goods.’
The harsh words cut him.
‘Well, that makes two of us.’ He cupped her face in his hands. ‘Do you think I give a damn about Richard Barnwell and your precious reputation, Adelaide? We may have only known each other a short while, but we know more about each other than we could have learned in a whole lifetime. You know every Godawful secret I have carried and you—you have nothing in this world to be ashamed of. You were taken advantage of by a rogue who knew damn well what he was doing. The best thing your father ever did was to tell him you were dead because, Goddamn it, Adelaide, you have brought up a wonderful son and been everything that boy could ever want. You have made a life for him that will make him an amazing man.’
Her lips curved into a smile and she raised a hand to touch his cheek. ‘Caleb Hunt, that is a lot of blasphemous words.’
He smiled back at her. ‘I know. But I meant the first part with all my heart. I would like to marry you, Adelaide, and be a father to Danny.’
When she didn’t answer, the hope that had burned so bright in him began to fade. He released her and took a step back.
‘I spoke out of turn. I’m sorry, Adelaide. I better go now, I have patients.’
Her hand shot out and seized the front of his waistcoat. ‘Caleb, you mistake me.’
He relaxed beneath her iron grip and waited.
Her eyes burned into his soul, beyond flesh and bone to the man beneath.
‘Yes,’ she said at last. ‘Yes, but not because I want you to make things right for me. Say the words, Caleb.’
He swallowed and bent his head towards hers. ‘Words,’ he whispered. ‘Three words, Adelaide. The hardest words in the world to say and yet you make it so easy.’ He took a breath. ‘I am so in love with you that it hurts.’ To emphasise his point, he laid his hand on his chest, the fingers clenching the fabric of his shirt.
She sagged in his grasp, as if her knees could no longer support her weight, and he caught her, holding her to him, as if the warmth of her body could ease the ache in his heart.
‘And I love you so much it hurts,’ she whispered.