The Season Of Love: Beloved
Two terrific favourite Christmas stories from New York Times bestselling author Diana PalmerBelovedLawyer Simon Hart had sworn off romantic entanglements forever. But every man had a weakness, and his was beautiful, beguiling Tira Beck. He thought the bubbly socialite was a shameless flirt – until, during Christmas in San Antonio, he learns she's secretly been saving all her love for him. But she wasn't about to surrender all her nights to him casually…Texas BornGabriel Brandon had been her hero ever since she was a girl and he'd rescued her, an orphan, from sure ruin. And Michelle Godfrey had loved him forever, the mysterious rancher with the dark eyes; he was her protector and guardian angel. Now she'd blossomed into a woman. But Michelle didn’t realise the secrets Gabriel kept…
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Praise for the novels of
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author DIANA PALMER
âLots of passion, thrills, and plenty of suspenseâ¦a top-notch read!â
Romance Reviews Today
âDiana Palmer is a mesmerising storyteller who captures the essence of what a romance should be.â
Affaire de Coeur
âDiana Palmer is one of those authors whose books are always enjoyable. She throws in romance, suspense and a good story line.â
The Romance Reader on Before Sunrise
âA delightful romance with interesting new characters and many familiar faces.â
RT Book Reviews on Wyoming Tough
Also available by Diana Palmer
Wyoming Men
Wyoming Tough
Wyoming Fierce Wyoming Bold Wyoming Strong Wyoming Rugged Wyoming Brave
Undaunted
Untamed A Husband for Christmas Invincible White Christmas
And in e-Book:
Hunter
To Have and to Hold Miss Greenhorn Reluctant Father Betrayed by Love His Girl Friday Hoodwinked Heart of Ice Blind Promises Diamond Spur Eye of the Tiger Champagne Girl The Morcai Battalion The Morcai Battalion: The Recruit The Morcai Battalion: Invictus
The prolific author of more than one hundred books, DIANA PALMER got her start as a newspaper reporter. A multiâNew York Times bestselling author and one of the top ten romance writers in America, she has a gift for telling the most sensual tales with charm and humour. Diana lives with her family in Cornelia, Georgia.
Visit her website at www.DianaPalmer.com.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Diana Palmer
To Debbie and the staff at Books Galore in Watkinsville, GA, and to all my wonderful readers there and in Athens.
Simon Hart sat alone in the second row of the seats reserved for family. He wasnât really kin to John Beck, but the two had been best friends since college. John had been his only real friend. Now he was dead, and there she sat like a dark angel, her titian hair veiled in black, pretending to mourn the husband sheâd cast off like a worn coat after only a month of marriage.
He crossed his long legs, shifting uncomfortably against the pew. He had an ache where his left arm ended just at the elbow. The sleeve was pinned, because he hated the prosthesis that disguised his handicap. He was handsome enough even with only one armâhe had thick, wavy black hair on a leonine head, with dark eyebrows and pale gray eyes. He was tall and well built, a dynamo of a man; former state attorney general of Texas and a nationally known trial lawyer, in addition to being one of the owners of the Hart Ranch Properties, which were worth millions. He and his brothers were as famous in cattle circles as Simon was in legal circles. He was filthy rich and looked it. But the money didnât make up for the loneliness. His wife had died in the accident that took his arm. It had happened just after Tiraâs marriage to John Beck.
Tira had nursed him in the hospital, and gossip had run rampant. Simon was alluded to as the cause of the divorce. Stupid idea, he thought angrily, because he wouldnât have had Tira on a bun with ketchup. Only a week after the divorce, she was seen everywhere with playboy Charles Percy, who was still her closest companion. He was probably her lover, as well, Simon thought with suppressed fury. He liked Percy no better than he liked Tira. Strange that Percy hadnât come to the funeral, but perhaps he did have some sense of decency, however small.
Simon wondered if Tira realized how he really felt about her. He had to be pleasant to her; anything else would have invited comment. But secretly, he despised her for what sheâd done to John. Tira was cold insideâselfish and cold and unfeeling. Otherwise, how could she have turned John out after a month of marriage, and then let him go to work on a dangerous oil rig in the North Atlantic in an attempt to forget her? John had died there this week, in a tragic accident, having drowned in the freezing, churning waters before he could be rescued. Simon couldnât help thinking that John wanted to die. The letters heâd had from his friend were full of his misery, his loneliness, his isolation from love and happiness.
He glared in her direction, wondering how Johnâs father could bear to sit beside her like that, holding her slender hand as if he felt as sorry for her as he felt for himself at the loss of his son, his only child. Putting on a show for the public, he concluded irritably. He was pretending, to keep people from gossiping.
Simon stared at the closed casket and winced. It was like the end of an era for him. First heâd lost Melia, his wife, and his arm; now heâd lost John, too. He had wealth and success, but no one to share it with. He wondered if Tira felt any guilt for what sheâd done to John. He couldnât imagine that she did. She was always flamboyant, vivacious, outgoing and mercurial. Simon had watched her without her knowing it, hating himself for what he felt when he looked at her. She was tall, beautiful, with long, glorious red-gold hair that went to her waist, pale green eyes and a figure right out of a fashion magazine. She could have been a model, but she was surprisingly shy for a pretty woman.
