Lover Be Mine: A Legendary Lovers Novel by Nicole Jordan Read Free Book Online

duke. You just have to make her see it.”
    “So you would have me compete with Dunmore for her affections?”
    “Yes. Even without Prince de Villars’s riches, you are wealthy in your own right,
     having inherited yourmama’s fortune. And you are much closer to Sophie in age than the duke.”
    True, although he often felt older than his twenty-nine years since he’d had to grow
     up quickly.
    “You are forgetting that a love match must be mutual,” he pointed out.
    Skye waved a hand in dismissal. “Pah, it will be easy to love Sophie. Everyone does.”
    At his skeptical look, Skye leaned closer. “I am not saying it will be love at first
     sight—for either of you—as it was in Shakespeare’s play. But you owe it to yourself
     to determine if she is your destiny.”
    Perhaps so. The trouble was, pursuing Sophie could pose a real danger to him. He’d
     enjoyed more than his share of amorous liaisons, but he’d never come close to losing
     his heart. Jack had a sinking suspicion that would soon change, the more time he spent
     with her. Hell, he was half smitten already.
    It had been a mistake simply to meet Sophie and a much worse mistake to kiss her,
     for now he wouldn’t be able to keep away. He knew himself well enough to make that
     prediction with certainty.
    “Are you listening to me, Jack?”
    “Do I have a choice? You are arguing that her lack of fortune puts her at a disadvantage
     and excuses her timidity.”
    Skye huffed in exasperation. “No, I am arguing that she deserves better than to be
     sold into a loveless marriage. She will be miserable.”
    “Her happiness is not my responsibility.”
    “Of course not. But
your
happiness is
our
responsibility. We are your family. We love you and we want you to be happy.”
    “I am happy.”
    Skye raised an eyebrow. “Somehow I doubt it. You spend all your time drinking and
     carousing and wenching and racing.”
    Jack shot her an amused glance over his half-empty mug of ale. “What would you know
     about wenching?”
    “I am three-and-twenty and not nearly as innocent as I look. And I am positive your
     carefree bachelor life will not be fulfilling forever.”
    Jack took another long pull of ale. The Wilde cousins were an unruly bunch. Ash was
     their fearless leader, while Quinn was the brilliant adventurer. Spitfire Kate was
     the romantic of the family, and Skye the sweet but mischievous darling.
    Jack, however, had always been the chief hell-raiser among them, notorious for his
     escapades. Often during those dark months of mourning their parents, he’d purposely
     played the fun-loving rascal—because he saw it as his duty to enliven his kin’s lives
     and provide levity and diversion to ease their grief. The simple fact was, he’d learned
     from an early age to use laughter as an antidote to pain.
    As an adult, he’d continued his hell-raising ways. The shallow, diverting life of
     the rake about town suited him well enough. Even so, the emptiness of his days had
     begun to pall of late, accompanied by a nameless, nagging dissatisfaction with his
     romantic dalliances. He wanted … more from his relationships.
    Which was absurd. He had his family. He shouldn’t need anyone else. Furthermore, he
     had only himself to blame if he felt alone and isolated at times. He stillkept part of himself closed off even from his close-knit family. For his own self-protection,
     he still guarded his emotions and rarely showed any real feeling other than humor.
    Unlike Skye, who wore her heart on her sleeve, as she was doing now. Her expression
     had turned earnest and pleading.
    “If you don’t act now, Jack, it will be too late. You will lose your chance for true
     love. Life is too short to waste—you should know that better than anyone. Aunt Clara
     was your age when she died, and she sacrificed
everything
for love.”
    Jack winced at her frankness, but he should have expected Skye to use any means at
     her disposal to convince him, including