Chasing Rainbows

Excerpt:
PROLOGUE

Hell, but she was beautiful, the most beautiful woman in the world. His woman, he’d foolishly believed, that long hot summer that stubbornly refused to fade in his mind. Because try though he would, he couldn’t forget the smell of her, the taste of her, the feel of her. Or maybe the stark truth was he didn’t want to forget. Because he’d loved her, and she’d lied. And for that he’d never forgive her. And savoring the memory kept the hate alive.

Hate. A powerful talisman, a guard against the lies, and since the very essence of his life was built on a lie, all the more reason to keep the guard in place.

“Earth to earth, ashes to ashes,” the somber words swirled in his mind, found mocking echo in the eddies of leaves chasing about the headstones, and such a riot of headstones in this God forsaken place, he acknowledged bitterly. And silently cursing the need to come, he turned up his collar, thrust icy hands deep into the pockets of his coat and allowed an idle count of wreaths to trigger a surge of elation. Proof. It was over. Declan was gone. His brother was dead, and damn Teresa Downing for her lies, for her smiles, for her clever woman’s wiles. And damn Teresa Downing for existing.

Uncannily on cue, she glanced up, her gaze locking with his across the chasm of the grave. Hell but she was beautiful. The most beautiful woman in the world. And heaven help him but he loved her.