All That I Desire
Page 26
Her new life with Rio was ahead of her. She started to the door. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a white-haired man with a long staff. He was smiling. More surprised than afraid, she paused, then continued to the door.
He won’t be alone anymore.
She wasn’t sure if she’d thought or actually heard the words. It didn’t matter. “No, he won’t. Thank you,” she quietly whispered and left the room.
Skylar joined her beaming parents in the foyer, then watched her mother and the procession of her attendants enter the sanctuary filled with family and friends. She smelled the lovely scent of hundreds of flowers—fragrant garden pink roses, green hydrangeas, pink ranunculus, graduated calla lilies, blush tulips—that filled the church.
As she’d often done, she stared down at her engagement ring, a flawless emerald-cut ten-carat diamond surrounded by pink diamonds, and remembered the pure pleasure and unbelievable happiness when Rio slid it on her finger two days after they were engaged. They’d always be thankful to Blade and Sierra for rearranging their schedule so she and Rio had never slept apart. And they didn’t plan to.
Her father swallowed, blinked, and lifted his arm. “You’ll always be my baby, but I trust Rio to keep you safe and to love you.”
Skylar looped her arm through her father’s and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you. I’ll always love you.”
“Let’s not keep Rio waiting.”
Too full of emotion to speak, Skylar stepped into the aisle with her father. Her gaze went immediately to Rio. He waited for her with a wide smile on his incredibly handsome face. Her heart leaped with boundless happiness. He was as anxious and as ready as she was for their new life together.
As she started down the aisle on her father’s arm, she knew neither would ever be alone or lonely again.
They had love and each other. They had all that they desired.
Spend more time with the Grayson family and their friends in these wonderful series by Francis Ray
THE GRAYSON FRIENDS SERIES
The Way You Love Me
Nobody But You
One Night With You
It Had to Be You
A Seductive Kiss
With Just One Kiss
A Dangerous Kiss
All I Ever Wanted
All That I Need
THE GRAYSONS OF NEW MEXICO SERIES
Until There Was You
You and No Other
Dreaming of You
Irresistible You
Only You
THE TAGGART/FALCON SERIES
Forever Yours
Only Hers
Heart of the Falcon
Break Every Rule
“Passion that smolders between the pages.”
—RT Book Reviews
Available from St. Martin’s Paperbacks www.francisray.com
And don’t miss even more series and novels by Francis Ray
A FAMILY AFFAIR SERIES
I Know Who Holds Tomorrow
When Morning Comes
After the Dawn
AGAINST THE ODDS SERIES
Trouble Don’t Last Always
Somebody’s Knocking At My Door
INVINCIBLE WOMEN SERIES
Like The First Time
Any Rich Man Will Do
In Another Man’s Bed
Not Even If You Begged
And Mistress Makes Three
If You Were My Man
SINGLE TITLES
Someone to Love Me
Rockin’ Around That Christmas Tree
ANTHOLOGIES
Rosie’s Curl and Weave
Della’s House of Style
Welcome to Leo’s
Going to the Chapel
Gettin’ Merry
Let’s Get It On
Twice the Temptation
Available from St. Martin’s Paperbacks and St. Martin’s Griffin
www.francisray.com
ST. MARTIN’S PAPERBACKS TITLES
BY FRANCIS RAY
The Falcon Novels
Heart of the Falcon
Break Every Rule
The Taggart Brothers
Forever Yours
Only Hers
The Graysons of New Mexico Series
Until There Was You
You and No Other
Dreaming of You
Irresistible You
Only You
The Grayson Friends Series
The Way You Love Me
Nobody But You
One Night with You
It Had to Be You
A Seductive Kiss
With Just One Kiss
A Dangerous Kiss
All I Ever Wanted
All That I Need
All That I Desire
Trouble Don’t Last Always
Someone to Love Me
I Know Who Holds Tomorrow
Rockin’ Around That Christmas Tree (with Donna Hill)
Anthologies
Rosie’s Curl and Weave
Della’s House of Style
Welcome to Leo’s
Going to the Chapel
Gettin’ Merry
RAVE REVIEWS FOR
FRANCIS RAY
THE WAY YOU LOVE ME
“As always, Ray leads her readers on a mesmerizing journey of drama and love.… The Way You Love Me confirms the fact that Francis Ray is, without a doubt, one of the Queens of Romance.”
—A Romance Review
“Fans of Ray’s Grayson and Falcon families will be thrilled with the first installment in the new Grayson Friends series.… Told with such grace and affection that this novel is a treat to read.”
—RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
“A romance that will have readers speed-reading to the next tension-filled scene, if not the climax.”
—Fresh Fiction
ONE NIGHT WITH YOU
“The steam the lovers create is a pleasure to behold. Ray never disappoints!”
—RT Book Reviews (4½ stars)
WITH JUST ONE KISS
“Heartwarming and fun.”
—RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
NOBODY BUT YOU
“A story that tugs at the heartstrings.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Fast and fun and full of emotional thrills and sexy chills. Everything a racing romance should be!”
—Roxanne St. Claire
“Not only does Francis Ray rock in this book but also you see a whole different side of racing that will keep you on the edge of your seat.”
—Night Owl Romance
“A wonderful read.”
—Fresh Fiction
UNTIL THERE WAS YOU
“Ms. Ray has given us a great novel again. Did we expect anything less than the best?”
—RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
“Crisp style, realistic dialogue, likable characters, and [a] fast pace.”
—Library Journal
ONLY YOU
“Francis Ray’s graceful writing style and realistically complex characters give her latest contemporary romance its extraordinary emotional richness and depth.”
—Chicago Tribune
“It’s a joy to read this always fresh and exciting saga.”
—RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
“The powerful descriptive powers of Francis Ray allow the reader to step into the story and become an active part of the surrender … If you love a great love story, Only You should be on your list.”
—Fallen Angel Reviews
“Riveting emotion and charismatic scenes that made this book captivating … a beautiful story of love and romance.”
—Night Owl Romance
“A beautiful love story as only Francis Ray can tell it.”
—Singletitles.com
“Readers will find a warm and wonderful contemporary romance with plenty of humor and drama. Adding a fun warmth and reality to these characters and a plot that moves quickly add all the nee
ded incentive to read this fun book.”
—Multicultural Romance Writers
IRRESISTIBLE YOU
“A pleasurable story … a well-developed story and continuous plot.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Like the previous titles in this series, Irresistible You is another winner … Witty and charming … Author Francis Ray has a true gift for drawing the readers in and never letting them go.”
—Multicultural Romance Writers
DREAMING OF YOU
“A great read from beginning to end, it’s even excellent for an immediate re-read.”
—RT Book Reviews
“An immensely likable heroine, a sexy man with a heart of gold, and touches of glitz and color, [this] is as unapologetically escapist as Cinderella. Lots of fun.”
—BookPage
YOU AND NO OTHER
“The warmth and sincerity of the Graysons bring another book to life … delightfully realistic.”
—RT Book Reviews
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author FRANCIS RAY is a native Texan who lived in Dallas. Her fiction series—Taggart/Falcon, Invincible Women, Against the Odds, Grayson Family of New Mexico, Grayson Friends, and Family Affair/Hidden Legacy—have consistently made bestseller lists and are enjoyed by readers worldwide.
Visit: francisray.com
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
ALL THAT I DESIRE
Copyright © 2013 by Francis Ray.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
www.stmartins.com
eISBN: 9781466815346
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / November 2013
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.