Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:32:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 http://www.ilovenovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.ilovenovels.com 32 32 The Temptation (Filthy Rich Americans #5) Read Online Nikki Sloane http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-temptation-filthy-rich-americans-5-read-online-nikki-sloane Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:11:56 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/the-temptation-filthy-rich-americans-5-read-online-nikki-sloane Genre: Contemporary, Erotic, Romance, Suspense Authors: Nikki Sloane Series: Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane
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Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	The Temptation (Filthy Rich Americans #5)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Nikki Sloane
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B09BBNTTJD
Book Information:
Vance Hale has everything. A ridiculous amount of money, an Ivy-league education, and a 1,000-watt smile that can charm the designer dress right off a girl. He’s also going to have a future that includes me—whether he wants it or not. I don’t care that he’s trying to reform his playboy ways, or that he made a bet to go 90 days without the touch of a woman. I’ve spent the last decade planning my revenge and I need a partner in crime. This gorgeous, cunning man should do fine. So, we strike a deal. I’ll help get him across the finish line and he’ll bring me into his world among the Cape Hill elite. Our relationship may be fake, but our chemistry is shockingly real. One innocent kiss and I’m struggling to hold up my end of the bargain. Wanting him wasn’t part of the plan when everything else I desire is within my grasp. The only problem? Neither of us is any good at resisting temptation.
Books in Series:	Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane
Books by Author:	Nikki Sloane

ONE

VANCE

Tension was something I was so accustomed to in my life. I wore it effortlessly, the way my father wore a bespoke suit as a second skin, as he did now. He sat in the chair across from me in the formal living room, dressed in his standard three-piece black suit.

My gaze snagged on the colorful silk peeking out from his front breast pocket.

His girlfriend’s doing, for sure. Macalister Hale had obsessed over tradition his whole life and embodied a classic look. He much preferred people’s attention stay on him rather than his pocket square, but Sophia was pushing him to be fashion-forward. Or at least to join this century.

Any other time, I would have enjoyed the idea that a woman half his age had such power over him, but I was too distracted to focus on it. My father had shown up at the Hale estate and announced he had something important to discuss. He’d arrived without warning, likely because if I’d known he was coming, I’d have avoided him.

So, I’d reluctantly followed him into the front room of the house which had once been his and dropped down onto the couch my former stepmother had reupholstered the year before her death.

Of course, I immediately regretted my decision.

Alice loomed large between us, and the weight of unspoken words pressed down on my chest, making it difficult to breathe in my father’s presence. He already knew what I’d done, but it did nothing to ease my guilt.

“This will only take a minute,” he said.

His tone was full of his usual commanding indifference, the one that was so effective at telling you only his opinion mattered. His posture was rigid and straight, as if he were perched in a throne and not a chair, but again—this was normal. He was an imposing figure to the rest of the world. He made other people uncomfortable with a simple look.

But I saw through it today, and this was what had me so distracted.

Whatever he wanted to discuss, it gave him hesitation. In fact, the great and powerful Macalister Hale seemed . . .

Nervous.

My stomach churned with unease. My father didn’t do nervous. I swallowed thickly. Fuck, was he going to bring up Alice? Was this the conversation we desperately needed to have—the one I still wasn’t prepared for?

My father’s gaze shifted away from mine. “I’m planning to ask Sophia to be my wife.”

I blinked in my lack of surprise. My family had its fair share of secrets, but the way my father felt about Sophia? That wasn’t one of them. The entire town of Cape Hill knew, thanks to my father’s proclamation five months ago at Damon Lynch’s disastrous campaign dinner. The only thing surprising to me was that my father hadn’t proposed already. We Hale men were nothing if not decisive, and I was sure his mind was set. Once his decision had been made, what was the point in waiting?

He wanted her.

And he’d raised me to understand Hales took what they wanted.

“All right.” I was unsure what I was supposed to do with this information. “You wanting me to wish you luck?”

“No, I don’t need luck.” His cold blue eyes snapped back to me. “I would, however, like your permission.”

I was suddenly grateful to be sitting because the floor threatened to swallow me whole. “What?”

He drew in a deep breath, making his shoulders lift. “She’s the same age as you, so it’s understandable if that gives you unease.” He had one arm draped over the armrest of his chair, his fingers tensed in a fist, and his thumb brushed back and forth over his knuckles. “I don’t need to tell you how much I care for her. You heard what I said that night, which wouldn’t have been possible without your help. I’ll always be grateful for that.”

My brain was still stuck on the part where he’d ask for my permission. It ranked right up there with him admitting defeat.

It was something he never, ever did.

“It was no big deal,” I said automatically.

He ignored my statement. “I’ve spoken to Royce already, but I’d like your approval as well.”

He hadn’t asked my opinion about marrying Alice, but then again, that had been fifteen years and a lifetime ago. Had he ever asked for permission in his life? Until recently, he had no need for anyone else’s approval.

God, he’d changed so much.

He hadn’t exactly softened—his edges were still sharp and exact. But there was a thoughtfulness in him now. An awareness that the world might not always turn at his command. That people did not have to bend to his will.

His fall from grace included time behind bars, and it had been one of the most difficult things we’d had to endure. Like my mother’s death, the consequences he’d faced had been a turning point in his life.

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The Redemption Read online Nikki Sloane (Filthy Rich Americans #4) http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-redemption-4-read-online-nikki-sloane Wed, 22 May 2019 01:57:33 +0000 http://www.test123.demo2.xyz/the-redemption-4-read-online-nikki-sloane Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Romance, Suspense Authors: Nikki Sloane Series: Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane
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Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	The Redemption (Filthy Rich Americans #4)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Nikki Sloane
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B0839GTWSQ
Book Information:
Once, the name Macalister Hale was uttered in the boardroom with respect. Now, it’s whispered in disgrace at cocktail parties hosted by Boston’s elite. Scandal nearly destroyed me, but the one thing larger than my infamy is my bank account, and I’ve learned money can solve anything. Well—almost anything. Sophia Alby’s preferred currency is secrets and the way she trades information puts Wall Street to shame. This girl charges into my life and claims a partnership can restore my reputation. My downfall was swift, but with her, my climb to redemption will be greater. Our arrangement is professional. Appropriate. It has to be, because she’s half my age. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting . . . To move on. To control and indulge in her. To hear the name Macalister Hale echo in her breathy moans. But I can’t. Giving in to temptation led to my undoing before, and I won’t survive it a second time.
Books in Series:	Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane
Books by Author:	Nikki Sloane

ONE

MACALISTER

FRUSTRATION TWISTED MY MUSCLES INTO CORDS, making my clasped hands ache. Before the darkest day of my life, the one where I’d made a terrible mistake, no one would have dared miss a meeting with me. I’d had employees willing to sit in on conference calls while they were in labor or waiting for surgery.

Today, Stephen Alby was eight insulting minutes late. It was long enough to send a message of how little he respected me, my time, and my enormous wealth. Of course, that was assuming he was late. I was beginning to wonder if he would materialize at all. I was easily his biggest client, and if this was how he was going to treat me, perhaps I needed to take my money elsewhere.

I refused to let any of my irritation bleed out onto my face and held my posture neutral since I was out in public. It was noon, and the private penthouse restaurant was fully booked for lunch, and although the dining room wasn’t large, every person in the space was aware of my infamous presence. Conversations had paused at my entrance then lagged awkwardly as I was seated at my table.

It wasn’t the one I preferred, the one by the window, which boasted a view of the harbor and its position of status to the rest of the room. I no longer maintained that level of clout. Instead, I’d been relegated to the smallest table by the door, away from the center where the most influential executives in Boston took their power lunches during the week. Like me, this table existed on the fringes. My money and the Hale name were enough to keep me on the exclusive guest list and earn me a seat in the room, but scandal had driven me to the outskirts.

The din of conversation dropped once more as someone else unexpected appeared at the entryway and spoke with the maître d’.

Clearly, the woman had never been here before. It wasn’t the way her curious gaze took in the floating chandelier at the center of the room that gave it away—it was the soft smile that teased her lips. If she’d taken lunch here before, she’d know this wasn’t a place for happy, friendly smiles. Deals were brokered over seared foie gras and scallops. Careers were made and broken by Boston’s elite while seated at these tables covered in fine white linens.

Once upon a time, I was the king of this town, and I held court in this room.

It seemed the palace intrigue had continued in my absence, but I was desperate to climb back onto my throne and rise above it, rather than play the game with everyone else.

The young woman nodded as the maître d’ spoke, making the waves of her blonde hair shimmer. Her face was familiar, and although it had been years since I’d seen her, it took me only a moment to place the girl. Last time, she’d worn a pale pink bridesmaid dress at my son’s wedding. Today, it was a cashmere sweater dress in navy that covered her frame. It pretended to be modest, but the fabric clung provocatively to her breakneck curves.

When she was led toward my table, I set my jaw.

“Mr. Hale, may I join you?” Her tone was warm and confident.

Mine was brusque. “Are you here to apologize for your father’s lateness?”

Sophia Alby’s smile was unflinching. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon. Let me keep you company while you wait.”

I didn’t appreciate how she lowered into the vacant chair across from me without my approval, but I wouldn’t voice my displeasure until the maître d’ had gone. I didn’t care if I was rude—only that I didn’t appear rude to the people around us, the people who mattered.

The man nodded as she settled into the seat, then he flitted away. I lifted my unimpressed gaze and pinned it on her. “Miss Alby—”

“You have a problem,” she interrupted. There was a strange, off-putting smile fixed on her face.

One of my eyebrows arched so high, it nearly escaped my face. “Is it the girl who just sat uninvited at my table?”

Her unsettling smile widened. “That depends.” She crossed her arms and leaned on the tabletop, manners be damned. It was a conscious decision. She’d gone to the same elite school as my sons, which meant she’d had the finest upbringing. Like my family, the Albys were one of the founding families of Cape Hill—the wealthy hamlet outside of Boston where we lived.

How old was she? Younger than Royce, which meant approximately twenty-five, perhaps twenty-six. I’d invited enough scandal into my life, and the absolute last thing I needed was to be seen having lunch with a pretty girl half my age. Irritation swelled inside me like the bell curve of compounding interest, and it darkened my tone. “It depends on what?”

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The Deception Read online Nikki Sloane (Filthy Rich Americans #3) http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-deception-3-read-online-nikki-sloane Mon, 03 Sep 2018 13:57:33 +0000 http://www.test123.demo2.xyz/the-deception-3-read-online-nikki-sloane Genre: Billionaire, New Adult, Romance, Suspense Authors: Nikki Sloane Series: Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane
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Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	The Deception (Filthy Rich Americans #3)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Nikki Sloane
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B07W7NLJ2S
Book Information:
I’ve been through hell to get to this place. To wear the perfect white dress and stand beside Royce Hale, the liar I tried desperately not to fall in love with and failed. Or maybe I’m still trapped in hell because the devil is here too. He lurks at my side, plotting terrible ways to make me his. It’s win at all costs in this family, and I know now just how far the Hales will go to get what they want. But you can’t survive in a house full of lies without learning the art of deception, and once I become a Hale, I’ll show them exactly what I’ve mastered. THE DECEPTION is the third and final book in the twisted Filthy Rich Americans trilogy. It should be read after THE INITIATION and THE OBSESSION.
Books in Series:	Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane
Books by Author:	Nikki Sloane Books

PROLOGUE

AS THE GLASS ELEVATOR CARRIED US UP, Boston spread out before me in a tangled, weaving mess. The city hadn’t been planned, and the narrow roads were laid atop horse trails from the seventeenth century. Snarling lines of concrete were wedged between skyscrapers. Traffic was a nightmare.

I felt a similar kind of chaos as my gaze focused on him.

He wore a black suit and a black tie dotted with silver specks. To everyone else, he’d look powerful and confident, but I saw through it, down to the uncertainty that lingered behind his blue eyes. It was unnerving to see him like this. I’d known him my whole life and only witnessed it a few times.

Breath seized in my lungs as his hand curled around mine and wove our fingers together. We were alone in the executive elevator, but the glass walls left me feeling exposed. Like anyone could see us. I wasn’t supposed to be here.

The pad of his thumb brushed absentmindedly over the set of rings on my left hand, and it forced the words from my mouth, coming out like I’d discovered a great secret. “You’re nervous.”

He delivered a cool, irritated look. “Of course not. Why would you say that?”

I glanced down at our joined hands and back to him, wordlessly presenting his behavior as evidence. Currently, I didn’t work at Hale Banking and Holding, and even if I did, displays of affection had no place here at the office, out where anyone could see.

He raised an eyebrow. “I wanted an excuse to touch you before the meeting.”

It was a lie, but I didn’t call him out on it because he had good reason to be nervous. He was about to walk into the most important board meeting of his life. A decision had to be made, and it would settle once and for all what had been in the works for years.

I didn’t know which Hale was going to come out on top.

He didn’t either, judging by his unsteady tone. “He doesn’t have the votes.”

There was too much anxiety in me to offer a response. It was like I’d swallowed broken glass and the shards jangled together in my stomach with each shallow breath I took. Everything had led up to this moment. Once the elevator stopped and the doors opened, things were going to get much harder.

My gaze flicked to the panel of buttons, and my nerves made my finger itch to reach out and press one—any floor below the one that was already illuminated.

He must have sensed my trepidation because his grip on me tightened. If he’d meant to reassure me, he failed. My pulse climbed higher with each floor we passed, and my heart ground to a halt the same moment the elevator did. He dropped my hand and stepped away from me, putting a professional amount of distance between us.

“Thank you for coming with me,” he said in the quiet before the doors peeled back with a mechanical whine.

Like I had a choice.

I sucked in a deep breath, both wanting and dreading the next part.

He gestured through the now open doors. “After you.”

My knees wobbled beneath my skirt, but I held my head up and fixed an indifferent expression on my face as I stepped into the hallway. I was Marist Hale on the outside, the perfect goddess, ready to rule alongside the other Olympians. And inside, I was the monster Medusa, preparing to take my victims.

I’d only made it a few steps before my husband turned a corner and spotted me in the hallway.

“Marist?” Royce’s questioning look shifted from me to the man at my side.

As my husband’s gaze crawled upward, his eyes widened, and the distance between us filled with ice. Darkness overtook his expression, and he turned to stone.

Gone was the unease that had plagued Macalister in the elevator moments ago. In the hallway, he was as comfortable as a general heading into a battle with twice as many men as his opponent. Bright, cruel victory flashed in his eyes.

I was the secret weapon he’d just deployed against his son, and a sinister smile spread across his lips.

ONE

Eight Months Ago

MY HEART THUDDED ERRATICALLY IN MY CHEST like it had been placed inside a box and kicked down the grand staircase I was hanging on to. My fingers dug into the carpeted step, desperate not to fall, even as gravity seemed determined to pull me away.

Only it wasn’t gravity. The unstoppable force working to rip me from the stairs was solid and cold and named Macalister Hale.

The Minotaur.

I feebly tried to push his hands away, but whatever Alice had done left me crippled and powerless.

“No,” I whisper-sobbed when icy hands slid under my body and began to collect me. He blurred again into an indistinguishable shape as he sat on the steps and pulled my shoulders across his lap.

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The Obsession Read online Nikki Sloane (Filthy Rich Americans #2) http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-obsession-2-read-online-nikki-sloane Tue, 05 Jun 2018 13:57:33 +0000 http://www.test123.demo2.xyz/the-obsession-2-read-online-nikki-sloane Genre: Dark, Erotic, New Adult, Romance, Suspense Authors: Nikki Sloane Series: Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane
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Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	The Obsession (Filthy Rich Americans #2)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Nikki Sloane
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B07S4B541M
Book Information:
The Hale family is obsessed with status, power, and control. No problem is too big their money can’t solve. Royce Hale manipulated me into giving him everything. My virginity. My hand in marriage. My heart. And as soon as he got what he wanted, he callously sold me off for a cool ten million. In the boardroom and the twisted game his family plays, he says the only rule is to win at all costs. Yesterday I learned a painful lesson not to trust the prince of Cape Hill. Today I’ll destroy his carefully laid plans and show him just how badly he’s already lost. All the money in the world won’t be able to stop me.
Books in Series:	Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane
Books by Author:	Nikki Sloane Books

ONE

MACALISTER HALE’S EYES WERE LIQUID NITROGEN.

They were so cold, they threatened to burn me in an instant, a flash freeze that would turn my skin white and cause blisters to lift on the surface.

I stared up at the powerful man looming over me, who had one hand on each of the armrests of my chair, and I held in a painful breath. There wasn’t any air left in the library or the space between us. He’d used it all when he’d trapped me beneath his inescapable gaze.

Macalister’s lips were only a few inches from mine, and for one terrifying moment it seemed like he was considering kissing me. He’d do it abruptly and without permission, claiming my mouth like it belonged to him.

Like I was his prize.

Was I?

He’d just bought me from his son for the bargain-basement price of one hundred thousand shares. At least ten million dollars, and likely more. A roiling sea swelled and churned in the pit of my stomach. Royce had sealed the deal with a gentlemanly handshake. A business transaction agreed upon and completed. And then he’d fled the library without even a glance in my direction.

I don’t owe you anything, he’d said.

Maybe it was true.

All I could feel was the cut of his betrayal, sharp and excruciating and deep to the bone. A nasty voice inside my head hissed I should have seen it coming. Betrayal was a staple in the myths I adored, and the mortals always suffered at the hands of the gods. A heavy, expensive ring gleamed on my finger, but my engagement to Royce meant nothing. Marrying him would make me a Hale in name—not an immortal like everyone else in his family.

It just made me a target. A pawn in the game between father and son.

Rather than lower his mouth to mine, Macalister peeled his lips back into a joyless smile. “Marist, you shouldn’t find this so upsetting. As I’ve come to understand, you’re a practical girl, and I warned you Royce would sell you out the first chance he got.”

I repeated his understated word like it had been punched from my center. “Upsetting?” I wanted to sound strong, but my voice went hollow. “That’s . . . not the word I’d use for what just happened.”

He reminded me vaguely of Dylan McDermott. He was dark and intense, and looked much younger than fifty-two. His gaze scraped over my face until it settled on my lips. Only this time, it was clear he wasn’t thinking about kissing me. Now he was simply curious about the words I’d produced. He lifted an eyebrow as he evaluated me. “Oh? How would you describe it?”

Unbearable.

I was Ariande, the maiden who’d saved the hero Theseus from the Minotaur’s labyrinth, only to be dumped on an island and left to die when I wasn’t of any further use.

I swallowed the lump that clogged my throat, blocking the word from escaping. When I didn’t say anything, victory flashed through his expression.

“We need to discuss what happens now.” He said it in the same dry way he dictated commands to his employees. “While you’re living in my house, there are expectations, and you will meet them.” He drew in a breath, preparing. “You’ll be respectful and courteous, and you will take any directions I give you without hesitation.”

My heart, which was already racing painfully in my chest, chugged at a faster tempo. I’d told him he’d never own me, but it didn’t make a difference to him. He expected me to bow down to him like everyone else.

“No,” I said.

He was ready for that. He charged forward, driving me backward until I leaned over the back of the chair and it dug uncomfortably into my shoulder blades.

“Do I need to remind you we have an agreement? If you’re not going to follow through on your end, then you cannot expect me to. My money may have cleared into your family’s account, but I didn’t get to where I am today by being a fool.” His expression was stone, his high cheekbones carved, and his lips chiseled into a tight line. “I haven’t removed the lien on your parents’ house.”

The home I’d grown up in had been in my family for four generations. It was everything to my mother, and although it would be a terrible sacrifice to make, was it worth walking away now to get out from under the Hales? What if this was our only chance at escape? In the time of a single breath, I considered cutting my losses.

But my hesitation, or my expression, must have given too much away because a sneer curled on Macalister’s lips.

“Your parents signed over authority to their financial manager. He can divert money without their consent, including the five million you just deposited. In fact, he could move every dollar under the Northcott name. He has total control . . . and he’s my employee.”

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The Initiation Read online Nikki Sloane (Filthy Rich Americans #1) http://www.ilovenovels.com/the-initiation-1-read-online-nikki-sloane Sun, 11 Mar 2018 13:57:33 +0000 http://www.test123.demo2.xyz/the-initiation-1-read-online-nikki-sloane Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Dark, Erotic, New Adult, Romance, Suspense Authors: Nikki Sloane Series: Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane
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Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	The Initiation (Filthy Rich Americans #1)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Nikki Sloane
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	9781949409031
Book Information:
No one knows how new members are selected to the board of Hale Banking and Holding. But there are rumors of a sordid rite of initiation. Whispers how one woman and nine men disappear into a boardroom. This time, that woman will be me. The Hale family owns everything—the eighth largest bank in the world, everyone in our town, even the mortgage on my parents’ mansion. And now Royce Hale wants to own me. He is charming. Seductive. Ruthless. But above all, he’s the prince of lies. My body may tighten with white-hot desire under his penetrating gaze, but I refuse to enjoy it. I’ll make a deal with the devil to save my family and sell myself to the Hales. But Royce will never own my heart.
Books in Series:	Filthy Rich Americans Series by Nikki Sloane
Books by Author:	Nikki Sloane Books

ONE

RAIN STREAKED ACROSS THE WINDOW, blurring the view of the landscape out the back seat of the car as it hurried my sister Emily and me past the front gate. The drive leading up to the Hale estate was long, straight, and lined with tall, manicured hedges. It was a tunnel of green. The only escape was the impressive fountain at the end where the driveway circled, and the historic stone mansion loomed beyond.

I clutched the book in my lap tighter, my fingers tensing on the edges of the hardcover, making the dust jacket crinkle against the skirt of my dress. The sound drew my sister’s attention, and she shot me one of her famous disapproving looks. It was the same one my father had wilted under earlier this evening when he’d suggested Emily find something more appropriate to wear.

Her cocktail dress was as black as the limo we were traveling in. The fabric plunged deep down her chest, flaunting her impressive cleavage. The flouncy skirt was cut short in the front, teasing well above her knees, and hemmed longer in the back. It showed off her legs and the precariously tall heels she wore. Her lips were stained a vivid red. She had blue undertones in her pale skin, so it looked terrific on her.

In theory, that same lip color would work on me. My sister was only fifteen months older than I was, and although we weren’t twins, people often asked if we were. Except we were easier to tell apart these days. On a whim, I’d dyed my hair an unnatural shade of deep green during spring break. It had faded since the last time I’d had it colored, but the hue was still there.

As I’d discovered with the hair color, I could pull off bold colors like Emily. We had the same sable hair and crystal blue eyes, but in stark contrast to her, tonight I wore a white dress with lace cap sleeves. It was fitting. I was the weird, virginal loner, and she was the confident, sexy bombshell.

We looked nothing alike on the inside.

She was friendly, quick-witted, and a pleaser. She had a knack for putting people at ease.

I had the ability to make everyone uncomfortable with my awkward bluntness but had learned not to care what others thought. My sister was the darling of the social scene, and she was destined to be the queen of Cape Hill—one of the wealthiest villages in Massachusetts. It had bay views, sprawling estates, and private golf courses, and each year the housing market climbed closer to matching the Hamptons.

My destiny, however, was to be left alone. I could do whatever I wanted, which suited me just fine. I’d never have to fulfill obligations or handle the family duties. I’d been given my mother’s maiden name as my first name to appease my rich grandparents. That was the only responsibility I had to carry.

“Marist.” Emily placed her hand on my wrist and eyed the new Greek mythology book in my lap. “If that doesn’t fit in your purse, don’t take it inside. You can’t show up to a party with a book to read—and definitely not to Royce’s party.”

Because Royce Hale was a modern-day Gatsby. He’d thrown ragers nearly every weekend when he’d been in high school. I was several years behind him, but they’d still talked about it at our elite prep school, long after he’d gone off to Harvard.

I stared at Emily as the car promenaded around the fountain. When it pulled to a stop, my sister’s dangling earrings swayed and glinted in the fading sunlight.

“It fits in my purse,” I said softly. “Don’t worry.”

Even though I didn’t give a shit what people thought of me, this was a huge night for my sister. I wasn’t about to screw it up for her. I was fiercely protective of her, and she was my best friend.

The door on Emily’s side opened and a man stood at the ready, an oversized black umbrella in one hand, and his other extended to help her out. “Good evening,” he said.

As she took his hand, I shoved the book into my bag. I watched the pair of them as he ushered her up the stone steps, sheltered under the umbrella so her hair and makeup wouldn’t be ruined by the drizzle.

I was out of the car before she’d gone inside, and when the man turned and saw me walking toward the house in the rain, he sprinted in a panic, rushing to get me safely under his protection. It was ridiculous. Besides the fact it was basically misting, no one really cared how I looked—most of all me. I was only here for my sister’s benefit. The invitation had been for both Northcott sisters, and it would have been rude for me to decline.

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