Never Again
()
About this ebook
Book 4 of the Spinster Series
A youthful romance that ended badly has rendered Mabel Hughes incapable of ever loving another man. Or so she thought. A self-portrait she painted and sold years ago crosses paths with wealthy businessman, Thomas Torrens. He is captivated by the hauntingly beautiful woman in the picture and is determined to discover her identity. Little does he realize that artist and subject are one in the same...
This novelette is approximately 13,000 words.
Gabriella Mahoney
Gabriella Mahoney is a California girl that has been writing since grade school. As an incurable bookworm, she remembers when her best friend first introduced her to Georgette Heyer and the world of Regency romance like it was yesterday. Gabriella likes to write in a variety of genres but she is especially fond of short form fiction and exploring the new romantic possibilities it creates.
Read more from Gabriella Mahoney
Seduction and Lies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUntouched Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Contract Marriage Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Shut Away from Desire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUntamed Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStolen Away Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuilty Pleasure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSafe with Me Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll's Fair Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRescued Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMade for Each Other Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYoung Hearts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove and War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRules of the Heart Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHardly a Lady Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInto the Sunset (5 complete short stories) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsForged with Trust Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReunited Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHealing Touch Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Love Heals All Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClaiming Home (MacAllan Clan Series) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTainted by Association Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNew to Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Never Again
Related ebooks
Delighting in Your Company Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStuff: The Bristol Collection, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bound Together Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ghastly Ghostwriter: Flash & Shorts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Seduction Request Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pirate Queen's Daughter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTilly's Trials Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mio bodyguard Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Money Man's Seduction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMagic Most Deadly: Whitney and Davies, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory: History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Case of the Magic Gold Mirror Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen His Kiss Is Wicked Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Prickly Predicament: Mad River Mystery Series, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReframing Emma Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmaranth: The Preterhumans Book 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVengeful Legal Deal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe House of Dreams: A Short Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Company of Cats Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Powder of Sin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Exposé: Power Play, #3 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coping Strategies (Cult of the Butterfly 21) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Script of Your Life: dangerous love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSonder Village Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Best Kind of Chaos: Those Scandalous Taggarts, #5 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Work In America (A Clean Victorian Romance) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDangerous Cargo Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tycoon's Ultimate Conquest Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Witch Mystery: Ruby: Mystery-Detective Fantasy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe King 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Historical Romance For You
Bred By The King In Public: Dominant King Erotic History Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Slave Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Barbarian's Concubine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lady's Tutor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Simply Sexual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pride and Prejudice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Temptress Unbound Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Once Upon A Time: A Collection of Folktales, Fairytales and Legends Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whitney, My Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil’s Submission Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pleasure's Apprentice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bound To Please Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Something Wonderful Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lover Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Kingdom of Dreams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bargain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pride and Pleasure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Years to Sin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kent Family Chronicles Volumes One Through Three: The Bastard, The Rebels, and The Seekers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5True Alien Seduction: Outing the Flames of Passion Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5As You Desire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Accidental Empress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Visitors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lion's Lady Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cold-Hearted Rake: The Ravenels, Book 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Gatsby (Deluxe Illustrated Edition) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Companion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Home Child Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Guardian of Lies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Never Again
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Never Again - Gabriella Mahoney
Never Again
By Gabriella Mahoney
***
Published by Gabriella Mahoney at Smashwords
Copyright 2013 Gabriella Mahoney
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
***
Prologue
I can, of course, bring you more selections, Mr. Torrens.
Thomas raised an amused eyebrow at the aging art dealer. He was driving the man to the point of distraction and they both knew it. Mr. Simmons had been contacted a fortnight ago with a request for a selection of art from a variety of contemporary artists. A promise to make the effort worth his while made him reluctantly agree.
Thomas was used to the type of reaction the Mr. Simmons was giving him. An untitled man was never afforded the same respect as that given to a peer. It didn’t matter that Thomas Torrens happened to be richer than most of the English aristocracy. New money was almost always viewed with contempt.
The selections you brought me are just fine. I can tell that you went to some trouble to acquire a few of these pieces. I’m merely taking my time. One should never take the job of patron lightly.
Simmons sighed and took a few steps back as Thomas resumed his careful scrutiny of each piece. His approach was unusual since very few aristocrats actually bothered to become educated in the field of art. They supported artists as a matter of show rather than principles.
But Thomas took pride in his carefully acquired artistic taste, having originally spent his younger days as a painter’s apprentice. Ambition made him cut his art career short. He was tired of going to bed hungry and wanted his impoverished parents to live out their remaining days in comfort. Scraping together every shilling he could muster, he had eventually made his fortune through ruthless stock trading, loans and banking. His entire life now revolved around numbers. The occasional painting project in his precious few free hours was the only way he still felt human. Art and his daughter, Annabelle, were his two reminders that there was goodness in this life.
He wasn’t quite sure if his decision to become an art patron stemmed from his passion or his guilt. His career demands up until this point had made it impossible for him to do anything other than collect the occasional piece. But at seven and thirty years of age he decided enough was enough. It was high time he started doing something with his money other than buy yet another lavish country estate.
His eyes narrowed as he examined the work in front of him. It was a painting of a bustling dock at dawn. Fishermen setting sail and their wives cutting up the latest catch. The artist had done an exquisite job capturing all the unassuming details of the scene. His technique was flawless. It lacked… depth. Thomas could immediately tell that the artist felt no connection to these people.
He didn’t want to pick just any artist to sponsor. He wanted the artist to have that special something in their work. He wasn’t sure what that was but he would know it when he saw it. Scowling at the dock scene, he moved on to the next display. So far all of these artists struck him as the same: skilled but soulless. Was it really so much to—
His internal tirade was cut short as his eyes took in the next painting.