“He doesn’t do a thing for me.” Turning to one of the other men in their party whom Meredith had met for the first time tonight, he asked, “How about you, Rick? Does he turn you on?” Now, that, Douglas,” she teased, turning to Doug Chalfont, “is pure, undiluted sex appeal!”ĭoug considered the man and shrugged, grinning. “Look at those shoulders,” Shelly rhapsodized, “look at that face. But then, she’d never been very attracted to dark, overly macho men. All in all, Meredith thought he looked arrogant, proud, and tough. His chin was square, his nose straight, his jaw hard with iron determination. His face was sun-bronzed, his eyes light, and as he stood there, idly studying the elegantly dressed members of Glenmoor, Meredith wondered how Shelly could ever have described him as “gorgeous.” His features looked as if they had been chiseled out of granite by some sculptor who had been intent on portraying brute strength and raw virility-not male beauty.

Meredith, who was facing the entrance, glanced up and knew instantly exactly who had caused that awed, avaricious expression on Shelly’s face! Standing in the doorway, with his right hand thrust into his pants pocket, was a man who was at least six feet two, with hair almost as dark as the tuxedo that clung to his wide shoulders and long legs. “Who are you talking about?” Leigh Ackerman asked, peering about the room. That remark, made in a louder tone than she’d intended, caused a ripple of interest, not only among the entire group Meredith was with, but with several other people who’d overheard her exclamation and were turning around. “The crowd in the lounge at Glenmoor Country Club was thinning out when a woman near Meredith burst out, “My God! Who is that? He’s absolutely gorgeous!” Will they risk everything for a passion too bold to be denied?

Now, locked in a battle that should be all business, dangerous temptations, and bittersweet memories are stirring their hearts. Their brief, ill-fated marriage sparked with thrilling sensuality but ended with a bitter betrayal. In the glare of the media spotlight, it’s a stunning takeover that overshadows the electric chemistry between Matt, once a scruffy kid from steel town Indiana, and cool, sophisticated Meredith Bancroft. Ruthless corporate raider Matthew Farrell is poised to move in on the legendary department store empire owned by Chicago’s renowned Bancroft family.

“Judith McNaught comes close to an Edith Wharton edge” ( The Chicago Tribune) in this stylish and fast-paced classic. Continuing the celebration of the super awesome Judith McNaught’s books releasing in e-books, we’ve got some super cool excerpts! We saw them last week but today we get a closer look at Paradise, A Kingdom of Dreams, Almost Heaven, and Something Wonderful.

A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught