LITMIR.BIZ

      Prologue

      “THE HOUSE LOOKS lovely, Sally. Just lovely.”

      Aileen Quinn stood in the foyer of her Irish country house and gazed around at the festive holiday decorations. Though the first week in November was a bit early to put everything up for Christmas, she didn’t care.

      Most people waited for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 before bringing out the decorations. But this year, optimism filled her with the holiday spirit. This year, for the first time in her memory, she’d spend the holidays with almost her entire family, and she wanted to savor that joy for as long as possible.

      “It does look grand,” Sally said. “I’ve missed all the holiday cheer.” The housekeeper slipped her arm through Aileen’s and smiled at her. “I believe this will be our best Christmas ever.”

      “I was thinking we ought to put another tree upstairs,” Aileen said. “Just at the top of the stairs. We still have my collection of German glass ornaments, and they would fill a small tree.”

      In years past, she’d made up for her lack of family by overdecorating the house, hoping that it might fill her with more Christmas spirit. But it had never worked. No matter how beautiful the decor, she had still been alone. So for the past twenty years, she’d just stopped, not bothering to acknowledge the holidays at all. It had been too painful, bringing up so many regrets.

      The doorbell chimed and Sally left her side. “I suppose that will be Mr. Stephens.” She peeked out the door, then turned back to Aileen. “And he’s brought a guest. A young lady.”

      Aileen’s eyebrow arched up and a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. “Well, now, isn’t that a surprise? The last time I spoke with Ian, we discussed his rather dismal social life. I can’t believe he acted so quickly.”

      Sally pulled the door open. Grasping her cane, Aileen moved to greet her guests. Her gaze fell on a pretty young woman with bright green eyes and dark hair that fell in soft waves around her face. “Hello there,” Aileen said, holding out her hand. “I’m Aileen Quinn.”

      Two spots of color rose in the woman’s cheeks and she smiled. “Miss Quinn, it is such a pleasure to meet you. And thank you for welcoming me into your home.” She glanced around. “It’s just beautiful.”

      By the accent, Aileen could tell the young lady was American. Aileen looked over at Ian. “Would you care to make the introductions, Mr. Stephens?”

      “Ah, yes, yes. My apologies. Miss Quinn, this is Marlena Jenner from Back Bay Productions in Boston. She’s the producer I told you about. The one who wants to make a documentary about your life.”

      Aileen chuckled softly. “I see. Well, Mr. Stephens, I admire your persistence. But as I said before, I’m not certain my life would be so interesting on film.”

      “Oh, but I disagree,” Marlena said. “Yours is a rags-to-riches story. And your books are so popular worldwide that I’m sure all your fans would want to get to know you better. You’ve done so few interviews over the years, Miss Quinn.” She drew a quick breath, then quickly continued on. “And Ian has told me about your search for your brothers. Perhaps this documentary could help to find Conal.” She turned to Ian. “It is Conal, right?”

      He nodded and forced a smile as she started to continue with her plea. But Aileen jumped in. “Miss Jenner, I—”

      “Please,

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