From Riches to Redemption

  Her ex-lover is back—

  right when she discovers her life is a lie.

  Ten years ago, Morgan Steele secretly eloped with River Atkinson—only to see her vows betrayed. Now River’s back, made good as CEO of a construction company that rivals her family’s empire. Forced to work together, they give in to long-suppressed desire. But when Morgan discovers she was switched at birth and isn’t the Steele heiress after all, will their second chance be sabotaged by secrets?

  “Trust me,” he said. “I’m an expert on working too much.”

  River looked down at her, only inches away. “You can ignore your needs, push them aside...but they don’t go away. They build up inside of you. Eventually, you have to let off the pressure or you’ll do something stupid.”

  Morgan’s gaze didn’t move from his own. Instead, she put a hand on his chest and her lips parted softly in invitation. “Something stupid like this?” she asked with an arched brow.

  “Morgan...” His breath caught in his throat as he said her name. If she was just flirting, she was playing a dangerous game. He wanted her. If she didn’t want him, she needed to step away.

  She didn’t. She pulled his head down until their lips met. It was an explosive kiss, the contact igniting the fire inside of River that he’d fought to keep down. Any reservations he might have had about tasting Morgan again fizzled away as she bit his bottom lip and he groaned aloud.

  She’d gotten feistier than he remembered her to be. He liked that. A lot.

  He’d been telling the truth when he said he knew what it was like to work too much and deny himself. He was an expert at that. But he couldn’t deny himself any longer. Not when it came to Morgan.

  * * *

  From Riches to Redemption is the second book

  in the Switched! duet from Andrea Laurence.

  Dear Reader,

  In From Mistake to Millions, you met Jade, who discovers that she was switched at birth and should’ve grown up the heiress to a fortune. Sounds like a dream come true, right? Well, this book is the other side of the coin. What if you found out that none of it was supposed to be yours? Your pampered lifestyle, the pressures of being the only daughter of a rich and prominent family... It was all a mistake. What if that glamorous life had cost you the only man you’d ever loved?

  Morgan Steele grew up in the spotlight, and when she tried to escape from it all and eloped with poor but lovable River Atkinson, she found that her idyllic life had its price. When her family finds out what she’s done, her marriage and her romance with River are wiped from the pages of history. Then, ten years later, River shows back up in her life. He’s even more handsome than she remembers, and now he’s the successful owner of a company she has to work with for the entire summer. They have to collaborate for a good cause, but when the old feelings start to bubble to the surface, the secrets they’ve kept could ruin everything.

  If you enjoy Morgan and River’s story, tell me by visiting my website at www.andrealaurence.com, liking my fan page on Facebook or following me on Twitter or Instagram. I’d love to hear from you!

  Enjoy,

  Andrea

  Andrea Laurence

  From Riches to Redemption

  Andrea Laurence is an award-winning author of contemporary romances filled with seduction and sass. She has been a lover of reading and writing stories since she was young. A dedicated West Coast girl transplanted into the Deep South, she is thrilled to share her special blend of sensuality and dry, sarcastic humor with readers.

  Books by Andrea Laurence

  Harlequin Desire

  Millionaires of Manhattan

  What Lies Beneath

  More Than He Expected

  His Lover’s Little Secret

  The CEO’s Unexpected Child

  Little Secrets: Secretly Pregnant

  Rags to Riches Baby

  One Unforgettable Weekend

  The Boyfriend Arrangement

  Switched!

  From Mistake to Millions

  From Riches to Redemption

  Visit her Author Profile page at Harlequin.com, or andrealaurence.com, for more titles.

  You can find Andrea Laurence on Facebook, along with other Harlequin Desire authors, at Facebook.com/harlequindesireauthors!

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  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from BIG SHOT by Katy Evans

  One

  “Morgan? There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

  Turning at the sound of her brother Sawyer’s voice, Morgan Steele found herself suddenly frozen on the spot. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, her lips trembling but soundless as she stared at the man standing at her brother’s side.

  She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting. Probably just another polite and boring chat with one of her parents’ friends and colleagues. Charity fund-raisers for Steele Tools usually meant an endless stream of champagne and small talk with people whose names she wouldn’t remember in ten minutes. Her family hosted events like this at their home all the time. But she knew this man’s name. There was no way she would have ever forgotten it.

  He’d grown out of his boyish lanky build and into the strong physique of a man who worked with his hands for a living. His closely cropped beard made him look older and more sophisticated than before, but Morgan would know those eyes anywhere. Those navy blue beauties had seen right through her.

  “Morgan, this is River Atkinson. He’s the owner and CEO of Southern Charm Construction. He’ll be working with you this year on our summer housing development project.”

  Sawyer continued to prattle on, completely oblivious to the reactions of the two people standing with him. At least to Morgan’s stunned reaction. For River’s part, he actually looked a bit...well...smug. He smiled in a way that told anyone who bothered to look that he was in on the joke. His eyes held a touch of amusement in them as he extended his hand to her.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Steele,” he said.

  She knew she should shake his hand. Play along with this ruse and not make a scene. And yet, she couldn’t make herself reach out and touch him. That was the same hand that had caressed every inch of her body. The same hand that had slipped a petite diamond ring onto her ring finger during a small rustic mountain ceremony in the Smoky Mountains. The same hand that had taken a hundred grand from her father and walked away without looking over his shoulder.

  “Morgan?”

  Her brother’s concerned voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She plastered her practiced grin onto her face and thrust her arm out to shake River’s hand. She had to treat him like any other business acquaintance. Sawyer didn’t know about her past with River. Almost no one did, including all three of her brothers. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Mr. Atkinson. I’m sure our companies will do great things together this summer.”

  His shake was firm, but she could tell that he wasn’t interested in immediately letting go of her hand. To be honest, she had a hard time pulling away herself. There was something when they touched—a familiar connection—that lingered there. As though their bodies remembered each other, even if their minds resisted the idea.

  Finally, he released her from his grasp. She switched her champagne flute into that hand to let the chilly glass dull the feel of him against her skin. Then she took a large sip to dull the feel of him inside her head as well.

  Who the hell had approved this? Her father certainly wasn’t involved. He’d just as soon shoot River on the doorstep as let him inside after what happened back in college. But her family was good at keeping secrets, even from each other. It was news to Morgan that Southern Charm Construction and River Atkinson were one and the same entity. She’d heard mention of the company and never once questioned who owned it.

  “Sawyer? Can you come here for a minute?” Their mother’s voice beckoned one of Morgan’s older brothers.

  Morgan tensed. She didn’t want to be left alone with River. They would hardly be alone in the traditional sense, but being in the same room having a discussion was more intimate than they’d experienced since the day her family pulled them apart.

  “If you’ll excuse me.” Sawyer smiled and clapped River on the back before he departed.

  With just the two of them standing on the fringe of the crowd together, Morgan wasn’t quite sure what to do. It was more awkward than a junior high dance. What was she supposed to say to the boy—man—who had turned his back on her all those years ago?

  “You’re looking well, Morgan,” River said. He was clutching a glass tumbler of scotch in his hand as his dark eyes raked over her from top to bottom. “That emerald dress suits you. It brings out the green in your eyes.”

  It seemed they were going for polite, but intimate. “Thank you. I like the beard. It makes you look distinguished.” It was silly, but she wasn’t sure what else to say to him.

  River chuckled at her choice of words. “Distinguished. If by that you mean rich and important, then yes, that’s exactly the look I was going for.” He glanced down at her hand as she held her glass. “Not married yet?” he asked.

  Morgan couldn’t prevent one dark eyebrow from arching up in surprise and confusion at his question. “Yet? Don’t you mean married again, River?”

  He just shrugged off her challenge with a roll of his eyes. “As far as the state of Tennessee and your family is concerned, you’ve never been married, Morgan, and neither have I. That’s what getting an annulment means. It never happened. That’s why you mailed the ring back, remember?”

  “Shhh!” Morgan’s eyes widened as she looked around at the people nearby to see if anyone was listening. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be involved in their own discussions. She reached out for River’s elbow and tugged him with her into a far corner of the ballroom where no one could hear them.

  “What is all this about, River?” she hissed at him through clenched teeth.

  He crossed his arms over his chest, straining the shoulders of his designer tuxedo. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “The hell you don’t. Why are you here tonight?”

  “I was invited,” he replied with a satisfied smirk.

  Morgan sighed in frustration. He was going to make her spell this out just because he could. “How did our companies end up working together, River? This is the first I’ve heard of it or it sure as hell wouldn’t have been approved. Was this your big idea? To weasel back into the family somehow through your business?”

  “Why would I want to be in your family, Morgan? For the few hours I was related to the Steeles, I was treated like dirt. You’ve always been so arrogant. Acting like somehow everything always revolves around your important family and what people want from you.” There was audible venom in his voice. “I didn’t want anything from you but your love, Morgan, and your father wouldn’t even let me have that.”

  Morgan watched a flicker of pain dance across his eyes. Yes, he’d been hurt. But he hadn’t been abandoned the way she had been. “No, he wouldn’t, but you seemed all too happy to settle for a fat check instead.”

  Her father, Trevor Steele, had tried to reason with her when they got back to Charleston that morning. River wasn’t good enough for her. He was only using her to get to her money. Eloping? Without a prenuptial agreement? A background check? That little stunt could’ve had a disastrous outcome, he had insisted. And the boy she loved had his price. His affections were worth a hundred grand. When her father agreed to River’s price, money in hand, River had stopped fighting and let Morgan go.

  River stiffened at her words. Perhaps he wasn’t very proud of that, either. He narrowed his dark sapphire gaze at her for a moment, and then let his arms fall helplessly to his side. “If that’s what you really think of me, it’s probably just as well our marriage was erased from history. We never would’ve made it. You must’ve known that, though. You didn’t seem to mind letting your daddy clean up your mess.”

  Morgan’s jaw dropped, her response stolen from her lips. What was she supposed to say to that? Letting her daddy clean up the mess? Really? What did he know of the mess left behind? He hadn’t been there. He had no idea what she had been through over losing him. Over losing everything. He’d extorted a load of money from her father and carried on with his life. She’d been left behind to deal with the aftermath.

  “Morgan, Dad says it’s almost time for us to go on stage and beg for money.”

  She turned away from River as a wave of relief washed over her. Morgan needed the interruption. Things had escalated quickly with years of words bottled up between them, but now was not the time. She would say something she regretted if she didn’t get away from him right now.

  “Do you have your speech ready?” This time it was Sawyer’s twin, Finn, coming to fetch her. The identical twins were a year and a half older than she was, both with their father’s dark blond hair and golden hazel eyes. She could tell this was Finn because of the dimple in his right cheek. Sawyer’s dimple was in his left cheek. She also knew Finn was wearing a bright orange bow tie with his tuxedo to agitate their father. Finn lived to exacerbate Trevor Steele.

  “I’ll be right there.” She turned back to where River was standing with an expectant look on his face. He’d called her arrogant, and the way he looked at her made her want to slap the smug smirk off his face. She’d settle for making him eat his words. “We’ll have to continue this conversation later, Mr. Atkinson.”

  “I look forward to it. I’m certainly not going anywhere,” he said.

  As Morgan turned and made her way up to the stage to join her family in greeting the guests and donors at their annual charity event, she worried that River meant every word he’d said.

  Whether it was a promise or a threat, River Atkinson was suddenly back in her life and he wasn’t going anywhere.

  * * *

  River watched Morgan walk away with a grin on his face. He was pleased. For one thing, he’d gotten under her skin. That was exactly what he’d wanted when he set out tonight. And for two, watching the curve of her ass sway in that satin-and-lace gown as she left was a delicious sight that brought back some very hot memories. Her womanly curves had certainly filled out since he’d seen her last. That would make any man smile. Even a man who had spent years plotting to make her regret the way she’d abused his affections.

  Those affections for Morgan were long gone now. Swept under the rug with his other youthful naïveté. He should’ve known that his romance with a rich little princess wouldn’t end well. She had just been stretching her wings, rebelling against the tight reins they’d kept on her as a child. That’s what college was for after all. The problem was that they’d both taken it too far. They’d fallen in love.

  Even that wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world. Love wasn’t permanent. Marriage was another matter. It was legally binding. Or at least he’d thought it was until the Steele family lawyers managed to get t heir little indiscretion wiped away.

  And Morgan had let them do it. That was what hurt the most. When Daddy yelled, she’d fallen in line, throwing away everything they’d planned together. He’d been left with an empty bed and a consolation prize, if you could call it that. Some would call it hush money. Or a bribe to walk away and not cause a stink. If there was one thing he’d learned about the Steele family, it was that they hated a scandal. He probably could’ve gotten more money from her father if he’d asked for it. Whatever it took to make River go away.

  But, of course, he hadn’t thought to do that. He hadn’t wanted to take the money at all. It felt cheap. What he wanted was his wife back. He wanted the future he’d planned with her.

  When River realized that wasn’t going to happen, he knew he had a choice. He could turn tail and go home with nothing but his bruised pride, or he could take the money and make something positive come out of this whole mess. He supposed Mr. Steele thought he would blow every penny on cheap beer and an expensive truck, or whatever he thought poor white trash liked to do with their money.

  The joke was on him. River might’ve been poor and lacked all those fancy degrees on his wall, but he wasn’t stupid. He took that money and started his own construction company. He’d practically grown up in this business, following his dad around job sites as soon as he was old enough. With his father’s experience, River’s drive and a housing boom just beginning in Charleston, he’d turned that hundred thousand into a hundred million in cash and assets.

  And to keep in touch with his roots, when River made his first million, he bought a six pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon and a tricked out Ford F-250 to celebrate. Couldn’t let ol’ Trevor down, could he?

  The sound of applause roused River from his thoughts. The family was done welcoming the crowd and asking for money. That meant his chance to track down Morgan again had come. Unfortunately, the petite brunette was easily lost in the crowd. He supposed she wasn’t too eager to continue their discussion, but like it or not, it was going to happen. It had been festering for ten years now and it needed to be dealt with.