Read more
Informationen zum Autor Judith O'Brien is a romance author. She previously worked as an editor at several publications, such as Self , when she discovered her love for romance and writing. She is now the author of numerous titles, including Timeless Love , Maiden Voyage , The Forever Bride , and Once Upon a Rose . She also contributed to A Gift of Love , alongside Judith McNaught and Jude Deveraux. Klappentext In her delectable tales of romance sprinkled with enchanting humor and magic, Judith O'Brien "just keeps giving readers what they want" (Romantic Times). Now this wonderful storyteller steps into turn-of-the-century New York and sends a feisty heroine on an adventure of psychic thrills and earthly passions....Celia Thomason is desperate to rescue her family from financial disaster. But having rejected a string of suitors, and with no intention of ever marrying, she must look to her own talents to secure her future. With an ingenuity she had no idea she possessed, Celia capitalizes on a timely trend, and sets up in business as a medium to the spirit world. Her counterfeit seances are meant to heal the broken-hearted; she never dreamed she would be called upon by shipping magnate Brendan O'Neal, a brusque Irish businessman who seeks her services. Or that the channeling session he's paid thousands for would attract the very real ghost of his beloved sister, Amanda.Neither skeptical Brendan, nor Celia, the reluctant medium, has the faintest idea how to respond to this glimpse into "the other side." But Amanda's appearance is only the beginning. Setting out to unravel the spiraling secrets behind Amanda's death, Brendan and Celia find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other. Now, as they fall headlong into a perilous situation that threatens their very lives, they discover the key to the greatest and most timeless mystery of all: true and eternal love. Leseprobe Chapter One New York City, 1849 They closed the window curtains and waited for the ghost to arrive. "Are you prepared to see your husband now?" The widow nodded once, twisting her thin silver wedding band. "I do not know what to say," she whispered, and then smiled just a little. "We were married for eight years, and now I do not know what to say." Celia Thomason placed her hand on the young widow's wrist. "I understand, Mrs. Jenson. But your husband will be the same man, maintain the same character as he did before his passing. You needn't be shy." "Don't people get better?" She cleared her throat once. "What I mean is, after they have passed over, don't they become kinder and more God-fearing?" Even in the plush, cool dimness of the front room parlor, with the heavy green draperies blocking the late-afternoon sun, muffling the sounds of brisk footsteps and rolling carriages and clip-clopping horses, Celia could see glintings of white in the widow's hair. Yet she could not possibly have reached thirty -- perhaps she was even younger than Celia herself. Her eyes, though, were old and tired, a flat gray framed by lids of dry crepe, her thin lips pallid and taut. Chronological years were meaningless to a woman who had labored hard her entire life, only to be forced into more dire circumstances now. It had been several months since her husband perished in an appalling accident. A longshoreman, he was unloading great juke sacks of coffee, each one weighing hundreds of pounds. Apparently he had not realized how precariously balanced the highest sack was, and when he tripped, the entire pile tumbled onto him, leaving his wife and three children nearly penniless. With what small funds remained, Mrs. Jenson had come to Celia Thomason, noted spiritualist, to seek advice from her late husband. Most of the city knew of Miss Thomason's remarkable skills. At a time when spiritualists were pitching tents, collecting money, and ...
