A Risk Worth Taking by Laura Landon

to push Griffin Blackmoor from her mind. To forget how much he disturbed her.
    There was no connection between the two of them other than the promise he’d made to Freddie. His obligation to her was over. Now it was up to her to do what was necessary, up to her to find a husband who was wealthy enough to provide for her and Becca. A husband who would not expect her to be the perfect wife, or love him, or cherish him, or care for him. Above all else, the man she chose as her husband would never be someone who wanted the liquor in a bottle more than his wife or his children.
    Griffin Blackmoor’s dark, handsome face appeared in her mind’s eye. She quickly shoved his image away. He was the last man she would ever risk taking as her husband. He would demand too much of her. He would take too much from her.
    She’d never seen another human being who needed someone to love him more than he did.
    Never seen a man who resembled her father more than he did.

    He couldn’t do this.
    He’d barely made it through dinner without throwing the china to the floor and storming from the room to find a drink. His hands shook so badly he’d spilled his glass of water twice and upset his cup of tea more times than he could count. He needed a drink.
    “This is ridiculous!” he said, pacing the floor like a caged animal. “I don’t need to do this.” He spun around to face Adam and Dr. Thornton. “I can stop anytime I want.”
    “Can you?” the doctor asked.
    Griff didn’t dignify the question with an answer. Of course he could.
    Except right now he wasn’t sure. He’d already gone without a drink longer than he had in months and was nearly frantic for even one swallow.
    “It’s going to get a hell of a lot worse before it’s over,” the doctor said, sitting with his legs outstretched before the fire. “This is only the beginning.”
    Griff closed his eyes and took a deep breath. They’d gone to the study after they had finished eating under the pretext of having an after-dinner brandy. That was a joke. There wasn’t a drop of liquor in the whole damn house. He knew that for a fact. He’d searched every inch of Adam’s town house for one. He was desperate.
    He clenched his fingers around the glass of water Adam had given him. His hands shook like a leaf in a windstorm. He was cold and clammy one minute and hot and sweaty the next. If he could just have one drink, he’d be better. He knew he would.
    “Do you want to know what you’re going to have to face, Mr. Blackmoor? Or would you rather go into this blind?”
    Griff looked at the doctor Adam had hired to get him through this. “Neither,” he answered. “I’d rather not go through this at all, but my brother has left me with no choice.”
    Dr. Thornton set his glass on the table and stood. “Then I’m afraid trying to help you is a waste of my time.”
    “Samuel, please,” Adam interrupted, and the doctor sat back in his chair.
    Griff kept his gaze leveled on the doctor. He was younger than Griff had expected him to be, twenty-fouror twenty-five at the most. And he was a great deal more handsome than any doctor Griff had ever seen before. At least Patience and Freddie’s sister must have thought so. Neither of them had been able to take their eyes off him during dinner. He was quite amiable, but there was a tough side to his nature Griff couldn’t ignore.
    “What do you mean, helping him will be a waste of your time?” Adam asked.
    “We’ve found that patients who have a deep desire to cure their alcohol dependency have an excellent chance of succeeding. Those that do not fail nearly one hundred percent of the time.”
    “What does that mean, Samuel?” Adam asked.
    “It means if your brother doesn’t want to be helped, nothing you or I do is going to work. He’s the only one who can want to be cured badly enough to make it happen.” The doctor intensified the look he gave Griff. “Do you, Mr. Blackmoor?”
    Griff turned his head and stared at the