Juliana

Author's Note: The Aphrodite Academy series tells stories about women who need second chances. Some, even third chances. These women are not the privileged and pampered, but women to whom life has not been kind. The language is frank and saucy, but the stories are driven by character and plot, not sexual content. Although Juliana is a stand-alone novella, you will likely appreciate the story more if you read Belle, Cecilia, and Holly first.

The story: Juliana, an innocent bride, marries a charming, insouciant gentleman who promptly sets about teaching her all aspects of love, not just those generally practiced in Regency bedchambers. At some she draws the line, but when her husband adds Darius Wolfe, his man of business, to the mix, she finally learns the meaning of love. Yet happiness remains elusive. When Juliana's husband is killed in a duel, instead of being freed, she is haunted by memories of her role in ménage à trois and is unable to move forward into a brighter world. She sets up a school to provide second chances for young women who have gone astray, yet six celibate years go by with her relationship to Darius Wolfe unresolved. Even after her friends band together to help her, the possibility of a happy ending remains doubtful.