Choosing Love or Dreams (Second Chances, A Regency Series Book 2)

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Benjamin, Lord Craven, second in line for the Greywell Earldom, and keen on following his dream to open an avant-garde London art gallery finds himself and his entire inheritance drowning in the business of art, at the hand of his arrogant inexperience. Further thwarting his success is his attraction to his distractingly beautiful and spirited sister-in-law Lady Emma.
Miss Paulina Turner, the common born daughter of an uncommonly industrious and rich father, is driven by the Turner workaholic desires. At a young age she has already conquered the London Art Scene as curator of the infamous Turner Gallery, and has plans to doing the same in Paris.
She agrees to help Ben launch his unique grand opening before leaving. But her all-business role as consultant is in jeopardy of dissolving into a passionate barrier to her freedom.
Ben's heart is pulled in two beautiful directions. Will his true heart connections with Paulina be strong enough to pull him away from the most captivating woman he has ever experienced? Can Paulina abandon a lifelong dream for her encompassing love for a man whose heart can't make up its mind?

It was January, pre-season actually, and this was the first afternoon soirée of the New Year. London was just beginning to fill up with the latest launch of debutantes and young men posturing to marry. And every single titled male peer was a potential matrimonial target.
Ben lifted his veiled gaze to the heavens at their comments. As a young man of three and twenty, he loved the London activity, the parties and balls, as well as the seedier clubs and entertainments, but he did not like feeling that he was being hunted as a social stepping stone.
He shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment.
“Doesn’t anyone come to a gallery party to see the paintings?” He said just above a whisper.
“Very rarely actually,” a soft female voice answered to his right.
His eyes flew open and he turned to gaze at the delicately sculpted profile of a young lady, perhaps nineteen or twenty, who was studying the painting with a gaze of intention, really looking at it as opposed to pretending to look at it. He had seen her before, at a distance, at the last show he had come to see.
He smiled. “Then that would make you a rarity,” he said taking in the long gentle brown curls pulled up at the temples to a beaded clip at the crown and allowed to cascade down to the middle of her back. Her profile showed off the gentle curve of her lips, and thick fringe of lashes shading eyes that he thought looked brown, but from the side the ambient lighting from the overhead skylights reflected specks of green and blue.
She did not break her gaze, but he saw the slight smile she fought not to show. Her gaze remained locked on the painting.
“I love this artist’s use of dabs of color,” she said as her gaze moved over the painting. “A new technique many of the critics have been less than kind to. Unlike being chained to be overly realistic, this is so free and subtle. The images appear as someone would see them if they just caught a glimpse of it.” She sighed, still not changing her gaze. “It’s lovely, don’t you think?”
Ben smiled as he kept his gaze on her face, then let it sweep down to her petite frame, the simple lines of her deep blue dress accented her long graceful neck, and ungloved delicate hands that were resting on her arms gently crossed in front of her.
“Yes,” he said softly, “a very lovely view indeed.”
Her mouth formed a ladylike smirk as she slowly turned her head toward him.
“And what was it you just said about people coming to a gallery to see the paintings?” she said with a slightly defiant inquisitive stare.
Ben smiled.