FOR LOVE OR MONEY


Taurus

Anna believed in choices.  She chose her own past, hinting at a fortune lost, a scandal so intriguing it could not be spoken.  All of which would have surprised her ultra-respectable parents as they stacked the shelves of their shop.

Anna had that Taurus love of the most beautiful things.  At first working with antiques was enough.  But then she wanted to own the beautiful paintings, the fine houses she visited.

It seemed simple – all she had to do was marry the owner of one of the houses, already packed with the beautiful things she craved.  She chose her target – Tom, a little dull, perhaps, but his house was a dream.

Waking up next to someone quite different, she was infuriated to discover that she could not choose who she loved, for Taurus is ruled by Venus.  And the first moment that she saw Peter, he seemed to steal her breath, crack the ice around her heart.  She had only to see the curve of the muscle in his arm, and she was pale and heavy with desire.
But he would not do.  Oh yes, she loved him, but could not let go her dreams of a rich life.  He was, he admitted, a penniless student.

It took three attempts to write the farewell note, as her tears washed away the ink on the first two.  But when Tom offered her a summer in New York, it seemed meant to be.  She was disappointed by the small wedding, devastated when Tom told her the house was sold, his money gone.

Back home, Peter was shocked by the note she left him.  Perhaps he should not have lied to her, should not have hidden the fact that he was a rich, successful songwriter.  But it was so refreshing to meet a girl who hadn’t heard of him, who could not be after his money.  Who knew nothing of the house he’d chosen for them.  Who simply loved him for himself.