It’s another First Kiss Friday and today I have my friend Caroline Warfield as my guest. Caroline has a new story out entitled Charlotte’s Christmas Vigil that is just in time for the holiday’s. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene. Happy reading!

Excerpt:

“Don’t get up, Lottie. Are you well?” He raised the candle to see her face better. The purple smudges under her eyes hadn’t abated.

She looked back, puzzled. “Well enough. Why did you come?”

His eyes scanned her, from the glorious hair to the tips of those graceful toes. He tried to remind himself of his professional demeanor, but diagnosis played no part in this scrutiny.

“Salvo?” Lottie asked, her voice thick.

“I’m sorry, Lottie. You should not be embroiled in my family’s crisis.”

She pulled her gown down to cover herself. He suspected she blushed rather in the semi-darkness, but he couldn’t pull his eyes away.

“I don’t mind. It feels good to be needed. Besides, David looks better every day. I have you to thank for that.”

His feet moved into the room before he could tell them to stop.

She frowned at him. “You look exhausted. You can’t care for patients all day and stay up all night. Let me take over with the boys.” She rose. “You get to your bed.”

He had her in his arms before either could take another breath.

“Thank you,” he breathed against her mouth, just before he kissed her.

Lottie pulled back and gasped. He would have pulled back then, but a second later, she moved closer and pressed her mouth to his. He tasted her gently, but didn’t probe. He cupped her face, so he would not pull her up against his arousal, though he yearned to pull her close. He kissed her eyes and down her cheek before setting her away from him.

Lottie raised trembling fingers to her mouth. “Salvo?”

---

About the Book

Venice 1818
Lady Charlotte clings to one dream—to see the splendor of Rome before settling for life as the spinster sister of an earl. But now her feckless brother attempts to imitate his idol, Byron, by swimming the Grand Canal, falls ill, and forces her to wait again, stranded in Venice halfway to the place of her dreams. She finds the city damp, moldy, and riddled with disease.

As a physician, Salvatore Caresini well knows the danger of putrid fever. He lost his young wife to it, leaving him alone to care for their rambunctious children. He isn’t about to let the lovely English lady risk her life nursing her brother.
But Christmas is coming, that season of miracles, and with it, perhaps, lessons for two lonely people: that love heals the deepest wounds and sometimes the deepest dreams aren’t what we expect.

Available now from Amazon or Barnes & Noble

For other formats see Smashwords

About the Author

Caroline Warfield grew up in a perapatetic army family and had a varied career (largely around libraries and technology) before retiring to the urban wilds of Eastern Pennsylvania, and divides her time between writing and seeking adventures with her grandbuddy and the prince among men she married.

You can find her here:

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