Good morning, my lovelies, and welcome to another First Kiss Friday. Today on my blog I have USA Today Bestselling and award winning author Collette Cameron. If you’ve never read Collette’s work then you’re in for a treat. And let’s just take a moment to appreciate this swoon-worthy cover! Collette is not only sharing a first kiss scene form her story, Earl of Scarborough, but she’s also offering a giveaway. Be sure to read to the end and comments. Happy reading and enjoy!

Excerpt:

After setting the paper atop the table, she smoothed her palms down the front of her gown, almost nervously. “Will there be anything else, my lord?”

So formal. So proper and polite.

How he wished she’d say his given name. To hear it upon her lips would be the greatest gift. But as she’d said, such intimacy also suggested a different sort of relationship between them. One most inappropriate and implausible.

In her expressive eyes, the mirth and effervescence that was Willow shone brightly. It fairly radiated from her, and something deep within his spirit craved more. Craved her. She was his rudder, and with her, he mightn’t need the routines he’d imposed upon himself.

Willow could help him cope. With her by his side, he felt he could accomplish anything.

But she was a commoner. A servant in his employee. Two factors that were difficult—no, almost impossible—to overcome in a society brimming with strictures and snobbery. If she could even consider such a farfetched thing. He wasn’t sure that he could, if he were perfectly honest with himself.

Deliberately veering his morose musings to the upcoming holiday, he considered her. Was this her first Christmastide without her family? Might she be feeling nostalgic?

“Do you have any particular Christmas traditions that you enjoy?” he asked on impulse. Surely she’d celebrated with her family and friends in Cambridgeshire and America.

Her eyes flared wide in genuine surprise, the gold shards in her irises glinting as if reflecting the very sun itself. “Me, my lord? What does that matter? The servants celebrate the holiday below stairs.”

“I still cannot think of you as a servant, Willow. Especially one in my employ.” He gave a derogatory laugh, tinged with a smattering of derision. “Believe me, I am trying.”

Not bloody hard enough.

Because, the simple truth was, he didn’t want to. He’d continue to push the bounds. She’d become his friend, when neither had sought the relationship. A friendship unlike any he’d ever experienced, and far more valuable and precious as well.

“I have a fondness for mulled cider. We picked apples from our orchard and made the cider ourselves.” Her eyes took on a faraway look as she gazed out the window. “We played games, too. Blind Man’s Bluff. Snap-dragon. Hot Cockles and other games such as Short Answers, Bullet Pudding, and Move-All. And of course, we sang carols and ate Christmas pudding and other delectable treats.”

Once more, he couldn’t resist cradling her velvety skin, and he cupped her jaw. “I hadn’t considered the holiday might be a difficult time for you.”

“Not so very difficult.” Her burnished lashes fluttered to fan her curved cheeks, and she parted her lips.

Before he was even fully aware of moving, Ansley bent his neck and swept his mouth across the tempting petals that had so tortured his dreams for the past month.

They were sweet, supple, and soft. So very, very soft. And absolutely scrumptious.

She tasted of tea. And lemon. And Willow.

Was there ever such a captivating, intelligent, clever, or resilient woman as Willow Harwood? He angled his head to deepen the kiss, and she sighed against him, edging nearer and clasping his coat lapels.

Exhilaration and triumph careened for dominance.

She wanted him, too.

A step echoed in the corridor, and with a tiny gasp, she promptly jerked away from him.

The promised tea tray.

Averting her gaze, she put one hand to the back of her head as if checking for any loose strands that might give her away. “Forgive me, my lord. I don’t know what came over me.” Her voice trembled the merest bit. “It won’t happen again.”

“Willow…?” He touched her arm. “We need to talk about this. About us.”

She shook her head, backing away. “I cannot,” she whispered, her eyes and voice tortured. “I cannot.”

And then she was gone in a flurry of dark blue wool

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The Earl of Scarborough
By Collette Camaron

When a woman desperate for a job saves the life of an earl…
… both of their plans for the future are thwarted.

He’s eccentric and society-shy…

There’s no polite way to describe Ansley, Earl of Scarborough’s obsession with schedules and inflexible routines. Unfortunately, he’s also in need of a wife, which forces him squarely in the midst of the society he can scarcely function in. If only he dared to ignore the haut ton’s censure and claim the lovely, wholly unsuitable Willow as his own.

She seeks a governess post…

Up from the country, Willow Harwood must quickly secure a governess position and save enough money to return to America. Only, her plans are foiled when she rushes to the rescue of a devastatingly handsome earl in the process of being robbed. Though he’s far above her station, she can’t fight the irrepressible attraction she feels toward him.

Neither is prepared for the upheaval to their lives when she reluctantly accepts his offer of employment…as his housekeeper. Nor can either predict the mayhem that follows when a lord who disdains society and a country miss with no experience plan a haut ton Christmastide gathering.

This charming Regency holiday historical by a USA Today bestselling author will make you smile, laugh, and sigh with contentment as you witness the sweet and tender love growing between Ansley and Willow.

If you enjoy reading entertaining Christmas, class difference, strong heroine, and lovable rogue stories with a dash of romantic humor and heart-warming emotion, then you’ll adore Collette Cameron’s enthralling WICKED EARLS’ CLUB SERIES. Buy EARL OF SCARBOROUGH and settle into your favorite reading nook for a page-turning escape into a Regency world adventure you can’t put down.

Though part of a series, this book can easily be read as a stand-alone novel.

CHECK OUT COLLETTE’S OTHER SERIES:
Castle Brides
Heart of a Scot ~ Coming soon!
Highland Heather Romancing a Scot
Seductive Scoundrels
The Blue Rose Regency Romances: The Culpepper Misses
The Honorable Rogues

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XMG2LCB

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/earl-of-scarborough-collette-cameron/1133400782?ean=2940163181698

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/earl-of-scarborough

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=UeetDwAAQBAJ

iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/earl-of-scarborough/id1479294740

About the author:

USA Today Bestselling, award-winning author COLLETTE CAMERON^® scribbles Scottish and Regency historicals featuring dashing rogues and scoundrels and the intrepid damsels who reform them. Blessed with an over-active and witty muse that won’t stop whispering new romantic romps in her ear, she’s lived in Oregon her entire life, though she dreams of living in Scotland part-time. A self-confessed Cadbury chocoholic, you’ll always find a dash of inspiration and a pinch of humor in her sweet-to-spicy timeless romances^®

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GIVEAWAY Opportunity! Be sure to leave Collette a comment to be in the running for an eCopy of Earl of Wainthorpe. We’ll leave this giveaway open through the weekend. A random comment will be generated on Monday as the winner! Good luck, my lovelies!