Welcome back to my First Kiss Friday blog, my dearest readers. Today I’m going to share an excerpt from my upcoming novella A Love Beyond Time: A Family of Worth (Book Three) that will be found in the Bluestocking Belles’ boxset Under the Harvest Moon. It releases October 10th. I hope you enjoy this scene between Brandon Worthington and Hannah Pownall. Happy reading!
Excerpt:
He followed her outside and Hannah tried to keep calm while she waited for Brandon to say whatever he wished of her.
“I know I was a complete dullard the other day when we met at our spot,” he began with a tentative smile. That he mentioned the place by the meadow and pond brought fond memories of the boy she had tried to forget.
“I suppose my words were a bit harsh and I will warn you that today has been already trying. I can’t vouch that I shall remain… as polite as my mother would expect of me,” she said honestly. She raised her eyes to him but there was nothing showing on his face other than compassion.
“Is there anything I could help you with?” he asked, leaning heavily on his cane.
She shook her head as an answer to his question. There was nothing he could help with, of course, but she was curious as to what happened to him. She bit her lip in indecision if she should voice her concerns and then threw caution to the wind. “I hope you won’t think me rude to ask this, but how did you become injured?”
He winced and then began fingering the handle of his cane. “Shrapnel. Near the leg joint. The sawbones surgeon couldn’t reach it and was ready to take the leg. If it wasn’t for a faithful drummer boy, I’d only have a stump. He lives with me now. It was the least I could do since he had no family of his own.”
She gasped at the thought of him lying in some tent close to a battlefield. “Oh Brandon! I’m so sorry,” she murmured, reaching out for him before she checked herself. “Does it bother you often?”
A slight chuckle left him. “I’ve become used to it. If I sit too long, I need to walk to work out the stiffness and of course if I do that too long, I need to sit. It’s a constant reminder of what the war has cost me.” He hesitated before he continued. “And perhaps this is why I am reluctant to ask you if you would consider seeing me again. A second chance so to speak.”
She tilted her head to one side to stare at him while her heart leapt in joy. It would never do to give in so easily. “I thought you were only here to rest and recuperate… or so you told me just a few days ago.”
“Yes… well… that was my original intention but the overwhelming relief I felt knowing you were still unwed gave me the first bit of hope I’ve felt in years. And then there was that memento you left on the bench.”
Hannah blushed. “I was afraid you would see that.”
Brandon stepped forward and took her hand. “It was lovely, Hannah. But I will certainly understand if you don’t want to further our association. Not many women would want a cripple for a potential husband.”
“Don’t you dare call yourself that, Brandon Worthington!” she scolded, stamping her foot to get her message across. “I won’t stand for it.”
He laughed. “Ah! There she is. That little fireball of a young woman whom I so did love to tease in our youth. Maybe there is hope for us after all that we could make another go of it.”
She bit her lip in indecision before she spoke her worse fears. “What will your mother or brother think of you courting a woman who works in an inn?”
“My mother is just thankful that I came back alive from Waterloo intact… for the most part. My brother and sister couldn’t care less who I might marry as long as I am happy.” He raised her fingers to his lips. His breath was warm, and she did everything in her power not to heave a heavy sigh at his romantic gesture when his lips brushed her skin.
She had forgotten he had a sister. His father was someone she could never forget. “Your father minded greatly.”
A startled look passed over Brandon’s features before he composed himself once more. “My father is long gone from this world and, though I wish no ill will on the dead, he no longer has any say in the way I run my life.”
“I don’t want to be the cause of any family problems, Brandon, nor could I stand to watch you have to leave again,” she mused aloud.
“Give us a chance, Hannah. I will do all in my power to make up for the years we missed together. I promise.”
“I may just hold you to your vow, Brandon,” she stated while her heart melted away the last of the wall of ice she had erected so many years ago. She had another chance with him and she would grasp it willingly with both hands!
“Please do so and feel free to call me out if I ever start to break your heart again,” he said with a short bow. He began to lean forward and she waited breathlessly for him to kiss her.
His mouth inches from her own, she had closed her eyes in anticipation of what she had longed for all these years, but they now opened wide when all she could feel was his breath. His amber eyes twinkled in delight and a roguish grin turned up the corner of that mouth she had been wishing were upon her own.
“May I kiss you, Hannah?” he asked quietly.
She stepped even closer, and her fingertips smoothed the lapels of his coat before making their way around his neck. She fingered the edges of his hair until she at last gave her answer. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Home… his mouth upon her own was like coming home or a taste of heaven itself. She never thought she’d feel the emotions Brandon brought out in her again. His lips took possession of hers, claiming her like no other ever could. Brandon belonged to her as much as she belonged to him.
Eight long years dissolved in an instant. He began to work his magic with his tongue and hers in a dance known to lovers throughout all time. Time… he had once told her that their love went beyond just their brief time together and would last for all eternity. And when his arms went around her waist and he pulled her into his body, she believed his words from all those years ago. Today they would begin anew, and the past could stay where it belonged.
Under the Harvest Moon: A Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends
Release Date: October 10, 2023
Preorder now for only $0.99!
As the village of Reabridge in Cheshire prepares for the first Harvest Festival following Waterloo, families are overjoyed to welcome back their loved ones from the war.
But excitement quickly turns to mystery when mere weeks before the festival, an orphaned child turns up in the town—a toddler born near Toulouse to an English mother who left clues that tie her to Reabridge.
With two prominent families feuding for generations and the central event of the Harvest Moon festival looming, tensions rise, and secrets begin to surface.
Nine award winning and bestselling authors have combined their talents to create this engaging and enchanting collection of interrelated tales. Under the Harvest Moon promises an unforgettable read for fans of Regency romance.
And here’s the blurb for my story within the boxset, A Love Beyond Time: A Family of Worth, Book Three
Can love at first sight be reborn after heartbreak, proving a second chance is all you need?
Miss Hannah Pownall fell for a young lord years ago, only to see him leave. After no word from him in eight years, he returns to their small town, wounded and broken. Now, Hannah must reconcile her old feelings with the heartbreak he caused, knowing he plans to stay.
Captain Brandon Worthington returns to the town of Reabridge to recover from the war. He never expected to find the girl he once loved still unwed. Now, he must prove to her that he never forgot her.
Hannah and Brandon’s journey is complicated by their respective pasts, but ultimately, they must decide whether second chances are worth taking a risk. Will they be able to navigate the obstacles thrown their way to find the happily ever after they both deserve?
Preorder now for only $0.99!
Buy Link: https://books2read.com/UnderHarvestMoon