Thanks for dropping by my First Kiss Friday blog. Today’s guest is my dear friend, Caroline Warfield who has an excerpt from her story Well Done, Harry in the boxset Hearts in Bloom, A Regency Anthology. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene. Happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

“Well Done, Harry,” which appears in Hearts in Bloom is a parable on the danger of getting what you wish for. What you get doesn’t always turn out as you hope. The heroine, Emma, has wished to marry a duke in frustration, if only to get her ambitious mother off her back. She hopes for love, but she wished for a duke. The ancient, carved mouse she carries, Harry, heard it and warmed up. He will insure she gets wish and there is no going back. No matter the consequences. Then she met Ben Daniels, her host’s librarian. Oh dear.

*****

Emma lifted the mouse and glared into its crudely carved face. “Now, see here, Harry. Mr. Daniels needs to finish his work. I wish he would at least find the book we seek, Reflections on Commonwealth and Monarchy, by Walter Price.”

“You spoke to him like a governess,” Ben laughed. He gestured with a hand, accidentally knocking over the pile of books.

“Oh no! Those are so valuable! Let’s put them away.” Emma began carefully returning the books to their trunk. She glanced over to see why Ben wasn’t helping and found him staring at a book that had fallen open.

“You did it,” he whispered.

Emma leaned over to see what he was studying so closely, her head next to his, and gasped. 

“It is Price’s work. Someone bound it in the wrong cover,” he breathed.

“To hide it?” she asked, her head inches from his. 

“Possibly,” he murmured, paging through and quickly finding the answer they sought. He pointed one finger to the page and turned to say something to Emma. When he did, something altered in his expression, and his eyes now fixated on hers.

She could feel his breath against her face. Her own breath stopped when he leaned closer, his gaze now riveted on her mouth.

He’s going to kiss me! It is my most cherished hope, Harry. Her eyes drifted shut, and the gentle touch of his mouth on hers was all she could have asked. For a long moment she reveled in it.

Harry? She jerked away. The wish. The misbegotten wish she made for her mother’s sake.

“No. We— Harry— That is, I can’t.” She scurried to the stairs and started down.

That kiss will haunt my life when I’m married to a duke— She choked on a sob as her feet reached the library floor. Harry will never hold back that wish.

---

About the Book

Hearts in Bloom, A Regency Anthology

A spring anthology brimming with all the hope, heartache, and thrill of first love. Mysterious admirers, magical talismans, spirited matchmakers, and a bit of creative persistence overcome the obstacles to true love, no matter how daunting!

Susannah Tells the Truth, by GL Robinson
A grumpy invalid meets his match in an outspoken red-head, whose opinions about self-pity prompt him to set about improving his situation, and might just convince him to try his chances at winning her heart.

Engaging Miss Enderby, by K. Lyn Smith
When a governess receives an anonymous valentine from the Newford Cupid, she is surprised to find it is far more earnest than his usual fare. It seems she has an admirer, but is he truly sincere, and dare she try to discover his identity?
To Bloom Unseen, by Judith Hale Everett
Having failed once more to attain a bride suitable to his exacting mother’s tastes, a viscount determines it is time to put his happiness before duty and once more pursue the less-than-perfect lady he has loved all his life.

Well Done, Harry, by Caroline Warfield
A young lady hounded by her mother to make a brilliant match at a house party finds herself falling for a mere librarian, and her only hope is an ancient mouse figurine that grants wishes—but all too often with disastrous consequences!

The Valentine Adviser,by Rosanne E. Lortz
To woo a young lady under the nose of her overprotective older brother, her admirer must pretend he only wishes to seek her advice on courting the season’s Incomparable. 

You can buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Bloom-Regency-Anthology-Anthologies-ebook/dp/B0FWN8RXGP/

About the Author:

Award winning author Caroline Warfield has been many things: traveler, librarian, poet, raiser of children, bird watcher, Internet and Web services manager, conference speaker, indexer, tech writer, genealogist—even a nun. She reckons she is on at least her third act, happily working in an office surrounded by windows where she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and the far-flung corners of the British Empire. She nudges them to explore the riskiest territory of all, the human heart. 

Learn more about Caroline and her books on her website at https://www.carolinewarfield.com