HER ONE TRUE LOVE
Rachel Brimble
Released March 15th, 2016
Lyrical Press
She Can't Forget Him…
Jane Charlotte Danes has loved the
squire of her idyllic country town for as long as she can remember. He is good,
kind, and alluring beyond words… and he chose to marry another. Tired of
dwelling on her futile longings, Jane plans a move to Bath, where she dreams of
a new beginning. But the man who has so imprisoned her heart is only a few
steps behind…
He Can't Let Her Go…
Until now, Matthew Cleaves has
endeavored to meet the responsibilities of his position with dignity and good
spirits--including his dutiful marriage. But when his wife leaves him for
another man, Matthew is at last free to pursue his one true love. Only one
vital question remains: will the captivating, stubborn, beautiful Jane allow
him the challenge, and the pleasure, of winning her back?...
Matthew
turned and faced Jane. “When are you leaving for the city?”
She
took another step back, her gaze darting over his face. “The day after
tomorrow. Why?”
“Because
I will escort you. We can travel together in my carriage.”
“No,
I do not need your––”
“I
will be going anyway. I planned to visit some contacts in the city in the hope
of securing guaranteed trade for Biddestone in the coming year. It seems
unnecessary for us to make the trip separately when I have a carriage plenty
big enough for us both.”
“There
is absolutely no need. Jeannie will be coming with me.”
“My
offer still stands.”
She
glared. “It’s my intention to start on the path of independence, of finding out
what the world has to offer me on my own merit. I will hardly be carving out my
own path when at the first step from my home, I lean on you.”
“You
are being stubborn.”
She
pulled back her shoulders. “And you are not?”
The
longer he looked at her, the more Matthew saw the quiet beauty he’d desperately
tried to ignore. He took a steadying breath. “Please, Jane. Let me escort you
to Bath.”
The
seconds passed, but Matthew held his tongue. It was imperative she spoke next,
that she understood he didn’t mean to bully her but wanted to ensure her safety
to a city ravaged by danger, as much as opportunity.
She
sighed. “Fine. On one condition.”
He
held her gaze. “Which is?”
Her
eyes softened, slowly lighting with mischief. “You smile. Now. You smile at me
like you did before she left.”
Heat
rose to his face. “You want me to smile?”
“Yes.
Smile for me, Matthew.”
Empathy
and passion swirled in eyes, but they also bore a deep, painful awareness that
scratched hard over his heart. The longer he stared, the more he wanted to make
her happy.
He
smiled, his gaze on hers…and was surprised to find the trade no effort at all.
Excerpt
2.
Jane’s
heart ached to see such deep anguish in his gaze. There was no rage, no anger,
not even a trace of the moroseness she had seen so many times in his eyes
during the preceding months. He stood in front of her as the true, loyal, and
honest man she’d always loved and admired.
All
the months she fought her feelings for him and now he wished to be with her.
Tears escaped and rolled over her cheeks. He brushed his thumbs under her eyes,
and it took every ounce of her strength not to collapse against him and damn
the right and wrong of her yearning.
“Jane,
please understand how hard it is for me to see you cry and not fix things to be
with you overnight. What is starting between us, what I am feeling, cannot be
ignored.”
Jane
took a strengthening breath. “I am not the same woman I was a year, even six
months ago, Matthew. I’ve changed. You’ve changed. Neither of us should rush
headlong into the idea of us being together when there are so many other people
involved.”
He
frowned. “Like Elizabeth?”
She
nodded. “And the villagers. And for me, the children at the boardinghouse. I
can’t stop my dream to do good now that I have found the courage to pursue it.”
“Everything
will work out. I will ensure it.”
He
smiled softly, the gentle determination in his gaze seeping deep inside her
until impassioned hope squeezed like a vise around her weakening heart.
He
brushed the curls from her temple and pressed his lips to her forehead. “I have
been blind. My sense of pride and loyalty to my father, a man who thought of me
as little more than a cog in his ambitious wheel, has meant I wasted two years
with a woman I tried hard to make happy. I refuse to waste any more of my
life.”
His
words twisted and tore at Jane’s heart. The last thing she wanted him to do was
act impulsively and jeopardize anything that might be good for the people of
Biddestone. “So what are we to do now?”
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Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town
near Bath in the UK. After having several novels published by small US presses,
she secured agent representation in 2011. Since 2013, she has had five books
published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and three
Victorian romances by eKensington/Lyrical.
Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and
Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance
finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest.
When she isn’t writing,
you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English
countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in
South West England.
She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her
readers and fellow romance writers. Rachel would love to hear from you!
1 comment:
Thank you for featuring HER ONE TRUE LOVE!
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