With the first day of fall zipping up fast–it’ll be Monday!!–I’m participating, along with other romance authors, in a blog hop to celebrate love and fall. I’m giving away a $5 Amazon gift card, but there’s also a $75 Amazon gift Card up for grabs, so stay with me until the end for details.
And since I have a new release out, I thought I’d share a scene when the heroine first meets the hero, since that first meet is when you get that first inkling the character is going to fall in love. But first, a little background. This is a time travel romance, title Must Love Breeches, and the heroine is at a reenactment ball and doesn’t realize she’s been zapped back to 1834–she thinks everyone’s just really good at the whole reenacting bit. She’s just met Ada Byron (the future Ada Lovelace), when she’s interrupted:
Before Ada could reply, a frisson of awareness streaked down Isabelle’s spine. A dark shape filled her vision. Sandalwood and a hint of something else, something elemental, wafted over her. Isabelle gazed up. And up. And—Holy Pete. She clenched her teeth to hold her chin in place.
My God, what gorgeous hair! Long, black, and wavy, it caressed the guy’s shirt collar, making her want to plunge her fingers through it. Frolic in it. Twine her fingers around and sniff it.
He’d grown sideburns for the event, and his prominent chin had that sexy little indentation. Could she nibble on it? The high cheekbones and hooded eyes made her insides all squirmy. Gorgeous men always made her uncomfortable, and this one was one notch shy of being too, too perfect. Which left her trying to remember where she was, and why.
Oh, yes. Ball. At a ball in London.
A reenactment of a ball held in 1834, London, England.
Would this man look equally exquisite on the streets in blue jeans and T-shirt, or were his kind of looks enhanced by the period clothing? She’d seen that phenomenon before: someone who looked absolutely yummy in a historical flick and, when wearing modern clothes, appeared positively humdrum.
But never mind that. Right smack in front of her stood a man at noble ease in form-fitting pantaloons and coattails. The black coat molded to his frame, and the starched white collar poked just high enough to accentuate his jaw. With a hand-tied cravat to boot. Hoo! Which brought her to his deliciously sculpted lips, one side cocked up a smidge.
Above those lips and proud nose, his eyes stared right at her. Oh, oops. A fuzzy warmth spread across her chest. This was awkward. His gaze shifted to Ada. Isabelle tried not to look like, well, like a cartoon character knocked on the head, with big X’s for eyes.
“Miss Byron. Always a pleasure.” He gave a perfect bow, not at all cheesy, as though he practiced bowing. Definitely not his first reenactment ball. “May I have the honor of an introduction?” He raised a brow at Ada.
May I have the honor? Really? She was starting to enjoy the whole reenactment thing, but this was a tad over the top. So, he was handsome. Well, okay, drool-worthy. Maybe she would cut him some slack on the over-acting bit.
“Miss Isabelle Rochon, may I present Lord Montagu,” Ada went right with the flow. “Cousin, Miss Rochon.”
Isabelle stuck her hand out to shake his. Lord? Okay, cool. Lord Drool-Worthy’s penetrating eyes held hers. He lightly grasped her hand, the warmth permeating her glove. Without losing eye contact, he slowly raised it to his lips and feathered a kiss across her knuckles.
Electricity spiked up her arm, stealing her breath. Her knees telegraphed: Yep, can’t handle this, checking out now.
Isabelle managed to turn the knee-buckle into an awkward curtsy, but who cared since this was all pretend, right? Must have worked, because His Hunkiness smiled, the corner of his mouth quirking, as if he sensed her distress.
And that mouth had been moving only a moment ago. Damn, he’d been talking this whole time? Something about dancing?
“D-dance?” Her stomach back flipped. Other couples headed for the center, and the quartet, back from their break, took up their instruments.
He held out his hand, open, waiting.
Oh, God. Her palms were sweating. Was that why ladies wore gloves?
Smart ladies.
She placed her hand in his, and he led her onto the dance floor. If she could focus. Tune out her surroundings. Detach. Not grab the moment too hard, or she’d get so nervous, so flustered, she’d be a pile of goo. A slippery hazard on the marble floor.
The first notes from the musicians floated through the air. A waltz.
Lord Montagu bowed.
Isabelle curtseyed and stifled a giggle. Oooh, boy, she could get used to this treatment.
He swept her into a dizzying swirl of sound and color. His confident fingers on the small of her back shot warmth up her spine. Subtle pressures guided her through the music and crowd in a way she’d never experienced, so very aware of his body, of him. She’d thought the waltz quaint, but she was stunned.
Well, not stunned, but… aroused. Who knew this dance could be sexy?
This––her heart pounded, pounded, pounded––this was what she’d pictured. All the preparation, the diligent work on the dress and hair and shoes, had led to this moment. Because, yep, as usual, she’d built an expectation for this ball.
Until this moment, she’d wanted to curse her imagination. It was wonderful to finally have an experience at an event match up.
She let the moment etch into her memory, a rare, sparkling gift to savor. The soft, mellow glow of nearby candles, the glint of jewels, the murmuring voices—the occasional titter of laughter—her partner’s intoxicating scent, and the notes from the violins intertwining through all, through them, while they rode its rhythm. She grinned like an idiot but didn’t care.
He wasn’t much for small talk. Amazing, and a smidge intimidating. He stared at her while he whirled her around the floor, mesmerizing her with those eyes. They strayed from hers to linger on her neck and slowly travel to her chest and waist.
Each area of her body tingled as if he’d touched her, and her heart thumped against her chest as if seeking his notice too. Damn heart. Something was different about his eyes, and she couldn’t figure out what it was in the dim lighting. Someone must have finally doused the electric bulbs.
She couldn’t look away. Weird. Her stomach did another flippin’ flip. Not for the first time, she wondered where her confidence traipsed off to around attractive men.
The last guy who’d hit all her lust buttons had derailed her life back in the States. She’d never let that happen again. So, she fought against the too-strong-to-be-safe attraction by doing what she sensed would most likely break the spell, and perhaps turn Lord Laconic from her: talking. Anything to deflect, protect.
“So, is this your first time at one of these shindigs?” She hoped her voice didn’t sound quite so shaky to his ears.
She tore her gaze from his to see if she could spot Andrew. Or Jocelyn, to give her the lookee-what-I-have-here face. Or her boss. She must stay focused on her goal. A flash of bright red hair in the corner. Jocelyn? But the next turn whipped the red hair from view.
“Shindigs?” He pronounced it carefully, drawing her attention back to him. His eyebrows swooped closer together, the inside edges slanting up.
Okay, that was adorable, dammit. “Yeah, you know, these reenactments? You seem quite a natural.” The words sucked up what air was left in her lungs. She concentrated on breathing through her nose. Stay calm.
And––he was still staring at her.
Oh great, did she have something in her teeth? Did she have stinky breath? Did he think she was some uncouth American and regret asking her to dance? She ducked her head and checked her teeth with her tongue and nearly stumbled. She swung her gaze back to his face to regain her rhythm.
He cocked his head to the side. “I am not at all sure what you believe we are reenacting, but unfortunately, I find I am expected to be at these balls with an appalling regularity.”
He had the period syntax and cadence down pat. “Wow, you’re quite good at this. Don’t worry, I’ll try to play along.”
Her partner did the eyebrow-slanting-up-in-the-middle thing and looked away. She could have sworn he muttered ‘Colonials’ under his breath.
Huh? Wait, he was referring to her. “Hey, no need to be rude, and I’m not a Colonial. We soundly beat your hides and settled that score, like, two hundred years ago.” She gave him a playful swat on his shoulder. “Man, you British can sure hold a grudge.”
His head whipped back, and he gawked at her. “Two hundred years ago? Are you daft, woman?”
Surely, she looked like a candidate for the poster child of dumbfoundedness: mouth agape, brow creased. Oh. She chuckled. “I get it. Man, you are good. You don’t break character, do you?”
He continued to stare at her as if she were the one who was nuts. Her smile slipped. She looked away and muttered, “Reenactors.”
Available at the following e-retailers:
$5 Amazon Gift Card
I’m giving away a $5 Amazon gift card to commenters who tell me what time period they’d like to go back to and why.
$75 Grand prize Giveaway
To enter the Grand Prize Giveaway, fill out the Rafflecopter box and press enter! (One entry per person!) You do not get extra entries for visiting more blogs. Every blog has their own giveaway, however, so be sure to visit the hop link for a list of participating authors! The Grand Prize winner will be chosen by the hop coordinator on Tuesday, September 23 using Random.org and the winner emailed.
GRAND PRIZE: 1 $75 Amazon Gift Card – to enter, visit: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3ad276f818/
Blog Hop participants
To visit the other participating authors and win more prizes, go to: www.hopswithheart.blogspot.com
the gods at random.org have spoken and the winner of the $5 Amazon gift card is nancygoldberglevine!
I just love the Victorian era mainly because of the fashion and the fact that social change was beginning to take place.
Kyratinker36@gmail.con
I’m not sure but perhaps the Victorian period. I think they had more conveniences then if I went further back. If I went I would like to be wealthy to afford the clothes and other things. My idea of camping out is a motel with a black and white TV. Lol
laurellasky@gmail.com
I would also like to go to the VIctorian period, especially 1880s-early 1900s because that’s when a lot of the books I read a a kid took place. The “Anne of Green Gables” series, as well as all of the Betsy/Tacy books took place during that time.
NutsieNan@aol.com
Probably the Victorian era, it was such a interesting time period.
skpetal at hotmail dot com
I have a love of the wild west after the civil war and I love mail order bride stories. I just have a fascination with these brave women who would travel to the untamed west and marry a stranger and start a new life.
Redrabbitt@aol.com
hmmm… i would like not like to visit any other time periods! i like where i am! if anything, i’d like to visit the future!
The old west! Cowboys, horses…things I love!
horses5@frontier.net
Probably the Victorian era, it was such a interesting time period.
parisfan_ca@yahoo.com
I would go back to the ancient times of Babylon, so I could the beautiful hanging gardens and look out for Alexander the Great. I might not want to stay there, but I would just love to see the ancient world, I think I would jump time periods gathering artefacts just like a female Indiana Jones but this time as a time travelling archaeologist LOL? slholland30 {at} outlook {dot} com
I’ve always been intrigued by the glam-rock ’70s in the UK!
vitajex(at)Aol(dot)com
Regency period to see the fashion
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
The 80’s would be cool to see live music! 🙂
I don’t think I’d like to travel back in time. Maybe to the future to see what it’s like. pjmillion (at) comcast (dot) net
I’d like to visit the 1920’s just to see what that time was like. =)
Thank you for the giveaway!
Take care & I hope you have a great day! =)
Brandi
BLeigh1130 at yahoo dot com
I’d like to go back to Regency England. It’s been my favorite historical time period ever since I read my first Georgette Heyer book.
I would like to stay in this time period because I enjoy technology too much, all the people I love are alive now, and I would not want to go back to a time with less advanced medicine.
Probably the early 1900’s, the world was changing so much at that time and I’d love to see some of it in person.
I’m intrigued by the Victorian era, so I’m gonna say that one.
Thank you for the giveaway!
verusbognar (at) gmail (dot) com
I would like to go back to the 60s. I had a lot of fun then and would like to experience them again.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
I would go back to the 50’s. I just love that time period. The women were so pretty and the mob men were hot.
I have always been drawn to the 1930’s
I would like to go back to the time frame about early 1800s. I know Jane Austen was a writer during that time frame and I love her historical period novels. I thinkk that I should have been born in that era as well.
cherylslife67(at)charter(dot)net
I would absolutely love to go back to the early 1800s to experience the world as Edgar Allan Poe and Thomas Jefferson did. I’ve always been intrigued by both of them, so I’d LOVE to experience that!
prettylittlepages[at]gmail[dot]com
The Victorian Era!!! Always been fascinated by that time period.
Thanks for the giveaway!!
blackcapballistics AT gmail DOT com
I would like to go back to the time of the Vikings to be with my ancestors when they sail away in their Dragon Boats to explore the world.
I’d love to go back to the time and place when Stonehenge was being built…..
Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
elizabeth @ bookattict . com
I’d love to go back to the Regency Period, I feel like it such a romantic time with a lot of interesting things going on in London