So excited that my new Victorian romance novella will finally be available for download tomorrow!! I LOVED writing this story and can honestly say that Joseph Jacobs is my favorite hero to date - he is a man in every sense of the word, YUMMY!!!
Here's the blurb and an excerpt...enjoy!
Blurb:
To keep herself from
the depths of poverty, Milly Shepherd needs to be appointed manager of the Red
Lion Tavern. The elderly owner is in failing health and has promised her
the job permanently if no one more suitable applies. Milly will fight
with her entire being to make the job her own.
Joseph Jacobs needs to
supplement his income to pay off his father’s creditors and save him from
debtor’s prison. Though the job as manager of the local tavern looks
promising, Milly is favored by both the owner and customers. Instead,
Joseph swallows his pride and agrees to tend bar.
As they work together,
their attraction grows, their goals cross, and both Millie and Joseph find they
must face their fears …the question is whether they face them alone or
together?
Joseph
Jacobs closed the tavern door behind him and paused a moment to take in his
surroundings. As a man used to looking over his shoulder and sensing trouble,
experience taught him to be aware of others before they became aware of you. He
narrowed his gaze. The meager number of patrons at the tables surprised him at
an hour when he expected the bar to be fairly busy. He glanced at the clock;
maybe it wasn’t time for the workers yet.
He
shifted his gaze to the woman standing beneath the clock and his heart kicked.
Her green-gold eyes held him where he stood. She stared and Joseph swallowed,
willing some words to come forth from his frozen tongue or at least a smile to
curve his paralyzed lips.
She lifted her eyebrows and slowly pulled a cloth from her
shoulders. Her hair was a mass of fire-tipped curls around her oval face, her
skin creamy-white and her parted lips, a soft delicate pink. Joseph cleared his
throat and belatedly removed his hat.
“Good evening, miss.”
Her smile slipped easily into place. “Good evening to you,
sir.” Her voice was smooth, clear and full of confidence. “Are you looking to
quench your thirst or just planning on soaking up the atmosphere?”
Joseph
inhaled a long breath through flared nostrils as if trying to smell her. Something
told him she’d smell of lavender…or maybe musk. Something to throw a man off
guard, to lower his defenses.
He
stepped forward. “Neither. I am looking for the landlord. Would you happen to
know if he’s available?”
Her
gaze lingered on his a moment longer before she looked to the four glasses at
the table beside her. She grasped them expertly between her fingers and carried
them behind the bar without answering his question.
Joseph
couldn’t take his gaze from the natural sway of her hips beneath the deep
burgundy dress she wore, the bustle a little too prominent for the current
fashion showing her lack of money to afford better. Why else would a woman with
the features of an artist’s model be working in a tavern unless necessity
demanded it?
Buy Link:
Love,
Rachel x
Good morning Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to be here with you today. I'm ready for the interview to begin!
Christy