First Kiss Friday with Jude Knight
Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. Anytime I can have my dear friend Jude Knight on my blog is a very good day. Jude not only has a freebie for your reading pleasure but a new release coming out next week in the Lyon’s Den Connected World. I just love this world… not only reading these fabulous books but also writing them! Read on for an excerpt from Jude’s contribution: Hook, Lyon and Sinker! Happy reading, my lovelies, and enjoy! Take it away, Jude.
This excerpt is from Hook, Lyon and Sinker. It is right at the end of the book, and brings my couple to their hard-won happy ending and their new beginning, sealed with a kiss.
Excerpt:
Here she came, on Somerton’s arm, glorious in shades of blue. Angel didn’t see the detail of her clothing. Only her beautiful and beloved face, glowing as she approached him down the aisle.
In moments, he handed one crutch to Titan, and put out a hand to Laurel.
After that, the wedding took on the quality of a dream, with the most solid point of reality his hand holding Laurel’s. He must have said his vows at the right time, and he certainly put his ring on Laurel’s finger, for it was there later, when they were in the carriage.
The moment he remembered most clearly was when he and Laurel were presented to the congregation as Lord and Lady Findlater.
Then the service was over. They signed the register, and made their way down the aisle. Laurel made nothing of his crutches, holding his arm above the elbow and moving slowly with him. Here were some of his fellow musicians. There some of the officers he had served with. Mrs. Dove Lyons was at the back of the church with several others from the Den. On the other side of the church, he recognized Laurel’s friends from the incident at the Park.
Outside waited a phaeton, decorated in ribbons and flowers. “For you,” Somerton said.
Angel, who had been hoping for a closed carriage in which he could kiss his bride, smiled his thanks and tried to look as if he meant it.
Afterwards, there was the wedding breakfast to get through, though at least he could sit down and get off his feet. It was nice to receive good wishes from so many people who actually meant them, and Somerton’s cook had performed miracles. Angel smiled so much his jaw ached. He had never been more pleased than when Laurel whispered, “When do you think we can leave?”
Angel beckoned Titan over. “Can you ask my carriage driver if my wife’s luggage has been loaded, and tell him we are ready to leave?” he asked, keeping it quiet. Cousin Bertram’s carriage, in point of fact. But he had accepted the use of it for the next fortnight, just as he had accepted the use of Somerton’s seaside cottage.
Titan nodded, a twist of his lips suggesting amusement at Angel’s proud recital of the words “my wife”. A few minutes later, he reentered the drawing room and nodded.
“I’ll go out as if looking for a convenience,” Angel whispered to Laurel. “After a few minutes, ask your mother if you can have a private word. Then we’ll take her outside to say goodbye.”
Laurel nodded, and the plan worked perfectly. Or it would have, if Laurel’s mother had not burst into tears and needed a moment to compose herself. Before the pair of newlyweds could climb into the carriage, Somerton came out to the door, saw them, and called back into the house, “They’re leaving!”
So, another ten minutes went into good wishes, jokes, and advice. Perhaps they would have been there all day if his wonderful wife had not taken things into her competent hands. “We are leaving now, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for being with us to celebrate our marriage. Thank you for your kind wishes. And farewell.”
She set herself for the door, and refused to address them again. Angel followed her example, but with a grin at their friends and family. Once he was aboard, the groom closed the door, and they were off. At last.
He could not wait any longer. He pulled down the window blinds and said to Laurel, “May I kiss you, my love?”
“I thought you would never ask,” said Laurel, and came readily into his arms.
Their lips met. It was everything Angel had imagined and more. And as they left London for the south coast, neither of them was aware of the noise of the city fading about them or the countryside passing them by. Inside the coach, they had far more interesting things to discover.
Hook, Lyon and SinkerBy Jude Knight
Release Date: March 20th
Preorder for $0.99
When Lady Laureline Barker asks Mrs. Dove Lyons to find her a husband, she does not expect one of her choices to be the man she admired years ago, when she was still a schoolgirl—the man who rescued her from drowning. He is also a war hero, famed for trading his own freedom and health for the safety of others.
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Hook-Lyon-Sinker-Lyons-Den-ebook/dp/B0CSF79RMD
Meet JudeJude always wanted to be a novelist. She started in her teens, but life kept getting in the way. Years passed, and with them dozens of unfinished manuscripts. The fear grew. What if she tried, failed, and lost the dream forever? The years since 2014 have brought 17 novels, 16 novella, 6 volumes of short stories, a number of awards, and hundreds of positive reviews. The dream is alive.
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