A Beguiled Gentleman (The Bradley Brothers Book 1)

by Audra Wells

A man in love could forge through any element if it meant he got to see his beloved.

You are the moon and I am the tide which bends to your will.”

How could a man in love be expected to watch for every impediment in their path?

“I like you, Miss Gibbons. You are a worthwhile confidant and incredibly entertaining to tease.”

If I were to find a man who put forth the effort to know me, to truly understand me and care for me as the person I am, I would not hesitate to marry him.”

“I hate to see you hold in your laughter.

she longed to see his smile—completely unburdened by life or circumstances.

The sun could make something beautiful that is often seen as unwanted. How many other things in life could benefit from light shining upon them and showing all of their possibilities?

“I do not want you to leave.”

“All is fair in love and war,

One could only get to know someone so well when they were under the watchful gaze of a chaperone.

“What else are friends for if not to help each other fulfill their dreams?”

You deserve to be loved and cherished, Hannah. You deserve someone’s entire heart.

He was the one to break her heart, but she needed his comfort as well. For this was Noah. Her friend.

“You are fire, Hannah Gibbons. Promise me you won’t let anyone put out your light.”

“I love the way you laugh when you should not,”

“I love the way your hair catches every person’s gaze.” He traced a thumb above her ear. “I love your heart. I love your spirit. But most of all—” He stopped, taking a breath as his voice caught. “I love you.”

“Being you is precisely what makes me love you so.”

“You are about to be relentlessly pursued, my lady.”

“I would much rather have a man who knows my faults and wants me despite them than one who sees only an illusion of my true self.

“When one falls in love with their dearest friend, what is there to hold them back?”

You have made me feel seen in a way I never have before.”

“I hated to be away from you. I wished to spend every day in your company. And now I am asking you to please say you will give me my heart’s desire and marry me.”

“Marry me,” he said, grazing a thumb across her cheek, “so that we can lay awake until the early hours of morning, talking and laughing and sharing our hearts with one another. Marry me so that I can wake up and kiss the freckles that dust the top of your nose.” He pressed his brow to hers. “Marry me so that I can be the happiest man that has ever lived.”

It was a wonder how much he could love a single person. It was as if his heart couldn’t contain it all, and it spilled over in the small touches he stole throughout the day, or the little compliments that made her blush and shove his shoulder as she gave an uncomfortable chuckle.