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“This,” she muttered beneath her breath, “is what happens when you’re a Hathaway. Misadventures . . . wild animals . . . house fires . . . curses . . . scandals . . . ”
My family
He had turned her around and had put his hand on the side of her neck. “Be still.” His touch was deft and sure as he massaged the tender nerve. “Let me help.”
Awwwww
It was difficult to ascertain his age—he appeared to be on the early side of his thirties, but there was an air of hard-bitten worldliness about him, a sense that he had seen enough of life to cease being surprised by anything. He had heavy, well-cut hair, black as midnight, and a fair complexion with dark brows that stood out in striking contrast. He was as handsome as Lucifer, his features straight and defined, the mouth brooding. But he looked like a man who perhaps took everything—including himself—a bit too seriously. Poppy felt herself flush as she stared into a pair of remarkable
...more
Oh god he's hot
He was watching her as if puzzling what to make of her.
Poppy stiffened. “It’s a reputable hotel,” she said. “I have nothing to fear.” “You might.” A flirtatious glint had entered his eye. “You could be kissed by a stranger.”
The man went to retrieve Dodger, who had fallen asleep in his chair.
The fucking ferret lmao I love him
“Yes, Mr. Rutledge.” Mr. Rutledge?
GIGGLING
Harry Rutledge . . . the mysterious and reclusive owner of the hotel. Who was nothing at all as she had imagined him to be.
And she went down the hallway with the housemaid . . . never suspecting that the course of her entire life had just changed.
“Poppy Hathaway,” he whispered as if it were a magical incantation.
He's soooo
Usually Jay Harry Rutledge was given something before it ever occurred to him to want it.
And she was eager to see her older sister Win, whose husband, Merripen, was managing the Ramsay estate.
BELOVEDS
The only time Poppy had ever seen her ruffled was when she was in the company of Leo, the Hathaways’ brother, whose sarcastic wit seemed to annoy Miss Marks beyond endurance.
Poppy had no idea why her brother and Miss Marks displayed such antagonism toward each other.
Gee I wonder why....
So when Jake was discreetly told by a housemaid that a young woman had been with Rutledge in the curiosities room, he knew something significant had occurred.
Cam Rohan had suggested as the family relaxed in the parlor of their hotel suite after supper. He lounged on the settee next to Amelia, who was holding their six-month-old baby.
Crying
No man alive would have been able to manage the unruly lot as adeptly as he did. His tribe, he called them.
His tribe ahhhh I'm in tears
Holding his gaze, Poppy grinned. Despite his annoyance at the situation and his lack of control over it, Harry couldn’t help smiling back.
He wanted to sweep her away somewhere, that very minute, and have her all to himself.
He didn’t want to be bothered with the logistics of capturing an unruly macaque. He wanted to be alone with Poppy Hathaway.
He wanted to draw her fully against him and soothe her. It seemed he had always wanted this, waited for it, without even knowing.
Oh he's down bad
She cleared her throat and sighed shortly. “Forgive me. I talk excessively. I shouldn’t—” “No,” Harry said, overwhelmed by a baffling and unfamiliar emotion, white-knuckled with it. “I could listen to you all day.”
OH MY GOD CRYING
She was worth anything, he thought, even giving up the last remnants of his soul.
Not because she feared Harry Rutledge. Because she liked him.
Stopping before her, he surveyed her with insolent green eyes. “Cat. You look well.” “Go to the devil,” she said quietly.
Oop
Anything to keep Poppy safe from Harry Rutledge.
What is goin awnnnn
Cam kissed her tender throat, while one of his knees nudged between hers. “It’s either now,” he murmured, “or behind the rhododendrons at the flower show. Your choice.”
God he's soooo
“We’ll take care of her,” he murmured, cuddling her. “And love her. That’s what a family is for.”
He's such a family man and it makes me soft
She saw Amelia and Cam exchange a glance she could not interpret. The understanding between the pair was so absolute, it seemed they could read each other’s thoughts.
It was unfair that the people who longed for love the most, searched the hardest for it, found it so elusive.
“Look how dignified and polite they all are,” Leo said, observing the crowd. “I can’t stay long. Someone might influence me.”
He was dazzling in the elegant clothes, his heavy dark hair brushed back in disciplined layers. But his eyes were underpinned by the ever-present hint of shadows. Windows to a restless soul. He didn’t sleep enough, she thought, and wondered if anyone ever dared mention it to him.
“Why?” she asked faintly, without thinking. “Why what?” “Why did you ask me to dance?” Harry hesitated as if torn between the necessity of tact and the inclination toward honesty. He settled on the latter. “Because I wanted to hold you.”
“Because you’re interesting and beautiful. Because saying your name makes me smile. Most of all because this may be my only hope of ever having hotchpotch.”
“You were courted by a boy, who had to do as he was told.” His hot breath feathered against her lips as he whispered, “You should try it with a man, who needs no one’s permission.”
SPEAK YOUR TRUTH KING
She broke off as he bent slowly and touched his lips to hers, as if her laughter were something he could taste.
Bye
“You should never cry over a man,” he said against her cheek.
Poppy began to smile, when a few minutes earlier she had thought she would never smile again.
The black-haired man lifted his head, murmured something to Poppy, and leveled a cool glance at Michael Bayning. A glance of triumph.
Oh my god he's dirtyyyyy
“No, you won’t,” Leo replied. “I’m an expert on humiliation, and if it were fatal, I’d have died a dozen times by now.”
“And there’s one more thing to be aware of,” Cam said, with a wintry softness that disguised all hint of feeling. “If you succeed in marrying her, we’re not losing a sister. You’re gaining an entire family—who will protect her at any cost.”
Cam my forever family man
“Would you say that you’re a good man, Harry?” He had to think about that. “No,” he finally said. “In the fairy tale you mentioned last night, I would probably be the villain. But it’s possible the villain would treat you far better than the prince would have.”
“She was yours, if you’d truly wanted her,” Harry continued, a pitiless smile touching his lips. “But I wanted her more.”
He's insane lmao
The fact that such a despicable human being could be so handsome was proof that the universe was vastly unfair, or at least very badly organized.
The chef looked deeply concerned. “You think there’s a problem with his carrot?” “Watercress, carrot—is everything food to you?” Jake demanded.
Lmaooo
She found something surprising in the embrace, a sense of security. They fit nicely together, softness and hardness, pliancy and tension.
Harry wished she would smile at him like that. She had, in the beginning.
Now whose fault is that
In the meantime, Harry stole glances of her whenever he could, his lovely and distant wife . . . and he drank in the smiles she gave to other people.
“I told you it was a bad idea,” Jake said, glaring at the three of them.
Not them planning this lmaoo
Dear God, what had happened to him? He had never wanted to feel this way about anyone, never even imagined it possible.
