Once Upon a Winter's Eve Quotes

“Language was a vast, complicated tapestry. The key to communication was finding a common thread.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“His thumb caressed her cheek. His eyes held her, warm and strong. “I, Christian James, take you, Violet Mary, to be my wife. To have, to hold. To love, honor, and cherish. To amuse, to pleasure, to make smile and laugh. To dance with, at every opportunity. To respect always, and tease on occasion. To confide in, whenever need be. To treasure, protect, admire—” She couldn’t help but give a nervous laugh. “I don’t think these words are in the vows.” “They’re in my vows,” he said gravely. “But in the interests of time, I shall to return to form. All that richer-poorer, sickness-health business goes without saying. And I will gladly forsake all others, so long as we both shall live.” His hand slid back into her hair, grasping tight. Raw emotion roughened his voice. “I need a lifetime with you.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“Violet tried the door latch. Locked, of course. Wordlessly, she pulled a hairpin from her wind-mussed chignon and handed it to him. He stared at it. “What makes you think I know how to pick locks?” he whispered. “Just because I’m a spy?” “No. Because you were forever stealing pocket money from your father’s top desk drawer.” Bloody hell. She truly had been paying attention.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“A little smile on your face, because you’d just untangled a new translation.” He cleared his throat. “Like this one. Tumi amar jeeboner dhruvotara.” She tilted her head, puzzling over the phrase. “That’s not Hindustani.” “Bengali. It means ‘You are my life’s bright star’ in Bengali.” The sweet words were edged with frustration, not tenderness. His knuckles cracked. “Obviously, I was saving that one. For the right morning.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“Susanna and Lord Rycliff had, in her observation, the ideal marriage. They understood one another, completely and implicitly. They disagreed and argued openly, demanded a great deal of each other and themselves, and they loved one another through it all. They were partners. Not just in love, but in life.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“Her mother credited the healthful atmosphere of Spindle Cove, and both Lady Melforth and Mrs. Busk expressed a particular wish to send their own patience-trying daughters on holiday. Good, Violet thought, smiling to herself. Very good. She didn’t know that the girls would find husbands there, but they just might find themselves”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“For better or worse, she’d always been a quiet girl. But for the first time in her life, Violet wanted to be loud. She wanted to shout and scream and call on God in twenty different languages.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“It can’t be true.” “It’s true. Believe me, love. I’ve shoveled so much actual horseshit in the past year, I’ve lost all patience with the figurative sort.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“I thought it would be easier for you that way. So you could hate me and forget.” “I did hate you. I hated you for making me feel cheap and foolish. I hated you for making me feel so ashamed, and distanced from my own family. And I hated myself for allowing it all to happen. But forget? How could I ever forget?” She blinked back tears. “You broke my heart into twenty-six pieces that day. But do you know something, Christian? Over the past several months here in Spindle Cove, I’ve stitched those pieces back together”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“we have a schedule here in Spindle Cove. Mondays, we have country walks. Tuesdays, sea bathing. We spend Wednesdays in the garden. And on Thursdays”—she jammed a lead ball into the barrel—“we shoot.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“His grip never eased, but his thumb began to move back and forth, stroking lightly over her rib cage. He bent his head, pressing his cheek to her temple. “Sorry,” he said, in a barely audible whisper. Then he kissed her ear. Oh, don’t. Have mercy. The slightest brush of his lips against her earlobe, and she felt it everywhere. Her knees went to blancmange. The soles of her feet tingled. Heat arrowed down the center of her corset. And her heart… Her heart threatened to burst from her chest. Her whole body—her entire being—was so acutely aware of his. No one else could make her feel so exhilarated. No one else could cause her so much pain. He was her present captor. Her one-time lover. Her future…God-knew-what.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“Was it a ruthless seduction or a simple mistake?” Her companion scowled. And unleashed a robust chain of what sounded like pure Breton blasphemy. Violet glanced in Finn and Fosbury’s direction, reassuring them with a mild smile. When she spoke again, she kept her voice hushed and her manner calm. “I wasn’t unwilling, if that’s what you’re thinking. Quite the opposite.” “Even so. He was a devil to take advantage. And a fool to ever let you go.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“An appointment? With whom?” He swept her with a warm, caressing gaze. “With an angel, apparently.” She clucked her tongue. “More teasing.” “No teasing. I am here for you.” “If that’s not teasing, it’s a flat-out lie.” He inched the chair forward, desperate to close the distance between them. He spoke to her quietly, honestly. From the depths of his cold, longsuffering heart. “I’m here for you, mon ange. Violet. I would cross a world for you.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“It’s safe,” she continued, anticipating his concerns. “It’s safe to speak this way. You can trust me. I won’t tell a soul. My Breton is poor, but my French is quite good.” Her French was impeccable. He could have closed his eyes and imagined her to be a native speaker. But damned if he’d close his eyes when she was so near.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“Where did you come from?” she whispered, mostly to herself. “What are you wanting here?” One hand shot out, catching her by the hair. Violet gasped at the sharp yank on a thousand nerve endings. His eyes flew open, clear and intense. She read his answer in them. You. I’m wanting you.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“Dear heaven,” Kate breathed. “He’s just covered in blood.” “And dirt,” Sally said. “But cor, he’s gorgeous anyhow.” “Sally, only you could think of such a thing at a time like this.” “You can’t tell me you didn’t notice.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“Finally, she managed a tiny shake of her head. “It can’t be true.” “It’s true. Believe me, love. I’ve shoveled so much actual horseshit in the past year, I’ve lost all patience with the figurative sort.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“As an experienced wallflower, Violet Winterbottom knew to stake her ground and guard it.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“Violet could not say that the scrapes and broken nose made him less handsome—and even if they did make him a fraction less handsome, they made him ten times more virile and attractive. What was it about a visible, flesh-and-bone record of violence that made a man so alluring? She couldn’t explain it, but she felt it. Oh, she felt it.”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve

“he’d uttered his name. And now she understood, he’d been telling her so ever since he’d landed at her feet in the ballroom”
― Tessa Dare, Once Upon a Winter's Eve