Once Upon a Devastatingly Sweet Kiss (Book 4)
What readers say:
🌼“I ate this book up.”
🌼“A match made by - no, not heaven but grandma Edie, of course.” 🌼“A delightful book, loaded with nuggets of life-enhancing wisdom.”“I cannot go a day without chasing the sky, can you? It is a feeling like no other.” Her smile seemed to deepen as she looked at him. “I find I enjoy it even more with you by my side. Does that surprise you?”
Truthfully, if lightning had struck Bradley in that moment, he would have been less surprised. Indeed, no one had ever enjoyed his company nor had he ever wanted anyone to; and he did not now. “Again, you are without a chaperone,” he chided, determined to lead this conversation back to safer terrain.
Lady Harriet chuckled. “As are you.”
Bradley could feel his head spinning. “It is not the same,” he snapped in reply, “and you know it.”
“It should be,” Lady Harriet replied with a shrug.
“That is not an answer!” Bradley could once again feel his pulse spike higher, despite his efforts to remain calm. Why on earth did he have to meet such an infuriating woman?
“It is my answer,” the lady replied in that slightly amused, completely unconcerned way of hers.
Bradley stared at her in disbelief. He was at the end of his ropes, no longer knowing what to say or how to make her understand. “Do you truly not care? How can you not care about your own well-being? Your own future? Do you not even have the slightest inkling of what could happen to you out here by yourself?” He shook his head, feeling completely dumbfounded.
To his utter shock, Lady Harriet then reached out and placed her hand upon his lower arm, a gentle and soft weight that seemed to sear through his sleeve and leave an imprint upon his skin. “Oh, sweet Jack, you don’t need to be concerned for me. I always have a blade tucked in my bodice when I go riding.” She cocked an eyebrow at him, and a bit of a quizzical look came into her eyes. “Don’t you? I mean, are you not armed?”
Bradley stared at her long and hard, unable to choose which outrageous piece of information to respond to first. One: She had called him Jack…again. Two: no proper lady would refer to her bodice in a man’s presence. Three: she truly had a blade tucked in said bodice? And four: no one had ever called him sweet before.
Nor had he ever wanted anyone to, and yet the word continued to echo in his mind, pulsing like a separate entity suddenly come to life. It felt warm and soothing, and it made him forget about all the other things she had said that had first given him affront. His gaze became distant, his mind suddenly sluggish, unable to catch a clear thought.
“Are you all right?” Lady Harriet inquired, and her hand upon his arm gave a little squeeze. “Jack? Are you all right? You look pale.” She dipped her head to look into his downcast eyes, and a small smile played over her lips. “Have I shocked you too much for one day? If so, I apologize. It was never my intention. Please, sweet Jack, will you not look at me?”
Bradley blinked, and then his eyes found hers and he knew in that moment that he would never forget this feeling. As odd as it was, the feeling was shockingly unique. It had never assailed his chest before, tightening his muscles and sending this soothing warmth through him in waves.
She had called him sweet.
Again.
To his utter shame, Bradley could not deny that—whether or not he deserved it—he did like it. He ought not, but he did.
Oh, this did not bode well!
She’s built a life where no one else gets to decide who she is. Lady Harriet Beaumont thrives on chaos, kindness, and a stubborn streak wider than the Thames. Fiercely independent and quietly protective of her right to choose her own path, she’s made her peace with spinsterhood and the wild assortment of creatures who depend on her. To marry would mean surrendering control—and Harriet has learned the cost of giving someone power over her life.
He’s seen what love can do—and vowed never to let it undo him. Bradley Jackson, Duke of Clements, grew up watching love turn into grief. His father never recovered from losing his wife, and Bradley carries that caution like a second skin. A tidy life, a well-matched duchess—that was the plan. Until Harriet crashes into it with feathers in her hair and a refusal to be chosen.
They must learn to trust where there are no guarantees. As Harriet challenges everything Bradley thought he wanted and Bradley offers her a choice she never expected, something quiet and powerful begins to grow between them. Not possession. Not promises. But the steady risk of trusting someone else—not just with your heart, but with your freedom, too.
If you didn’t expect to be seen in a love story—and yet here you are—this one might just be the embrace you’ve been waiting for.
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