Patience: Enemies to Lovers Historical Regency Romance Novel (Symbols of Love Book 2) by Leah Conolly

Author:Leah Conolly [Conolly, Leah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Starfall Publications
Published: 2024-03-26T00:00:00+00:00

The amber-coloured liquid swirled about the fine crystal glass as Tom poured himself another brandy. It was an exceptionally good bottle, sweet and with a hint of oaky-spice. He had a notion that it was the duke’s private stash, as it was kept in a cabinet quite near the desk in the library. Tom had liberated it, and had taken up residence in one of the high-backed chairs near the fireplace. The fire had spent itself, and was reduced to a few burning embers that did not give off much in the way of heat or light.

Tom didn’t care; the brandy had warmed him quite pleasantly from head to foot. It also had the added benefit of dulling the panicked-sting he had felt earlier in the evening. He had resolved to simply give himself over to enjoying what was before him, forgetting London society and all of its rules and vagaries. The surprising thing was that he was enjoying himself, immensely so. He couldn’t give a fig about the other guests, but the time he had spent with Patience was a revelation.

She was clever, far more so than he had ever credited her with being. And funny! He had never expected to find her so amusing, nor to find such delight in her amusement. She had an infectious little laugh, wrinkling her nose up when something was truly funny to her. He found that he wanted to make her laugh, again and again. Time spent with her was so effortless, so easy. He did not have to be on his guard, always wondering what he should say, or do, or how to improve his social standing. He could just…be.

And then, his life in London had come crashing back in on him. He had never expected to see Lady Stanton’s daughter, not at a party at a country estate. Eva was not one for country pursuits; he could just see her lovely mouth curling up at the very thought. She represented everything that was his London life, and her arrival had brought his past colliding with the present.

Though still hazy on the details, Tom was very aware that whatever his transgression had been, it centred on Eva Stanton. It was not that he suddenly found Patience distasteful; it was that he felt cheap and nickel-plated compared to her. He doubted that Patience had ever lied, or cheated, or done anything to be ashamed of. She was good, anyone could see that. He had thought, perhaps foolishly, that if he could be good too, then…

“Fat lot of good that’s done me now,” he muttered darkly, and took another generous swig.

He had been happy, and that was why he was miserable now. Tom thought he understood happiness, had thought that he was happy gadding about town on his father’s purse. What he hadn’t known, but clearly did now, was that it was all shallow and not real. His chums, so eager to lark around with him when he was footing the bill, had evaporated when his allowance had dried up.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.