My husband is always one of the first people to read my books, right after my editor. I love that he’s willing to read them, and he even proclaims to enjoy them. On occasion he’ll text me and tell me about a scene that he particularly liked, or a character who stood out to him. But I must admit, I was rather taken aback by his assessment of my newest, FLIRTING WITH FORTUNE.
“Beatrice is you,” he said, crossing his arms and lifting an eyebrow, daring me to contradict him.
“What?” I gasped, surprise rounding my eyes. “She most certainly is not. Other than being the third child in a family, there is nothing we have in common. She’s a slender blond painter and heiress. As you well now, I’m, well, not.” I was a professional writer, for heaven’s sake. I didn’t just write myself into my books.
His lips lifted in a knowing grin. “Let me clarify: She argues exactly like you.”
I pursed my lips, thinking back to her arguments in the book. As far as I was concerned, they were perfectly reasonable and well thought out.
With a lift of my chin, I met his eyes. “Well, I can’t help it if she’s a woman of brilliant logic.”
LOL – I must say, after considering it a bit, I think he might be right. Especially since she usually wins in a battle of wits 😉 Below is a fun excerpt from the book, where she is playfully arguing with our hero, Colin. I hope you enjoy!
“Well, we never did have that dance. You need to make good on your promise, like a proper gentleman.”
“Who said I was a proper gentleman?” Colin leaned a shoulder against the wall beside the painting, his body as lithe and lean as one of the great cats she’d seen in the Tower Menagerie. Beatrice had a sudden image of painting his portrait in just that position but stripped bare to the waist.
Heat swamped her cheeks, and she hastily dropped her gaze to the floor. Lord have mercy, where had that thought come from? She drew a deep breath, trying to get herself under control. She wasn’t a blusher, and she certainly wasn’t shy. Gathering her scattered wits, she put a hand to her hip and met his gaze head-on. “You did—when you decided to attend that first ball.”
“Ah, is that how it works? I’d argue the point,” he said, a bit of mischief lifting a single dark brow, “but it wouldn’a be very gentlemanly of me. Now, as for the dance, it was your decision to take a stroll outside over my offer to dance. You canna expect me to leave the door open indefinitely for that particular delight.”
“Of course I can. It’s one of the few perks of being a female. We may make unreasonable demands upon men until our hearts are content. Of course, it’s up to them as to whether or not they choose to indulge us.”
“And that, I suppose, separates the men from the gentlemen?”
“No, that separates the gentlemen from the rakes.”
“So my choice is to honor a lady’s wishes, or be labeled a rake?”
“More or less. And truly, you are entirely too generous to be a rake—otherwise I would never have had the chance to be here. Therefore,” she said, grinning as she presented her victorious argument, “your offer to dance still stands. And I accept.”
“Do you now?” He pushed away from the wall and took a slow, languid step toward her. “Well, far be it from me to keep a lady waiting.”
I hope you enjoyed this little preview of FLIRTING WITH FORTUNE. If you’ve never read my books before, I invite you to try my novella, RUINED BY A RAKE, for free! Simply go here , choose the format best suited to your e-reader, and use the following code when you check out: AJ74D
Also, I love to chat! Find me on Twitter, Facebook, or on my website at www.ErinKnightley.com. Happy Reading!
It was amazing!!!
Thanks so much, Ki!