Spotlight for
A Gentleman’s Game by
Theresa
Romain
Welcome to my stop on the
Virtual Tour, presented by Sourcebooks,
for A Gentleman’s Game by Theresa Romain. Please leave a comment or question for
Theresa to let her know you stopped by. You
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A Gentleman’s Game
By Theresa Romain
Romance of the Turf, Book 1
Publish Date: February 2, 2016
ISBN: 9781492613718
In the First Book of Romance of the Turf, a refreshing
new Regency series from rising star Theresa Romain, a mystery demanding to be
solved brings unlikely allies together in more ways than one...
How far will a man go
Talented but troubled, the
Chandler family seems cursed by bad luck—and so Nathaniel Chandler has learned
to trade on his charm. He can broker a deal with anyone from a turf-mad English
noble to an Irish horse breeder. But Nathaniel’s skills are tested when his
stable of trained Thoroughbreds become suspiciously ill just before the Epsom
Derby, and he begins to suspect his father’s new secretary is not as innocent
as she seems.
To win a woman’s secretive heart?
Nathaniel would be very
surprised if he knew why Rosalind Agate was really helping his family in their
quest for a Derby victory. But for the sake of both their livelihoods, Rosalind
and Nathaniel must set aside their suspicions. As Derby Day draws near, her wit
and his charm make for a successful investigative team…and light the fires of
growing desire. But Rosalind’s life is built on secrets and Nathaniel’s on
charisma, and neither defense will serve them once they lose their hearts…
Historical romance author Theresa
Romain pursued an impractical education that allowed her to read everything she
could get her hands on. She then worked for universities and libraries, where
she got to read even more. Eventually she started writing, too. She lives with
her family in the Midwest.
Excerpt
from A Gentleman’s Game © Theresa Romain
When
the farmer had led his chestnut away again, Nathaniel dangled the medal before
Rosalind’s face. “Look there, Rosalind Agate. I’ve finally won a medal, and I
didn’t even have to tidy myself up for a meal.”
“Or
arise early.” At the end of its white ribbon, the medal turned in a slow
breeze. It was a small circle of some silver metal, maybe tin, buffed to shine
and catch the eye.
“It’s
pretty,” she said. “I’m glad he gave it to you. He wouldn’t have won without
your help at the right moment.”
“Oh—well.”
He shrugged this off, then stuffed the medal into the pocket of his waistcoat,
from which the ribbon poked out alongside his fob. “This is a pleasant village,
isn’t it? If home felt like this, I mightn’t be so eager to take to the road.”
“And
how does it feel to you?” She couldn’t seem to stop asking questions. Her tidy
control was packed away. Today she was a woman who danced, and who owned a
ribbon so green it would bring a man to his knees.
The
thought made her smile as she blinked up at Nathaniel. His eyes were blue, as blue
as the Suffolk sky in springtime. She had learned the shade of their
brightness.
Slowly,
he smiled. “It feels,” he said, “like the sort of place where a man might kiss
a woman with a crown of red flowers in her hair.”
Her
heart thudded a bit faster; her knees went watery. “It does feel that way,” she
whispered. “To me too.”
He
tipped up her chin, his hand strong yet gentle along the line of her jaw.
“Thank God for that.” And there in the shadow of a building once devoured by
flame, he lowered his lips to hers.
* * *
Once
their lips met, Nathaniel could not imagine how he had waited so long to kiss
her.
Oh,
there were reasons on reasons not to. She was his father’s secretary, and he
had some sort of business arrangement with her about…something…
Honestly,
who cared about the reasons why not? There were even more reasons why this was
right.
The
soft, almost hesitant curve of her mouth before he covered it with his own.
The
surprised inhale that smoothed into a hmmm of pleasure.
The
sweet-spiced taste of her as her lips parted, letting them fit together more
deeply with his. As the tip of his tongue brushed hers, setting them both to
shivering, he tasted the candied almonds. He tasted the heat of her and
breathed in her scent. She was flowers and laughter and all the joys of a
muddled morning. Of a race won. A medal for doing what was right.
Her
hands wound around his neck, nails trailing lightly through his short-cropped
hair. He could have groaned at the feeling, gentle and intimate, and he bent to
wrap her more closely within his embrace. His hand trailed from her face to her
shoulder to her back to fit her close to him. To press against her, solid and
smiling and crimson-crowned and lovely.
She
made another little hmm, and he went tense as a bowstring at the erotic sound.
He laced his fingers into her plaited hair beneath its wreath of blooms.
Feeling the shape of her head through her sleek hair was intimate. He almost
felt as though he were holding her thoughts. Could he tell what was on her mind?
How could he understand her, a woman so eager for sweetness but who had never
yet claimed it?
Theresa Romain’s Road Trip Tip: If you get ahead of schedule, why not stop for a
break? My hero and heroine, Nathaniel and Rosalind, spent the morning at a
village fete—but in a modern-day pinch, coffee and pastry at a Starbucks will
do.
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