Tessa's Touch (36 page)

"Even the stables?"

"Especially the stables," he replied.
"Though I believe you should be in charge of that area, Tessa. You've more
than proved your abilities there."

Feeling as though her last dream had come true,
she threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, Anthony, thank you. I'll make
both you and Papa proud, I promise. And I'll behave myself, you'll see. I can
be a proper wife as well as a horse trainer."

"Don't change on my account," he
said, kissing the tip of her nose. "Propriety is overrated, in my opinion.
As long as you're happy, I'd rather you stay the same free-spirited Tessa that
I fell in love with."

She stared up at him, her heart in her throat.
"Fell in—?"

His eyes now were serious as they looked into
hers. "I love you Tessa, more than life itself. Never doubt that."

"Oh, Anthony, I love you too—so
much."

He tightened his hold on her and lowered his
lips to hers. "We have our whole lives to show each other just how much,
my beautiful, unbridled bride," he murmured, and proceeded to demonstrate
that his touch could be as magical as Tessa's own.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Tessa's Touch
(originally published as
Taming Tessa
)
is the first of my "Odd Sock
Club" series of Regency-set historical romances. Like my "Saint of
Seven Dials" series, it is set in the same "world" as my
traditional Regencies and
Scandalous Virtue
, with a few of the same (fictional)
peripheral characters. Though each of my books stands alone, complete in
itself, some readers prefer to read them in order. My traditional Regencies, in
order of original publication, are:
Gabriella, The Cygnet, Lord Dearborn's
Destiny, Daring Deception
and
A Christmas Bride. Azalea
(part
of a two-in-one volume,
Regency Diamonds
) was actually my first novel written, though my seventh
published. I am delighted to finally be publishing it as a stand-alone novel.
My Regency historicals, in order (both chronologically in the period and in
order of publication) are:
Scandalous Virtue, Rogue's Honor, Noble
Deceptions
(originally
published as
A Rebellious Bride
),
Innocent Passions
and
Saintly Sins
(originally
published as
Wickedly Yours
).
These last four comprise my "Saints of Seven Dials" series. Linked to
those, but not quite a part of the series, are also
Tessa's Touch
(originally published as
Taming Tessa
) and
The Runaway Heiress
.

I
had originally intended to write a fifth "Saint" book, with Harry
Thatcher as the hero, as well as more "Odd Sock" books, but those
ideas were unfortunately vetoed by my Avon editor at the time. Now, however, if
enough people want to read Harry's story, or Rush's, I may just write them
after all and put them out as e-books! With all of my Regency historicals, I
thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to stretch my wings beyond the rather strict
boundaries of the traditional Regency, while still preserving the feel and
accuracy of the time period. For these reissues, I have taken the opportunity
to clean up a few small errors of fact and proofing and have restored my originally
planned titles to two of them. I am delighted to again share my stories with
you in this new format. Enjoy!

* * *

For information
on my other books, please visit http://brendahiatt.com or connect with me
online at http://www.facebook.com/BrendaHiatt or
http://twitter.com/#!/brenda_hiatt