On A Midsummer Night Excerpt

I have been busy writing On A Midsummer Night, the second novella in The Daltons series. The novella features Beth, the daughter of Phillip and Annalise from The Captain's Midwinter Bride, and the mysterious Henry Ramsgate who left Bristol without a word, never to return. I'm having fun writing this second chance, older brother's best friend romance, and I thought I would share a short snippet.

In this scene, Beth and Henry meet again several years after Henry left. As you can imagine, the tension between them is palpable.

“Goodness, I didn’t think you had it in you to be this lively anymore.”

With his heart threatening to thunder from his chest, Henry pivoted to find Beth standing in the doorway, the light surrounding her in a luminescent halo. Her expression was masked by the glare, but the amused note in her voice released tension from his spine.

“Ah, so you do remember me.” Henry looked down at the liquor in his glass. “I wasn’t sure.”

“Because I didn’t welcome you like a long lost friend?” Her snort was soft. “You didn't say goodbye before you left Bristol all those years ago, so it seemed presumptuous to imagine us as friends.”

It took a moment to swallow down the knot in his throat. “I had to leave quite suddenly, which made it impossible to issue proper goodbyes.” Henry shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Yes, well,” Beth lifted a shoulder as she advanced toward the wall that overlooked the garden, “like I said, that was many years ago. I confess I’m surprised you remembered me at all.”

As if he could ever forget that magnetic girl who streaked through his life like a shooting star before everything went dark.

“How could I forget?” Henry cleared his throat, angling about to face the garden like she did. “It was a memorable trip.”

“But not memorable enough to remain friends with Oliver.” He sensed that she looked up at him, but Henry did not have the nerve to meet her gaze. “He told me things were much different after you left. That you changed.”

“Your father's death will do that to you.”

Henry bit down on his tongue so forcefully he tasted copper. For him to confess such thing so baldly, brushing aside the carefully constructed facade he’d worked for years to fortify like it was so much rubbish, robbed him of breath. On A Midsummer Night will be available this summer 2022, and keep an eye on this spot for the cover reveal and pre-order links!