LOVING BYRNE - A Victorian short story

Available in print and e-book formats at The Wild Rose Press, Amazon, and many other on-line book stores. .

Lieutenant Stephen Byrne stands guard over a British envoy asleep after an all-day drinking binge. So when his fiancée arrives, Stephen feels safe leaving his post for a quick meal. Yet his worst nightmare comes true when the Englishman slips from the room and leaves the hotel.

Victoria Manning will soon have everything she’s ever wanted—a loving husband and a new life at Fort Leavenworth as an Army officer’s wife. When loneliness and a special picnic lunch for her fiancé bring her to the Willard Hotel, their meal soon falls by the wayside as their passion ignites and their agreement of abstinence is put to the test.

Stephen and Victoria must put their special night on hold as they search for the fugitive envoy. Can they find him and save Stephen's commission in the Army, or will their future together be in jeopardy?

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5 Stars from Secret Romance Junkie on Amazon. Lovely, lusty little novella. This was a short novella. It took less than an hour to read. It was very well written. At most, I'd say it was missing a few commas. For a short novella, the characters were surprisingly well drawn. The story is exactly as described in the synopsis.There was also a good plot for such a short story. I was interested from the opening paragraph and stayed interested to the very end. The couple were due to marry shortly, and couldn't keep their hands off one another. The heat level would be about a 4/5 but the descriptions were really more sensual than graphic. I will certainly be exploring other titles by this author.

“Are you hungry?” She certainly was. But not for food. However, what she craved would - for the time being - have to stay shelved.

She placed the basket on the table and pulled back the cloth covering. “I brought some of my sister’s fresh baked bread. And cheese from Howard’s store. The herbed goat cheese you adore more than anything in this world.” Her brother-in-law stocked his mercantile with only the best wares. No cheap goods for Howard Taylor. She’d tallied the receipts often enough to know while helping with the bookkeeping.

Stephen moved behind her and peeled off her cloak. “There’s nothing I adore more than you, my darling.”

She smiled. He always said the sweetest things. Theirs was the true romantic story. He’d swept her off her feet from the moment they met. Literally. She’d been high on a ladder, wiping dust from a shelf in the mercantile when her foot slipped. She’d plunged into the arms of a dashing army officer who’d walked through the door just in time to catch her. From then on, not a day went by that Lieutenant Byrne didn’t come by the store. His brief visits turned into long dinners with her and Annabelle and Howard, and two months later, he’d asked for her hand in marriage. She couldn’t ever remember being happier.
She fished the bread and cheese from the basket and set them on the table. “I packed your favorite wine, too. The same brand we had at our engagement party. And some sweet berries from the market.”