Chasing the Other Tisdale Excerpt & Giveaway with Jessica Jefferson

Chasing the Other Tisdale

by Jessica Jefferson

 

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BLURB: 

 

She’s the other sister…

 

Overshadowed by the beauty of her older sister, Lillian is better known as the other Tisdale; unremarkable and unsure how she will ever deliver on the promise of her family's name.

 

He’s a rake in need of reforming…

 

Will Colton leads a frivolous existence, embracing notoriety instead of managing his family’s fortune. Determined to forget his financial burden and his father’s growing resentment, he maintains a lifestyle dedicated to pleasure and self-indulgence. When Will is invited to the Tisdale estate for an extended holiday, he never expects to become friends with the forgettable Lillian. But when a family secret comes to light, he must choose between leaving London and protecting the honor of one woman or staying and risking the reputation of another.

 

Upon his return, Will finds the girl he left behind has come out of the shadows and into her own. Lillian’s finally the center of attention, and not all of it good. With his own reputation in tatters, can a reformed rake lure her out of the hands of London's bachelors and back into his own arms? Can he escape his past and reclaim her heart, or has he lost her forever?

 

 

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EXCERPT:

 

A knock at the door startled her, causing her to make a line where she hadn’t intended.

 

“I don’t want any,” she yelled, expecting a maid with yet another tray of biscuits to deliver. For some reason, Cook had gotten it in her mind that the fastest way to heal was through plying the stomach with freshly baked goods.

 

She returned to her drawing, putting the final touches on a doe in the wood. Then she heard the knock again. This time the unexpected intrusion had caused her to break the charcoal clean in half.

 

“Dammit,” she muttered under her breath. “Come in if you must, then!” she shouted, none too pleased by the interruption.

 

“I apologize for the interruption.” A distinctly male voice came from the direction of the doorway. “Perhaps I should come back at a better time?”

 

Will Colton leaned against the threshold, wearing a pair of fawn colored breeches and a navy undercut jacket with a coordinating burgundy waistcoat. His polished boots shined as if they were wet and when he smiled she could have sworn his perfect, straight white teeth lit up the entire room.

 

He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

 

It was then that she realized what she must look like. She was wearing one of her oldest gowns, her hair was haphazardly gathered in a bun atop her head, and for the life of her she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a proper bath.

 

Unfortunately, he’d already seen her so the option of hiding was lost.

 

He strode across the room, long lean legs making short work of the considerable distance between the door and her. The library was a massive room, housing hundreds, if not thousands of books. At certain times throughout the year, the books were even made available for lending to the surrounding villages. There were plenty of nooks and crannies she could have easily escaped to, given the proper notice.

 

For future reference, she noted to always inquire as to the source of the knocking before blindly issuing an invitation to enter.

 

Lilly sat up straighter and tried to make herself look presentable, as futile as a task like that was. “Mr. Colton,” she greeted. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

 

“I should hope not,” he said, his eyes bright as always. “You sounded as if you were about to throttle the next person to come through that door. I’m sorry for disturbing you, but I’d heard you were down here and I wanted to make sure that I saw you again before I left. I thought I’d sneak in and steal a few moments before taking off.”

 

She felt her face flush with embarrassment. “I’m sorry for yelling. It’s just ... I’m having quite the time of it today. My mother won’t let me do anything, our cook keeps forcing food down my throat, and the physician swears I need more laudanum.”

 

“Enjoying your convalescence, then are you?” he chided, taking a seat in the high-back chair across from her.

 

She smiled. “Hardly. And be warned, I haven’t been allowed visitors and am so desperate for company that I can’t be held responsible for whatever silly things happen to come out of my mouth.”

 

He held up his right hand as if taking an oath. “I swear to remember everything and shamelessly hold it against you.”

 

She giggled, then grew quiet when she noticed the large parcel wrapped in brown paper he held in his lap.

 

He must have followed the direction of her gaze. “I brought you a gift of sorts.”

 

Lilly swallowed. A gift? She tried to calm herself and settle the multitude of butterflies that were suddenly wreaking havoc in her stomach. “For me?”

 

He handed her the package and she made quick work of the wrappings.

 

She looked up at him. “My sketchbook—you found it.”

 

“I assumed it was yours, unless of course some other budding young artist has stumbled across your hiding spot.”

 

“Thank you,” she said. “I thought I’d lost it.”

 

He shrugged, his smile brimming with boyish charm. “After you were taken care of, I went back to the tree to retrieve my waistcoat and I found it lying on the ground. There’s a bit of damage from the morning dew, but fortunately it hasn’t rained so the book’s relatively unharmed.”

 

Lilly felt her face warm with heat from the memory of his bare chest, the naked skin rubbing against her arm as he carried her to her home.

 

 

 

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

 

 

Jessica Jefferson makes her home in northern Indiana, or as she likes to think of it—almost Chicago.  She is heavily inspired by classic sweeping, historical romance novels, but aims to take those key emotional elements and inject a fresh blend of quick dialogue and comedy.  She invites you to visit her at jessicajefferson.com and read more of her random romance musings.

 

Links and social media:

http://www.JessicaJefferson.com and http://www.embracingromance.com

Like me at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Jefferson/545243542195152

Follow me at https://twitter.com/authorJessicaJ/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7376474.Jessica_Jefferson

Amazon Author Page- http://www.amazon.com/Jessica-Jefferson/e/B00GI20W2K

 

Chasing the Other Tisdale, Compromising Miss Tisdale and Taming Miss Tisdale from Soul Mate Publishing, available now on Amazon!

 

Jessica will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway