tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89302598101754526832024-03-15T12:06:34.109-05:00Cerise DeLand's Bon Bons! Nibbles about history, travels and research!Facts, fun, drama of writing fiction by Cerise!
(copyright 2009-2024, Cerise DeLand)Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.comBlogger841125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-61438666324654826882024-03-15T12:06:00.038-05:002024-03-15T12:06:00.143-05:00Real places, good fiction! What's a good story made of? See much in my LORD ASHLEY's BEAUTIFUL ALIBI!<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1V01IYmqQiQdLzsx1t_Cj4GpL_RH4_azHsPv7gHWzzIYR3jTMDO5pVKz4GqFDxsbBlVivlK32MVNIYzOy69xeS32keKSDIeSkZhtLu6X8-e6mUjGsxM0GP-vruPmvWy3T4NOefKUOrytr8EkQMttGFGi21Y3DEyvPtmxT0cMTDyqjGTziE5Q_-JgMsYJ/s877/877px-Friedrich_Staffnick_-_Abbildung_der_Kirche_St_Denis_in_Frankreich,_(...)_.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="877" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1V01IYmqQiQdLzsx1t_Cj4GpL_RH4_azHsPv7gHWzzIYR3jTMDO5pVKz4GqFDxsbBlVivlK32MVNIYzOy69xeS32keKSDIeSkZhtLu6X8-e6mUjGsxM0GP-vruPmvWy3T4NOefKUOrytr8EkQMttGFGi21Y3DEyvPtmxT0cMTDyqjGTziE5Q_-JgMsYJ/w400-h274/877px-Friedrich_Staffnick_-_Abbildung_der_Kirche_St_Denis_in_Frankreich,_(...)_.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />What's a good story made of?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Lots of things. But one element every author of historical fiction knows is that often the place is just as important as the characters and their conflict.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here in SCARLETT AFFAIRS, I take you to so many places that are real...or were. Each one has a special importance to the period...and the story I'm telling.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">One of those places is St. Denis Basilica in north central Paris. It is on the periphery, almost to the Peripherique Wall, centuries old. Older is the church that was originally built there and is now this lovely building.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But its magnificence was not always revered. In fact, during the Revolution, the church was pillaged. Ransacked. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Why?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukZIT7MixNQfZXhHJsW3hHRvVpjUlA7vk0f6TZKnEWt9vaq89LCgIqy7cob9MLbinE-rFULxQpFLdq-MmlYApiEEp3uxX4KPgWm55pY9SbxtKqAjaUkckLAM1zAdFcH-2ufoDf5lFjDWG0jL_sIWQVVEJh81jnVW4hFfiD8zIqNh7JECwmA1cqNFRCaoi/s728/he%20violation%20of%20the%20royal%20tombs%20in%201793%20depicted%20by%20Hubert%20Robert.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="728" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukZIT7MixNQfZXhHJsW3hHRvVpjUlA7vk0f6TZKnEWt9vaq89LCgIqy7cob9MLbinE-rFULxQpFLdq-MmlYApiEEp3uxX4KPgWm55pY9SbxtKqAjaUkckLAM1zAdFcH-2ufoDf5lFjDWG0jL_sIWQVVEJh81jnVW4hFfiD8zIqNh7JECwmA1cqNFRCaoi/w640-h528/he%20violation%20of%20the%20royal%20tombs%20in%201793%20depicted%20by%20Hubert%20Robert.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Inside this lovely church rest the kings and queens and families of the monarchs of France. From ancient to medieval, babies, children, siblings, kings to Louis XIV, and, yes, the remains of Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, Louis XVIII and Charles X.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I post here only a few of the marvelous statuary in this church. I urge you to go and marvel at the collection. Do go down into the crypt to see the black granite coverings to the tombs of Louis and his wife Marie. Walk around to see the alcove where their son's heart is buried. Do find Louis XIV in one wall.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Why do I put this in LORD ASHLEY'S BEAUTIFUL ALIBI? The scene is very important in the novel as our heroine get north to St. Denis and attempts to make contact with her agent who feeds her news from the south of France. The aura of death and sadness pervades the scene.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The bath house near St. Denis to which she goes is typical of Paris at the time. For both men and women in separate rooms, the bathhouse was useful to those who wanted to bathe and had no means at home.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Here is a model of one. My picture from the Carnavalet Musee in Paris.</b></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBSJE9a364fv4NMmHKuXQcnamoE52IWQpJo1GUCmGKSzBWfSHVVVFEvVU1JJ85bin9vviw_gJe5xJzNMNMT1Y_zyx5-WVtEr3c1MWXalz66g1Olw6_CWnPt47SJYsndn49AZJekK7iW_wHi0U88aRFs_IM4cKikQfUa63dP_YXmWf6ijAQLACl5fHdjNw/s4032/IMG_4641.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBSJE9a364fv4NMmHKuXQcnamoE52IWQpJo1GUCmGKSzBWfSHVVVFEvVU1JJ85bin9vviw_gJe5xJzNMNMT1Y_zyx5-WVtEr3c1MWXalz66g1Olw6_CWnPt47SJYsndn49AZJekK7iW_wHi0U88aRFs_IM4cKikQfUa63dP_YXmWf6ijAQLACl5fHdjNw/w640-h480/IMG_4641.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Built in 1787, this luxury public bathhouse remained fashionable under the Empire and the Restoration. Around 1830 however, its success declined in the face of competition.</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-87119301247688771752024-03-08T12:09:00.001-06:002024-03-08T12:09:00.135-06:00Agents of my fictitious merchant Scarlett Hawthorne attempt to topple the little general while they fall delightfully in love!<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">We read romance for the joy of falling in love. But we read historical romance for the drama of living in different era. </span></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">In my new series, SCARLETT AFFAIRS, I give you sixteen spicy historical romances. Each one will come with a kick of loads of accurate historical detail. The agents of merchant Scarlett Hawthorne will fall in love not only amid actual events, but many will participate and solve mysteries many experts ponder even today.
</span></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxVJ6eTnv5-uaG72D_JDnEHmitA6euce771gsjU9l20QK4XYj4bzMg50_FrgyeGmLqOxn0NuRBoTvFg9p41PyRBgaW1pSLQOMPBzygaCeMQoWsuEB7612UBBH3RYlhSoDkZZwKqfBMZjWc5UtjSMCzrdvMllbHfpqgty1c0S3S5bhwiu0RN4aVf6goYBN/s1640/Love%20Affairs%20to%20Remember.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1640" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxVJ6eTnv5-uaG72D_JDnEHmitA6euce771gsjU9l20QK4XYj4bzMg50_FrgyeGmLqOxn0NuRBoTvFg9p41PyRBgaW1pSLQOMPBzygaCeMQoWsuEB7612UBBH3RYlhSoDkZZwKqfBMZjWc5UtjSMCzrdvMllbHfpqgty1c0S3S5bhwiu0RN4aVf6goYBN/w640-h334/Love%20Affairs%20to%20Remember.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><a href="https://books2read.com/u/mdPpVd">https://books2read.com/u/mdPpVd</a></b></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><br /></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table>Sweeping you from London to Paris during the years Bonaparte ruled, I am tickled to open the series by a trip down the road to Malmaison and show you the problems of navigating Josephine and Bonaparte’s court. The intrigues of spies, ambassadors, merchants, military men and the women who loved and aided them create a canvas of actual events that shaped the fate of millions. </span></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;">Over the years of Bonaparte’s rise and reign, espionage agents of all nationalities tried to stop him. Many failed. Like the attempt in LORD ASHLEY’S BEAUTIFUL ALIBI to abduct Bonaparte in June 1800. A few succeeded, like the attempt of the British government to plant agents throughout the Continent during the peace of the Treaty of Amiens. </span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8R9p4EkeWBUp3HvbybADeEVu8m55bjRcnjbVeoIrkZ_2o8BTzBZ82ACaJOMGGJfRzVAHrdyS9NJf97ZzVSESc0OjGE6TzTe3QJnQOIZPaB4DAYNU3EWho-I2shjHXKIOFb8sgTRTdVFIlgkBeEWoOz5_fX5WZDm9nybIo6D01liEekSOqGrXhUV4YSzi/s2916/Merchant's%20house,%2017th%20c.,%20Marlborough%20England.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1430" data-original-width="2916" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8R9p4EkeWBUp3HvbybADeEVu8m55bjRcnjbVeoIrkZ_2o8BTzBZ82ACaJOMGGJfRzVAHrdyS9NJf97ZzVSESc0OjGE6TzTe3QJnQOIZPaB4DAYNU3EWho-I2shjHXKIOFb8sgTRTdVFIlgkBeEWoOz5_fX5WZDm9nybIo6D01liEekSOqGrXhUV4YSzi/w640-h314/Merchant's%20house,%2017th%20c.,%20Marlborough%20England.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Merchant's house, 17th Century</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Some of these events were documented, like the abduction of the duc d'Enghien. Others still remain mysteries, such as the identity of the mysterious English woman who for decades sent thousands of coded secrets home to London. And the lady who stole documents from Talleyrand in Vienna during the Congress of 1814. </span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;">In SCARLETT AFFAIRS, I take you to those cities that live in our history books—and palaces, churches and streets I have walked. They are places that exude their own charm—and hold for the people of that time secrets and challenges for agents of all countries. </span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjGxMvlDmQWJxFX7U-lLf6yNwZriUaXWibXbP7ISOHmtiMtF5vTJ1kAbctJzimFj3GaBm7SvlEZ1GC64-VsU1y2YUkWS7r9JSUCptQeYWeI-4roaFK6PCZczdiW6iBzAsV2aidRuaZF-iGbOg4dKXHJtPC9qXCcJIoHXuN-z4X0KqBPScvy43xG7gRLtKd/s4608/DSC00182.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjGxMvlDmQWJxFX7U-lLf6yNwZriUaXWibXbP7ISOHmtiMtF5vTJ1kAbctJzimFj3GaBm7SvlEZ1GC64-VsU1y2YUkWS7r9JSUCptQeYWeI-4roaFK6PCZczdiW6iBzAsV2aidRuaZF-iGbOg4dKXHJtPC9qXCcJIoHXuN-z4X0KqBPScvy43xG7gRLtKd/w640-h480/DSC00182.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Varennes, France</td></tr></tbody></table><br />You will go to the tunnels beneath Compiègne and to the palace where Napoleon took his second wife and within minutes of arrival escorted her to their bedroom. You will go to Reims, where kings were crowned, and enter the caverns of St. Denis in Paris where they were buried. You will go to the church in Varennes where gendarmes captured Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and sent them to Paris to die. You will go to Baden where a greedy German margrave sold out his subjects to Bonaparte for land and money. You will track Bonaparte and his aide Caulaincourt as they race away from Moscow and are tracked by agents all the way to Paris. </span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0JUiPDCFtMolp8PP3OKZN9NIAa25G2i3CGgSdWxEIdoRXae_UkAH2ayhuWUCOtQlbgkBSnSn_n_RUPJogMekef3oeuxv1XPII_FoqtXCg5dUfaX6WSlyctJ5TYzkFETzZgaulLid9aWmzDYMw4UDSJMIQq9hrUZMzDnHVR49NGj_1w-H1T1jbhEIDPW9/s2016/Amboise%20curtain%20walls,%20day.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0JUiPDCFtMolp8PP3OKZN9NIAa25G2i3CGgSdWxEIdoRXae_UkAH2ayhuWUCOtQlbgkBSnSn_n_RUPJogMekef3oeuxv1XPII_FoqtXCg5dUfaX6WSlyctJ5TYzkFETzZgaulLid9aWmzDYMw4UDSJMIQq9hrUZMzDnHVR49NGj_1w-H1T1jbhEIDPW9/w640-h480/Amboise%20curtain%20walls,%20day.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amboise, curtain walls, on Loire</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I will also take you to other seemingly insignificant places that really existed. A public bath house, the smelly abattoir of Montmartre, then south to the huge fortress of Amboise and the vineyards of the Loire. To Verdun where the citadel becomes the prison for hundreds of British trapped inside France by the wily new emperor. </span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;">A panoply of stories, the series will be a rich discovery of the challenges of fighting an enemy while falllng in love with one irresistible person. I hope you enjoy them all, from this first search for a missing friend, to the action-adventure of saving an entire family from death, to the rewards of stealing Bonaparte’s gold and more. </span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;">Through each story, one man and woman will try to save the world from a despot—and save each other and the love they treasure above all else.
I hope you have enjoyed your tour of Paris and northern France in this first novel of the series. Come with me as I take you to those times and places where kings walked, Bonaparte reigned and where espionage agents of my fictitious merchant Scarlett Hawthorne will attempt to topple the little general while they fall delightfully in love.</span></h3>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-90190784494671820152024-02-23T13:02:00.004-06:002024-02-23T15:19:22.500-06:00<p style="font-family: Times; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 19px;"><br /></p>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-40866863706989656872024-02-22T15:29:00.003-06:002024-02-22T15:29:49.888-06:00A teaser for LORD ASHLEY'S ALIBI! ENJOY! Scarlett Affairs begin March 21!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxJJrGKvpAz37qjPdqkjP01-0LQ2LWUij1_N5rUR75FLL3NNVBNtp9-7cv8UMjc4HkMRwB-9L1QcKqH-0doPQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /> <p></p><p>BUY LINK FOR LORD ASHLEY: <a class="x1fey0fg xmper1u x1edh9d7" href="https://books2read.com/u/mdPpVd"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">https://books2read.com/u/mdPpVd</span></a></p>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-75100350235634779712024-02-12T17:29:00.001-06:002024-02-12T17:29:00.265-06:00A nibble of new newest cherry, LORD ASHLEY'S BEAUTIFUL ALBI!<p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4IKh5xUmkLgn2ClYWs2e0gdrbRuDO4aGSJhaMmMM_f023CBqcZNHEOH0FjphkQ6KPvhIkj8cnF1GDkZ3BfrAWBN-kUv4P-gJCAq6KqcZYevh83pjnvv6pDnBHzm-uWrFA2XZfR3dY03RmqAP1V74anfOBBs8wNAhv7pr7EMfawGGSWLggH3lRJn8Qg5c/s1640/BookBrushImage-2024-2-6-17-3631.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1640" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4IKh5xUmkLgn2ClYWs2e0gdrbRuDO4aGSJhaMmMM_f023CBqcZNHEOH0FjphkQ6KPvhIkj8cnF1GDkZ3BfrAWBN-kUv4P-gJCAq6KqcZYevh83pjnvv6pDnBHzm-uWrFA2XZfR3dY03RmqAP1V74anfOBBs8wNAhv7pr7EMfawGGSWLggH3lRJn8Qg5c/w640-h334/BookBrushImage-2024-2-6-17-3631.png" width="640" /></a></span></i></b></div><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Excerpt, Lord Ashley’s Beautiful Alibi, All rights reserved, Cerise Deland. Copyright 2024.</span></i></b><p></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“We must stop,” Augustine murmured, though like a besotted girl, she arched her neck to give him greater access. She could not wish him gone—and oh, how she wanted him to stay and give her more of his lips and his arms and the stories of his childhood. Through those brief tales, he had become a boy, a solemn and vital person whom she could trust for the moment, for the task, for her needs. <i>But no more. Not a bit more….</i></span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He lingered, his lips on her throat and her shoulder as he seemed to inhale every essence of her. With a small blessing of his open mouth to the hollow of her throat, he drew back.</span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He took his time, his enchanting ice grey eyes examining her. With deft moves, he fluffed the ruffle at her bodice and pulled down her skirts over her knees.</span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Thank you,” she said with a true smile, though she breathed rapidly, in no way recovered from his thrall. “We have done a good job of displaying our interest in each other.”</span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Have we?” Ashley’s bass voice was gruff, the question in his voice asking a thousand more things than the obvious. </span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She nodded, hiding her gulp. “Yes, just now, two have come to the doors and left.”</span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Polite of them,” he said and cupped her cheek. “We cannot go in yet to the salon.”</span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“No?” Her mind was too full of him, her question too whimsical.</span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“You are flushed. And I am not fit to face anyone.” His brows rose by little degrees to reach the black shock of hair that had fallen—with her help she was sure,—over his broad brow.</span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She giggled.</span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He rolled his eyes and hands on his hips, considered the stars.</span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“How long do you need?” Lured, she glanced down. <i>My, my.</i> She flashed him a wicked pout.</span></p><p style="font-family: Palatino; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Hours, if you keep that up! You may not have had lovers, darling, but you’ve learned how to entice a man!”</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Ashleys-Beautiful-Alibi-Scarlett-Affairs-ebook/dp/B0CSTSTYNQ</span></p><div><br /></div>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-36389576351095968372024-02-07T12:23:00.029-06:002024-02-07T12:23:00.142-06:00Want to visit Malmaison? Paris? Josephine's court? <p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ75ePidcKFlG_1dLDc0IJe3SF1hHbB28lseif5ZfcRmGuOBvf-wpnzfv-o1e4-FCkUShy5rGhHuCrxtq6nElBwDfyPb7MaFgSRR4qRMG7QwQwDAk53BlYd4ICd0Ys5eT8Lxt7cPYciH3ZZ7R3B8iRlELrAnw1OJV3wQwdFw7QMeZBr0pgn-eC1ztDqo-o/s2654/LORD%20ASHLEY'S%20BEAUTIFUL%20ALIBI,%20BOOK%201,%20Scarlett%20Affairs%20by%20Cerise%20DeLand.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2654" data-original-width="1772" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ75ePidcKFlG_1dLDc0IJe3SF1hHbB28lseif5ZfcRmGuOBvf-wpnzfv-o1e4-FCkUShy5rGhHuCrxtq6nElBwDfyPb7MaFgSRR4qRMG7QwQwDAk53BlYd4ICd0Ys5eT8Lxt7cPYciH3ZZ7R3B8iRlELrAnw1OJV3wQwdFw7QMeZBr0pgn-eC1ztDqo-o/w428-h640/LORD%20ASHLEY'S%20BEAUTIFUL%20ALIBI,%20BOOK%201,%20Scarlett%20Affairs%20by%20Cerise%20DeLand.png" width="428" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">In my new series, SCARLETT AFFAIRS, I give you the excitement of falling in love during the tumultuous time when Europe was awash in revolutions and the rise of one unknown man to power shook the Continent and the foundations of every other country.</span><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sweeping you from London to Paris, I am tickled to take you to Malmaison and the problems of navigating Josephine and Bonaparte’s court. The intrigues of spies, ambassadors, merchants, military men and the women who loved and aided them create a canvas of actual events that shaped the fate of millions. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Over the years of Bonaparte’s rise and reign, espionage agents of all nationalities tried to stop him. Many failed. Like the attempt in LORD ASHLEY’S BEAUTIFUL ABLIBI to abduct Bonaparte in June 1800. A few succeeded easily, like the attempt of the British government to plant agents throughout the Continent during the peace of the Treaty of Amiens. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Some of these events were documented, like the abduction of the duc d’Engien. Others still remain mysteries, such as the identity of the mysterious English woman who for decades sent thousands of coded secrets home to London. And the lady who stole documents from Talleyrand in Vienna during the Congress of 1814.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In SCARLETT AFFAIRS, I take you to those cities and towns that live in our history books—and palaces and streets I have walked. They are places that exude their own charm—and hold for the people of that time secrets and challenges for agents of all countries. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You will go to the tunnels beneath Compiègne and to the palace where Napoleon met his second wife and within minutes escorted her to their bedroom. You will go to Reims, where kings were crowned, and enter the caverns of St. Denis in Paris where they were buried. You will go to the church in Varennes where gendarmes captured Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and sent to Paris to die. You will go to Baden where a greedy German margrave sold out his subjects to Bonaparte for land and money. You will track Bonaparte and his aide Caulaincourt as they race away from Moscow and are tracked by agents all the way to Paris.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I will also take you to other seemingly insignificant places that really existed. A public bath house, the smelly abattoir of Montmartre, then south to the huge fortress of Amboise and the vineyards of the Loire. To Verdun where the citadel becomes the prison for hundreds of British trapped inside France by the wily new emperor.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A panoply of stories, the series will be a rich discovery of the challenges of fighting an enemy while falllng in love with one irresistible person. I hope you enjoy them all, from this first search for a missing friend, to the action-adventure of saving an entire family from death, to the rewards of stealing Bonaparte’s gold and more. Through each story, one man and woman will try to save the world from a despot—and save each other and the love they treasure above all else.</span></p><div><br /></div>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-29036757957291969722024-02-01T12:03:00.002-06:002024-02-09T17:28:50.574-06:00BON-BONS! Josephine's court ruled Society! See how in LORD ASHLEY'S BEAUTIFUL ALIBI!<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnQD3jr-NJ-Q4zeLjigKU6C5Gn0r5vuG9cWK3QjtZ1o5DRYhOJo28eG2Fbjd08mCgmuoTHeIzAblr2jCbwMuTeB10D4Rz_i07t_e3y0I_9Az1gGMAUtHEULro6kqhhW60IK1nxKwSowyRzLT1h5DAF3RORHSGqPUXYFlR9_ZtXSDYv2Z6MC6jslQTla9q/s2654/LORD%20ASHLEY'S%20BEAUTIFUL%20ALIBI,%20BOOK%201,%20Scarlett%20Affairs%20by%20Cerise%20DeLand.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2654" data-original-width="1772" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnQD3jr-NJ-Q4zeLjigKU6C5Gn0r5vuG9cWK3QjtZ1o5DRYhOJo28eG2Fbjd08mCgmuoTHeIzAblr2jCbwMuTeB10D4Rz_i07t_e3y0I_9Az1gGMAUtHEULro6kqhhW60IK1nxKwSowyRzLT1h5DAF3RORHSGqPUXYFlR9_ZtXSDYv2Z6MC6jslQTla9q/w429-h640/LORD%20ASHLEY'S%20BEAUTIFUL%20ALIBI,%20BOOK%201,%20Scarlett%20Affairs%20by%20Cerise%20DeLand.png" width="429" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Have you ever wondered how people got on in that very rare high society?</p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>In 1802, Bonaparte and Josephine dominated social life in Paris. They lived in the Tuileries, a palace along the Seine, given them as their abode by the constitution of the Consulate.</span></span><p></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">I did. And so I have read about it so much, I decided that the doings of Bonaparte and his wife merited my attention to them in my new series, <b>SCARLETT AFFAIRS</b>!</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">Society did revolve around Josephine and her friends. Most notable among them were Madame Tallien and Julie Recamier, a widow who was scandalous in all she did. She even went nearly naked at the opera!</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Many however did not care for the man who took so much power to himself. </span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">And as in the first chapter of <b>ALIBI</b>, we see one of the attempts at the assassination of Bonaparte. In June 1800, a group of rebels who may have had funding and advice from British agents, did attempt to abduct the First Consul on the road to Malmaison, Josephine's and his home soouth of Paris.</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;">Today that original road is well paved. Leading to the well-preserved enclave adored by Josephine are modern sidewalks adorned with the Emperor’s emblem, bees, embedded in the cement.</span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue;"><br /></span></span></p><div><br /></div>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-30279752457060364182024-01-18T12:17:00.003-06:002024-01-24T13:22:29.203-06:00Bon-bon! Cover reveal for LORD ASHLEY'S BEAUTIFUL ALIBI!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1im8sfgK9BywIbQpxO1HDTXCDtoJtz7JXMGndBIo9d_1PRsDhqXRRdMMTnkCDIsXK1UWWt4_BTENA0ArQiNAMVkYuj2B3SqoOkJ6orL2ISZ7sUlid5XSUBKzRWdDydy9HNMUd5CtKhkVJxzQGziMrNCi8yddIwPBJO1Bcyfol-0HjQ6O0aQpYM_XJVpv6/s2654/LORD%20ASHLEY'S%20BEAUTIFUL%20ALIBI,%20BOOK%201,%20Scarlett%20Affairs%20by%20Cerise%20DeLand.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2654" data-original-width="1772" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1im8sfgK9BywIbQpxO1HDTXCDtoJtz7JXMGndBIo9d_1PRsDhqXRRdMMTnkCDIsXK1UWWt4_BTENA0ArQiNAMVkYuj2B3SqoOkJ6orL2ISZ7sUlid5XSUBKzRWdDydy9HNMUd5CtKhkVJxzQGziMrNCi8yddIwPBJO1Bcyfol-0HjQ6O0aQpYM_XJVpv6/w428-h640/LORD%20ASHLEY'S%20BEAUTIFUL%20ALIBI,%20BOOK%201,%20Scarlett%20Affairs%20by%20Cerise%20DeLand.png" width="428" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">This wonderful cover, designed by talented Dar Albert, is for the first in my new series, LORD ASHLEY'S BEAUTIFUL ALIBI!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: large;">A panoply of stories, the series will be a rich discovery of the challenges of fighting an enemy while falllng in love with one irresistible person. I hope you enjoy them all, from this first search for a missing friend, to the action-adventure of saving an entire family from death, to the rewards of stealing Bonaparte’s gold and more. Through each story, one man and woman will try to save the world from a despot—and save each other and the love they treasure above all else.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: large;">This debuts March 21. BUY LINKS TO COME!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-29000197571287482222023-12-24T13:21:00.043-06:002023-12-24T13:21:00.179-06:00IF I LOVED YOU wins BEST HISTORICAL, WIN $45 GIFT CARD!<p><br /></p><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-2nouk231794" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); 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border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block127" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-3gwnd231804" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block128" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-34bt4231806" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Giveaway –</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block129" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-468rs231808" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrXhXuTtxAHcE_z0Sc2D5TWj2Dhl8RwBY1MezaihFgFNIMTzv3Ht0esUCXX0BuEXpOuCXofaADPBLjDdGUg2azKy6jbzdkd_pv2IuNm0lf3hZ4CVwrgMm0lwM6iLKNsPe_35weSXEMB4zJrkwFGaztCnAPNinVZv2GYNXeyQa5pHctM20h_EVz4wuXAzYS/s779/2023%20N%20N%20Light%20Book%20Awards%20Winner.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="747" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrXhXuTtxAHcE_z0Sc2D5TWj2Dhl8RwBY1MezaihFgFNIMTzv3Ht0esUCXX0BuEXpOuCXofaADPBLjDdGUg2azKy6jbzdkd_pv2IuNm0lf3hZ4CVwrgMm0lwM6iLKNsPe_35weSXEMB4zJrkwFGaztCnAPNinVZv2GYNXeyQa5pHctM20h_EVz4wuXAzYS/w192-h200/2023%20N%20N%20Light%20Book%20Awards%20Winner.png" width="192" /></a></div><p></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block130" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-9d0cs231810" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Enter to win a $45 Amazon gift card:</span></span></span></h3><p></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block131" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-a4ypb231812" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block132" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-b9nkg231814" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border-color: currentcolor; border-image: none; border-style: none; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; outline-color: currentcolor; outline-style: none;"><a href="https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/92db7750244">https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/92db7750244</a></span></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-zkb6p231798" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><br /></b></span></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>What makes IF I LOVED YOU a must-read?</b></span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block125" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-khpv3231800" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block126" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-z52sm231802" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: right; display: block; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" data-load-done="" data-pin-media="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/97cc02_bd4287175503499bbce8485ff15e164d~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1080,h_1080,al_c,q_85/97cc02_bd4287175503499bbce8485ff15e164d~mv2.jpg" data-pin-url="https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/post/if-i-loved-you-bb23" fetchpriority="high" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/97cc02_bd4287175503499bbce8485ff15e164d~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_700,h_700,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/97cc02_bd4287175503499bbce8485ff15e164d~mv2.jpg" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; height: 350px; max-width: 100%; object-fit: cover; object-position: 50% center; white-space: normal; width: 350px;" /></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"This strangers to lovers romance includes everything you adore in a historical romance—spice, drama, a dashing hero, real historical detail and poetic prose that inspires and enchants!"</span></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></p></div></div>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-60233477019552535212023-12-23T13:22:00.001-06:002023-12-23T13:22:00.245-06:00🍒IF I LOVED YOU is THE BEST HISTORICAL ROMANCE of 2023! <p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_3-LR8WdAe7sxvSjoHe3Db9Jv_v_avFsMGVUc4amlE_w1ZQatqfrKFfBdYFP2OWiOB4_H9-giawjp7XKiIEcuVRv9-FKAPlIW5St9dUMJbcTJe9B6u1_ajXROXVPMY_lAdcV7WLxDNDFQ3CIHCyyNmfr4ARayh6WoAMLK99Ga4mDAzx0cChXpi7ivM1E/s1080/Cerise%20DeLand(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_3-LR8WdAe7sxvSjoHe3Db9Jv_v_avFsMGVUc4amlE_w1ZQatqfrKFfBdYFP2OWiOB4_H9-giawjp7XKiIEcuVRv9-FKAPlIW5St9dUMJbcTJe9B6u1_ajXROXVPMY_lAdcV7WLxDNDFQ3CIHCyyNmfr4ARayh6WoAMLK99Ga4mDAzx0cChXpi7ivM1E/w400-h400/Cerise%20DeLand(1).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table></p><h1 class="xzsf02u xngnso2 x1fcty0u xod5an3" data-block="true" data-editor="b7u2s" data-offset-key="a10sh-0-0" style="animation-name: none !important; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 1.5rem; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a10sh-0-0" style="animation-name: none !important; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; transition-property: none !important;"><span data-offset-key="a10sh-0-0" style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold; transition-property: none !important;">🍒IF I LOVED YOU is THE BEST HISTORICAL ROMANCE of 2023! </span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a10sh-0-0" style="animation-name: none !important; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; transition-property: none !important;"><span data-offset-key="a10sh-0-1" style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a10sh-0-0" style="animation-name: none !important; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; transition-property: none !important;"><span data-offset-key="a10sh-0-1" style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">“</span><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">This</span><span data-offset-key="a10sh-2-0" style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;"> strangers to lovers romance includes everything you adore in a historical romance—spice, drama, a dashing hero, real historical detail and poetic prose that inspires and enchants!”</span></div></h1><div class="x1e56ztr" data-block="true" data-editor="b7u2s" data-offset-key="d7c5i-0-0" style="animation-name: none !important; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin-bottom: 8px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d7c5i-0-0" style="animation-name: none !important; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x1fey0fg" style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/3LN6X1">https://books2read.com/u/3LN6X1</a></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d7c5i-0-0" style="animation-name: none !important; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x1fey0fg" style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d7c5i-0-0" style="animation-name: none !important; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x1fey0fg" style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d7c5i-0-0" style="animation-name: none !important; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x1fey0fg" style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d7c5i-0-0" style="animation-name: none !important; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x1fey0fg" style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="d7c5i-0-0" style="animation-name: none !important; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; position: relative; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x1fey0fg" style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;"><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-vixqk231567" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">MATRIMONY! </span><a class="pTfsW" href="https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/home/hashtags/1." style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #0261ff; cursor: pointer; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-hashtag-font-family,unset); font-size: var(--ricos-custom-hashtag-font-size,unset); font-style: var(--ricos-custom-hashtag-font-style,unset); line-height: var(--ricos-custom-hashtag-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-hashtag-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-hashtag-text-decoration,none); vertical-align: baseline;" target="__blank"><span style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">#1.</span></a><span style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> IF I LOVED YOU</span></b></span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block12" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-ey0o4231569" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block13" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-uprf9231571" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Love does not advertise. Love counts no wrongs.</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block14" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-rba3o231573" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block15" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-1yhpj231575" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But when a young woman needs to escape an ogre, she’ll take an ad to find a man she can adore.</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block16" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-jjxaa231577" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block17" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-66ytj231579" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Verity Carr wants a new life in a new town far from her old home—and the vile threat to her body and soul. She comes from a fine family, has a good education and a bold ambition to become a portrait artist. She’s ready to live her life with a man who will value her. A husband she can can respect—and in time, hopefully love. Yet valiant though she is, she questions if she can escape her past and the one who will not let her go.</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block18" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-dp9cp231581" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block19" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-fnxqa231583" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Can a gentleman to whom great wrong was done, build a new life with a true wife and leave the past behind?</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-9l2i4231585" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block21" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-cxq4n231587" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Miles St.John Armstrong never should have wed his first wife. He vows to select a new one with logic and careful investigation—via advertisement. The young lady he selects is Verity Carr who is no ordinary woman. She has charm, wit and a beauty that sears his soul. No wonder theirs is a relationship built quickly on admiration and trust. No wonder their marriage becomes one built of mutual mad passion.</span></span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block22" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-wlfux231589" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But devoted as they are, their past comes to call.</span></span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block23" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-km7zu231591" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block24" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-tzhru231593" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #0f1111; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And it asks of them the ultimate question: Can their love withstand the tempest and survive the terror?</span></span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block25" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-g0or6231595" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block26" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-7frfo231597" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i>Excerpt, IF I LOVED YOU. Copyright, 2023, Cerise DeLand:</i></b></span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block27" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-giuwi231599" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block28" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-f09w7231601" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Miles had not known her for more than a few hours, but he’d seen her shock over such a sizable bequest. Certainly he could revel in the good fortune of anyone. But if she had suspicions about who had given her such a large inheritance and did not wish to discuss it with him, he could understand that, too. But her new-found gain, enough to support her at current standards in meager means for her lifetime, could lead her to break their agreement to marry. The possibility of losing her created an ache in his heart. A place he’d never expected to feel anything at all ever again.</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block29" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-63d4y231603" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block30" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-piyf9231605" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As they entered the Grosvenor Gate and passed the park wall, she strode more slowly and breathed more deeply. They took a turn on the path south and one glance at her told him she was more at ease.</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block31" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-ifujy231607" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block32" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-r5psi231609" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I hate to spoil your enjoyment,” he said, “but I think we should not walk here much longer. The shadows grow deeper.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block33" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-rmnro231611" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block34" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-bg4my231613" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“You are right, of course.” She had her hands in her coat pockets as she stopped and spun toward him. “You have been very good to me today.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block35" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-6cg8h231615" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block36" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-gdjna231617" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He raised a hand, his smile wry. “No more gratitude, please. I am quite thanked.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block37" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-m23bl231619" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block38" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-quajz231621" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She stopped, faced him and tipped her head, suddenly the coquette, though to him, she did not seem to have planned the spontaneity of such an attitude. She was without guile—and he valued that unexpected characteristic more than he could ever have imagined.</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block39" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-uigy3231623" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block40" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-n5o4f231625" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“You are a darling man,” she said with an honesty that emphasized her simplicity and lack of artifice.</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block41" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-ia46y231627" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block42" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-w11cl231629" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“You are kind to think so.” He remembered a few instances when the moniker he deserved was the opposite. </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Savage. Insane. Gullible.</span></span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> All came to mind in a rush of bile.</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block43" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-ransz231633" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block44" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-muzeo231635" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She put her hands to his and held tightly. “Do you still want to marry a woman you barely know?”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block45" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-h1owi231637" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block46" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-i47gp231639" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I’d like to marry you, if you’ll have me.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block47" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-4od0h231641" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block48" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-wie7x231643" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She shook her head as if the whole idea were impossible. “Why? Why?”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block49" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-cl5xp231645" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block50" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-5dvv1231647" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I want a wife. A friend. I am lonely. You seem a gentle soul. I think we would do well together.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block51" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-dqhfd231649" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block52" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-87xqv231651" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I cannot imagine that you have not met a thousand young ladies you know better than me who would not make you a friend and wife because they do know you better.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block53" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-o9jcb231653" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block54" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-udu8q231655" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But they knew his past, too. His wife. “I would never find happiness with any I’ve met. They see me as the mill owner, a </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">cit </span></span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">with a new title, an upstart viscount, too rich for his title. They also see me as a widower.” </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Not knowing I am more aggrieved than grieving.</span></span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block55" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-ixatl231661" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block56" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-vmvli231663" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She stood immobile, only her large eyes searching his for what he would not reveal. “Did you love her?”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block57" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-zag2b231665" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block58" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-k0adt231667" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“When I married her, yes.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block59" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-c0er5231669" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block60" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-o2ehl231671" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“And do you miss her?”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block61" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-69kho231673" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block62" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-h7kwr231675" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“No.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block63" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-d9lzr231677" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block64" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-b4hls231679" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She nodded. “I see. Then your loneliness comes not from her lack.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block65" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-etkf8231681" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block66" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-quzwu231683" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“No. It does not.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block67" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-68l95231685" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block68" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-3rur8231687" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She gulped. “Do you want children?”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block69" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-dpxrz231689" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block70" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-xw5ku231691" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He blinked and peered up at the deep blue clouds scudding across a darker moonlit sky. “I have not wished for that in many years. But now,” he said as he met her frank gaze, “I believe I would.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block71" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-1mhd5231693" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block72" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-3lmao231695" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She smiled as if he’d just given her the keys to the kingdom. “I would, too.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block73" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-mkqp9231697" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block74" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-6hhyw231699" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He stepped closer to her, dropped her hands and cupped her shoulders. Her luscious curves fit into the planes of his suddenly very needy self. “Might we proceed to getting them?”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block75" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-sm669231701" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block76" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-z4whp231703" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She arched her neck and let her eyes dance into his. “First we must be wed.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block77" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-usrej231705" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block78" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-cqjfx231707" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Will day after tomorrow do?”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block79" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-3w68e231709" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block80" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-9q86f231711" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Quite well,” she said on a delighted laugh. “And then we must become better friends.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block81" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-auglv231713" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block82" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-aoxlp231715" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He sent his fingers up into the heavy coil of hair at her nape. Her skin was as soft as charmeuse and her hair smelled of lavender. She’d been in his arms often today and her need had been great. Now, he would test to see if she might come for a new and startling reason. Might she come because she could want him? Want him as a man? As her lover?</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block83" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-n6gkf231717" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block84" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-46lqo231719" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She pulled back a little, a question on her plump lips. “Friends kiss.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block85" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-m7i42231721" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block86" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-159hs231723" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“They do,” he said with a smile that grew from a friend’s to a ravenous man’s. “Shall we?”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block87" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-xqke1231725" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block88" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-ix8l9231727" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She studied his mouth and swallowed hard. “Oh, yes. From the moment I heard your voice on the Great North Road, I have wanted to know how you taste.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block89" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-wx31t231729" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block90" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-avrld231731" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Well, then,” he said as he loomed over her lips, “we must not delay.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block91" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-llfjk231733" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block92" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-hionf231735" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> She circled her arms around his shoulders and pushed up on her toes. “Please don’t.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block93" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-mhlsn231737" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block94" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-j06f2231739" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The temptation to take her with all the ardor he bore her raged through him. He could not devour her like a satyr. He was a man who had foresworn passion and love. A man of reason and temperance. But then…</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block95" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-8x12x231741" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block96" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-vjrua231743" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">She put her lips to his, a brush of warm temptation. The sensation of her desire met the one of his quest as if two stars collided in the dark of night. Blinded by it, he groaned and caught her up. Her mouth was lush, and as his tongue invaded, he knew how hot her body was. How sweet. He swept the inside of her mouth and felt her complete surrender. This was what he’d craved. A woman who might love him.</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block97" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-6eash231745" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block98" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-0faxj231747" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He pulled away, breathless, cupping her cheek. “Darling, we must stop.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block99" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-7tbm5231749" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block100" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-r2v6u231751" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the shadows of the soft spring evening, she tipped her head and smiled at him. “You’ll kiss me again?”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block101" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-hzme9231753" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block102" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-8z9vg231755" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“As often as you wish.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block103" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-cujz7231757" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block104" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-28cmr231759" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There again was that sweet woman who drew him to her with the artless look of enchantment. “Must I tell you each time?”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block105" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-0i70k231761" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block106" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-g51q6231763" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“No,” he said on a laugh and hugged her close, then set her from him. “Only look at me like that, my darling, and I am yours.”</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block107" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-cekpy231765" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block108" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-xyuha231767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“As I am forever yours,” she said and put her arm in his to turn and walk home.</span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block109" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-qrjdj231769" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block110" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-vwgjm231771" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub): </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block111" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-q42pm231773" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block112" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-b79up231775" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">99 cents!</span></span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block113" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-ofezh231777" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block114" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-rgauv231779" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">BUY LINK: </span><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="TWoY9 itht3" href="https://amzn.to/3nkslpf/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">https://amzn.to/3nkslpf/</span></a></span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block115" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-mlfk1231782" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block116" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-zm3ze231784" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="TWoY9 itht3" href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-i-loved-you-cerise-deland/1143350453?ean=9781960184719" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-i-loved-you-cerise-deland/1143350453?ean=9781960184719</span></a></span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block117" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-4mnjg231786" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block118" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-ddkyq231788" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="TWoY9 itht3" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123562165-if-i-loved-you" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123562165-if-i-loved-you</span></a></span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block119" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v _57WYp" id="viewer-cr5h3231790" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block120" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" type="paragraph"></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-5676j231792" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="TWoY9 itht3" href="https://www.bookbub.com/books/if-i-loved-you-matrimony-book-1-by-cerise-deland" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><span style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">https://www.bookbub.com/books/if-i-loved-you-matrimony-book-1-by-cerise-deland</span></a></span></span></p></div><div data-breakout="normal" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(57, 63, 68); color: #393f44; font-family: brandon-grot-w01-light, brandon-grot-w05-light, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-inline-end: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-end,0); padding-inline-start: var(--ricos-breakout-normal-padding-start,0); padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-b9nkg231814" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; direction: ltr; font-family: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-family,unset); font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-size,unset); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: var(--ricos-custom-p-font-style,unset); font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-line-height,unset); margin: 0px; min-height: var(--ricos-custom-p-min-height,unset); outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; text-decoration: var(--ricos-custom-p-text-decoration,unset); vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="d0767" style="background: none; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: initial !important; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p></div></span></div></div>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-26431020579972554842023-12-05T12:22:00.009-06:002023-12-05T12:22:00.138-06:00Today's Bon bon: What's the fun of research? Finding what's real NOW from then!<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyroPV4i5kQjVSOOXkvlHwQZIg31O0vbINXpqgSZ4gDEzssd9houg-1WfLa1FSSQio2Uq5jBgtyvV3A7ziVPKnLRL6xFnPPP8UhGaGjens0Dhn2zzMNUxuRx8UG0USVIuEEeagMi4nhGI52xGT5KkGX2XKA_PU5f2srukcYfyCHB6AXhrWvHvk_yEikh-/s3264/PA110084.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyroPV4i5kQjVSOOXkvlHwQZIg31O0vbINXpqgSZ4gDEzssd9houg-1WfLa1FSSQio2Uq5jBgtyvV3A7ziVPKnLRL6xFnPPP8UhGaGjens0Dhn2zzMNUxuRx8UG0USVIuEEeagMi4nhGI52xGT5KkGX2XKA_PU5f2srukcYfyCHB6AXhrWvHvk_yEikh-/w400-h300/PA110084.jpeg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Today I bring you two pictures of two things that make me smile.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Both come from a combo of my research and my travel.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Ready?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here is a picture of a street in London and a series of shops. I took this picture on a lark in 2017. This picture is of <b>Berry Brothers and Rudd, Wine Merchants</b>. This is on the same street as a hatter, or milliner, <b>Lock and Company</b>, which I wanted to know more about. Why? Because Lock has made hats for men and women for hundreds of years and I just wanted to see the store for myself. On a whim, I took a pix of Berry Brothers.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Then, in 2023, I wanted to create a merchant company headed by a woman and I wanted 'the feel' of a real merchant. Lo and behold, as I searched my photos one day, I spied this one—and took them as my <i>feeling </i>for a merchant family.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5FEoLEZfJnkY30OeMypS6PaGIv2-74U1TKqgVo3ke5S8Ttdkr6JActTc1k3LvUTEdM7GNQIi3YwUtkmerHzzgXvpy47e1thp9HCiYBF_G4oXLL7Uyt0nuvYKSL1IHw4BIdP3pAcw3DRefyjC2twAd4XljZUuIms0FeG89qWXr7CMNrdvgh0NVBHqWFDr/s480/Adrienne_de_Carbonnel_de_Canis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="320" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5FEoLEZfJnkY30OeMypS6PaGIv2-74U1TKqgVo3ke5S8Ttdkr6JActTc1k3LvUTEdM7GNQIi3YwUtkmerHzzgXvpy47e1thp9HCiYBF_G4oXLL7Uyt0nuvYKSL1IHw4BIdP3pAcw3DRefyjC2twAd4XljZUuIms0FeG89qWXr7CMNrdvgh0NVBHqWFDr/w266-h400/Adrienne_de_Carbonnel_de_Canis.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Caulaincourt's wife, Adrienne, who was also a friend of Josephine.</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Then for many years, my husband and I have vacationed in Paris. Renting the same apartment every year in Montmartre, we reside on Rue Caulaincourt.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">One day it occurred to me that the name was so very familiar. Did I know someone named Caulaincourt? Where was it I had heard the name? Or read it?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">On the way from the apartment to the Metro one day, I happened to look up at the street sign. "General and Diplomat" said the sign.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>And I knew! </i></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyV8XpvfLQZdGS8fXePhkq5iIJA8PAxCIFUYFGtfAS3HvdnxM3QqhBBgtHfQfu_mc0ruJZCPjzik-6vpIb7DbV3DwEunrQf5HFdlP8DddbrJPHO6WYgLf8wM84258l472imY1_NeyefGqeVnPvhebGdhHtsUB1MFKachBYhNElxGLdz8V0K-nwnyMbHrQM/s678/Armand_de_Caulaincourt,_Grand_Squire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyV8XpvfLQZdGS8fXePhkq5iIJA8PAxCIFUYFGtfAS3HvdnxM3QqhBBgtHfQfu_mc0ruJZCPjzik-6vpIb7DbV3DwEunrQf5HFdlP8DddbrJPHO6WYgLf8wM84258l472imY1_NeyefGqeVnPvhebGdhHtsUB1MFKachBYhNElxGLdz8V0K-nwnyMbHrQM/w260-h400/Armand_de_Caulaincourt,_Grand_Squire.jpg" width="260" /></a></i></b></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This was General Caulaincourt who was Napoleon Bonaparte's aide de camp, and friend. This was the man whom Bonaparte sent to Karlsruhe in Baden, a German duchy, to secretly take into France the Duc d'Enghien. Ever after, Caulaincourt hated that Napoleon had tricked him into thinking he would do naught to the heir to the Bourbon throne.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But in fact, Napoleon had the young duc hurried to the fortress of Vincennes where he was quickly shot one bright morning in a trench. Caulaincourt never forgot nor forgave his master the terrible blight this was upon his conscience. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Napoleon also sent Caulaincourt to Moscow to negotiate treaties. This was the man who warned Bonaparte not to invade Russia. This was the man who accompanied Napoleon alone on the emperor's flight from Moscow to Paris in his desperate attempt to get back to Paris before the news of the devastating defeat of the French army in that cold land.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMN2YK11l6TLOQl97n6njZioT91_PLoVi06Ns-NL81m4CNeC8uZ1mA-M3B6dpAJtPkANmbPlZbb_R1CIBNkyVL3xsNnWyTlQRCYJeoLtsEertaPy72FRw7zD1LrTxJNwCkrQbU8lsJQ4Ak9mgM6Q8bUFChZxYN6fX0d3wkiPVVPsCk0SWJetilpQLRdeG/s453/Tombe_Caulaincourt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="340" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMN2YK11l6TLOQl97n6njZioT91_PLoVi06Ns-NL81m4CNeC8uZ1mA-M3B6dpAJtPkANmbPlZbb_R1CIBNkyVL3xsNnWyTlQRCYJeoLtsEertaPy72FRw7zD1LrTxJNwCkrQbU8lsJQ4Ak9mgM6Q8bUFChZxYN6fX0d3wkiPVVPsCk0SWJetilpQLRdeG/w300-h400/Tombe_Caulaincourt.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Tombe Caulaincourt, Pere-Lachaise</i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Here is that noble fellow, Armand Augustin Louis de Caulaincourt. A noble aide who was very badly treated by Napoleon and who died a few years after his emperor, in 1827. He is buried in Pere-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.</span></p>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-35454097071688452052023-11-17T01:28:00.001-06:002023-11-17T01:28:00.146-06:00Free and 99 cents to celebrate YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU, Book 3 in MATRIMONY!<p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA55EgcaewbKfTrLa8VrdqGlO1f5tC0hwiAz5Mrt8OVMl_1yRgykyrNp4jPLOysadyl6y6Oct7GpOlsdIVr6uS65egEk-daU159azT-2x03wbJe_HSiVQpjjel2RsHRF7ECHozgicAceyIcXm2Q9CeMBlVVUNnKgGqoDK6w8-ZoCvu0WMKgpaD1vgtWRWp/s2300/CeriseDeLand_BookBub_Nov19%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1700" data-original-width="2300" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA55EgcaewbKfTrLa8VrdqGlO1f5tC0hwiAz5Mrt8OVMl_1yRgykyrNp4jPLOysadyl6y6Oct7GpOlsdIVr6uS65egEk-daU159azT-2x03wbJe_HSiVQpjjel2RsHRF7ECHozgicAceyIcXm2Q9CeMBlVVUNnKgGqoDK6w8-ZoCvu0WMKgpaD1vgtWRWp/w640-h474/CeriseDeLand_BookBub_Nov19%20copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Take advantage of this lovely promotion for all 3 books in the Matrimony series! Available today through 11/22!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">https://books2read.com/u/mvN8eq/</span></span></p>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-58303052950349892602023-11-15T13:24:00.005-06:002023-11-15T13:25:08.883-06:00Honeymoon cottages and other delights of deep research!<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Writing historical romance requires often more research than you, the reader, can often imagine! More than even I can imagine, too.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the biggest challenges, I find, is that I have to really SEE what I'm describing. I have to have a feel for what it is and where it is so that my characters also know where they are. A room, a house, the countryside often give you a feeling, don't they?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I remember what it was like to ride on a Ferris Wheel at the school fair on Fourth of July. I recall the shivers I got as I walked World War One American cemeteries in France. The eerie feeling of the underground fortress of Verdun France. (It was so cold, so miserable that even my husband who loves the cold turned to me after a tour that lasted much too long beneath ceilings dripping with ice cold water and said, "I must leave. Coming with me, are you?"</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was.</span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCA-jyJ5wVOxAz162CjDlyG3FXglNq4oxhLCxV_4HK5aaY_Diju6n6dWBHMVT60fY8byYN97MyFrPg5DvL6bT0sseT1SqleHcdNygg38EUt9q6-L8VTEzSQMtQjl6WfzOU0u0iLD67-Ui4X3uZ-Q6we-a2e91YYu2qPdOx4CWty-ifnuMNrlax2yciaNH8/s1600/p8100141.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCA-jyJ5wVOxAz162CjDlyG3FXglNq4oxhLCxV_4HK5aaY_Diju6n6dWBHMVT60fY8byYN97MyFrPg5DvL6bT0sseT1SqleHcdNygg38EUt9q6-L8VTEzSQMtQjl6WfzOU0u0iLD67-Ui4X3uZ-Q6we-a2e91YYu2qPdOx4CWty-ifnuMNrlax2yciaNH8/w400-h300/p8100141.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And so here is a picture for you of the place I choose that would be Kendryck and Tynley's honeymoon cottage on the coast of Wales. Lovely, isn't it? Cozy. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I also thought they deserved this for their honeymoon because so much was so wrong with his family and the tow of them had to solve that, didn't they? What they needed was the affirmation of a good future together before they could join hands and resolve all the wrongs that lay before them.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here is my picture of the eerie Cliffs of Glamorgan in Wales, which is what Tynley sees as she approaches Kendryck's home. And the picture of Rhoos, Wales.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPrAaoE6f6Qhl-SP_GDY07aG9lSg9bLHWInkmZVUobf3x0daANWHJCxdPgCCJmDw-cYTVwbqqKxWu6kmRDoVJn15uZa4fxBpHLKNpR2I6vsVF6bnKoqgiZhqXZbMYAhEgH0muX6bxqq5uCUh0Oa_6mxXZe7_r65DCyuBzqlfrOgalUjEA3cjkBKlUDtqUl/s2880/Cliffs%20of%20Glamorgan%20Heritage%20Coast.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1908" data-original-width="2880" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPrAaoE6f6Qhl-SP_GDY07aG9lSg9bLHWInkmZVUobf3x0daANWHJCxdPgCCJmDw-cYTVwbqqKxWu6kmRDoVJn15uZa4fxBpHLKNpR2I6vsVF6bnKoqgiZhqXZbMYAhEgH0muX6bxqq5uCUh0Oa_6mxXZe7_r65DCyuBzqlfrOgalUjEA3cjkBKlUDtqUl/w400-h265/Cliffs%20of%20Glamorgan%20Heritage%20Coast.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBWEv9k9UUvEx5sL3mgWtng747eBw8TpQ3GxqckaTtmBgScMunAF304zTSiMnWW7L-YrrevBrTiiHcUmaWz1tJo7ZeSpUXA5EhH5v7rWfE8p7CtspMwcia7aJhJFkmWQLYaEK2q1-wuj7PhlPyBMJugWSGQcfvVngXf558hNX4R4J1fPJJlGdQMcOpQRN/s408/Rhoose%20Wales.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="408" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBWEv9k9UUvEx5sL3mgWtng747eBw8TpQ3GxqckaTtmBgScMunAF304zTSiMnWW7L-YrrevBrTiiHcUmaWz1tJo7ZeSpUXA5EhH5v7rWfE8p7CtspMwcia7aJhJFkmWQLYaEK2q1-wuj7PhlPyBMJugWSGQcfvVngXf558hNX4R4J1fPJJlGdQMcOpQRN/s320/Rhoose%20Wales.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><span style="font-size: medium;">And here is the sunny picture of the land where Kendryck's house stands. Lovely, isn't it? But in a fog and in the cold, I imagine it to be rather forbidding. This is a picture of Caswell Bay.</span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGFxQHM7NSM6k2gQuCFo9bS5i5MAmXwbIUSeiUUbMN-kfW2Ss3v7MWmTitwm4ABo-DAgOaVLyzxrfFFjiLsfV4X6s-7oDxAM8opcEdKPkGMdqQ_8dCOUS8ZTrICKZGoHwQxeepRiQQF41MOOealmfPmPTISaWh2ZnjWOEuf9ilHd3PGCsJOxl4SHbLITj/s3424/Caswell%20Bay%20Beach.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2088" data-original-width="3424" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGFxQHM7NSM6k2gQuCFo9bS5i5MAmXwbIUSeiUUbMN-kfW2Ss3v7MWmTitwm4ABo-DAgOaVLyzxrfFFjiLsfV4X6s-7oDxAM8opcEdKPkGMdqQ_8dCOUS8ZTrICKZGoHwQxeepRiQQF41MOOealmfPmPTISaWh2ZnjWOEuf9ilHd3PGCsJOxl4SHbLITj/w640-h390/Caswell%20Bay%20Beach.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Finally, the article I read in an old British newspaper that gave me the idea of a lady sadly missing.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9pSmSaQfgQHKs_2MW5RDJiamHtazxdXEyRhm84n4yPQMZYPb5kq5EX-R6HgAn9XIwHdk5nkzf0geb9LSVJI5VjkcgUQThG1brbi7FNk9LV193o1EobztiQwwTPpnKknmKPNa3RgAleal3dTLn2Q5EVgkWX3poyRlC4AVVrHxsqUDO-82Hwj3zsxAkry3/s2528/Body%20found%20Miss%20Robinson.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2528" data-original-width="1662" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9pSmSaQfgQHKs_2MW5RDJiamHtazxdXEyRhm84n4yPQMZYPb5kq5EX-R6HgAn9XIwHdk5nkzf0geb9LSVJI5VjkcgUQThG1brbi7FNk9LV193o1EobztiQwwTPpnKknmKPNa3RgAleal3dTLn2Q5EVgkWX3poyRlC4AVVrHxsqUDO-82Hwj3zsxAkry3/w420-h640/Body%20found%20Miss%20Robinson.png" width="420" /></a></div><p><br /></p><br />Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-46915539084928917022023-10-18T13:07:00.006-05:002023-10-18T13:07:00.140-05:00Today's bon bon: A nibble of my new cherry, YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU! Pre-order for 99 cents!<div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b style="font-size: large;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnbEvn2HUBmG1ezSP4zZq3g-LnyNqlZf4kwxu2nSKSFqc5IB3LJn2lMuZ60IjYkEfJslKzR7LDmyCVD4uY-gTpCbvqCSlgfkCxKQssQU0il66whdMGDKUQyRrGsRR3c8JHGQog3B9ppWVQ3rkaSrd4FEu1CpOJDyVGzVORr-r6slBRFiPjaLgc03YA57S/s2650/YOU%20MADE%20ME%20LOVE%20YOU,%20MATRIMONY!%20BOOK%20%233%20by%20Cerise%20DeLand.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2650" data-original-width="1762" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnbEvn2HUBmG1ezSP4zZq3g-LnyNqlZf4kwxu2nSKSFqc5IB3LJn2lMuZ60IjYkEfJslKzR7LDmyCVD4uY-gTpCbvqCSlgfkCxKQssQU0il66whdMGDKUQyRrGsRR3c8JHGQog3B9ppWVQ3rkaSrd4FEu1CpOJDyVGzVORr-r6slBRFiPjaLgc03YA57S/w266-h400/YOU%20MADE%20ME%20LOVE%20YOU,%20MATRIMONY!%20BOOK%20%233%20by%20Cerise%20DeLand.png" width="266" /></a></div>Love advertises! In YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU, Cerise DeLand’s newest on pre-order! <br /></i></b><b><i>Excerpt YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU, All rights reserved. Copyright 2023. Cerise DeLand.<br /></i></b><span style="font-size: medium;">Kendryck put his two hands to her cheeks. “I told myself I would not take you like a villain.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">“Hmmm,” Tynely said as she considered that with a tip of her head this way and that. Then she pulled at the end of his beautifully tied cravat and said, “You aren’t.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">He took her by the shoulders. “Not against the stables, not in a carriage. We must be in a bed.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">“I do agree.” She sank to lick the skin of his corded neck. “But one must have a few bites of bliss before the main course.” She undid the button of his soft linen shirt and kissed the hollow of his throat. “Otherwise, one’s appetite is not prepared.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">He laughed, he groaned, then he pressed her flush to his chest. “You should have told me you were a tease.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">She rolled her eyes. “Why? Isn’t this more fun?”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">He hooted. His grip on her was mighty and seductive. “What should I know, my darling?”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">“About…?”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">“Making love to you.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">She bent to his mouth and licked his bottom lip. “That I will be as needy as you.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">“Thank God.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">“That I will want all of you as mine.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">“I rejoice at it. And? Anything else?”</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">“That I am yours completely and you may have me at your will,” she whispered and took one of his fingers and nipped the end, “as long as I may have you at mine.”</span><br /><b style="font-size: large;">BUY LINK: https://books2read.com/u/4jBX9o</b></span></div>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-70463973150448662322023-10-13T13:05:00.000-05:002023-10-13T13:05:00.144-05:00Today's bon bon: A Great House in Elizabethan period becomes my setting for my story in HARVEST MOON Box set!<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">HARVEST MOON, the newly released box set by award-winning Bluestocking Belles, is set in Cheshire during the harvest!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In my story, my hero Stafford Barlow, 6th Earl Barlow, is just home from the wars. His home as I envisioned it is similar to the famous structure, Little Moreton Hall.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3sZaAQKtKPaVeM0jSqMFbLqBBOfB0ypQ5ULlSdwiLQwMn1dFT6scKRJNhnGeuyrRacWOg2W0QKFobree4FBSUhE9thC_NURl6sT7dOEO593yecBpiKO3Y3zFrgWBMjPlRprUCvCP3eBSpKq2rhJ9s4EnUDQVtUYHbgIHJfaUBGxo6G_ICt4QiYAOgA/s440/Little_Moreton_Hall_garden_-_geograph.org.uk_-_433632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="440" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3sZaAQKtKPaVeM0jSqMFbLqBBOfB0ypQ5ULlSdwiLQwMn1dFT6scKRJNhnGeuyrRacWOg2W0QKFobree4FBSUhE9thC_NURl6sT7dOEO593yecBpiKO3Y3zFrgWBMjPlRprUCvCP3eBSpKq2rhJ9s4EnUDQVtUYHbgIHJfaUBGxo6G_ICt4QiYAOgA/w474-h356/Little_Moreton_Hall_garden_-_geograph.org.uk_-_433632.jpg" width="474" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I had so much fun with this building with its Great Hall, seen here in this ground floor plan and marked as room #1. Twenty-two people are invited to dinner the night before the event and later, my heroine (who is rather upset at herself after dinner) goes to walk in this garden.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">To her its seems almost like her family's parterre at home in the Loire Valley in France. But in reality it is more an English maze, called a knot garden, with flowers and herbs and chaise longue...for those special rendezvous every loving couple wishes for!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTUwB2lSO0IKrxANQqlpThaWbbpHcEPos0HxUJKRQjsHPvpZTO2Z0JIHXY5p-VCC41cLn826lVUTl0ihCDlNrmQDiYHl1LT_COSPLYuK_zHYjrGQvp76oSZVBrTiwrFDxiaqxg2-Kne3TQuhmXiWFjSvlwKDKTaYAsY5qyAor2emYsRO8O2IGIWiYXQ/s2715/Little_Moreton_Hall_-_ground_floor_coloured.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2715" data-original-width="1920" height="614" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTUwB2lSO0IKrxANQqlpThaWbbpHcEPos0HxUJKRQjsHPvpZTO2Z0JIHXY5p-VCC41cLn826lVUTl0ihCDlNrmQDiYHl1LT_COSPLYuK_zHYjrGQvp76oSZVBrTiwrFDxiaqxg2-Kne3TQuhmXiWFjSvlwKDKTaYAsY5qyAor2emYsRO8O2IGIWiYXQ/w434-h614/Little_Moreton_Hall_-_ground_floor_coloured.svg.png" width="434" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">But I also use area #4!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Small, yes. What do you think it is? And how would my hero and heroine use it????</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_tD3P_7Io3oUH2_YMMAQsUbv1Jc42pQUXHUsEsjBCYNx3NHwgYIU_LZCWPCD0F7BFUW8S3orpcgsS1q421K57MCKq8XKHmdYF_W6mH1_zmhUqvjPKhtP7wbolTnhRbboHDTFVZxFNP3k3S2__jirV2rZNTC931_C_V7tg0uCP2SqKoHK4j09jeCOmQ/s650/650px-LittleMoretonHall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="650" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_tD3P_7Io3oUH2_YMMAQsUbv1Jc42pQUXHUsEsjBCYNx3NHwgYIU_LZCWPCD0F7BFUW8S3orpcgsS1q421K57MCKq8XKHmdYF_W6mH1_zmhUqvjPKhtP7wbolTnhRbboHDTFVZxFNP3k3S2__jirV2rZNTC931_C_V7tg0uCP2SqKoHK4j09jeCOmQ/w479-h326/650px-LittleMoretonHall.jpg" width="479" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-67266437887880412712023-10-10T15:44:00.001-05:002023-10-10T15:44:45.415-05:00Today's Bon Bon: WHOSE BABY IS HE? Unique, unmatched box set by Bluestocking Belles wins rave 5 STAR reviews!<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXOTp_k31VwA8lIRMdVHSEr4gi7fc57TbbuerMP1Z8SAoUfC-UivP-K2wp3RWHKubYKzgNp6Xe4j557rvuX3XOINUNatcWGOwFv1tFRCkqHgpB91q1P3laWEHLMPh6OD6eW-yoUwDz4RS8k7iAPz6ZhWflgStcEMsQFm9KLDmthyZaF_l937kFPRxaYSl/s2048/COVER%20Box%20Set,%20UNDER%20THE%20HARVEST%20MOON%20with%20Cerise%20DeLand.jpg%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXOTp_k31VwA8lIRMdVHSEr4gi7fc57TbbuerMP1Z8SAoUfC-UivP-K2wp3RWHKubYKzgNp6Xe4j557rvuX3XOINUNatcWGOwFv1tFRCkqHgpB91q1P3laWEHLMPh6OD6eW-yoUwDz4RS8k7iAPz6ZhWflgStcEMsQFm9KLDmthyZaF_l937kFPRxaYSl/w266-h400/COVER%20Box%20Set,%20UNDER%20THE%20HARVEST%20MOON%20with%20Cerise%20DeLand.jpg%20copy.jpg" width="266" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Yes. The Bluestocking Belles have done it again! We have created a box set of historical romances you have never read before...unless you've read our award-winning other box sets!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This year's is UNDER THE HARVEST MOON and it has only a few more days for sale at 99 cents.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">You will want this one. Set in Cheshire in a village after the wars are over, it is 1815 autumn and the soldiers are coming home. And so does a baby whom many think is from this village.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But WHOSE BABY IS HE?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Everyone in the village of Rheabridge wants to learn.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><u>The story:</u></i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The new Earl Barlow returns home from Waterloo, intending to live by his own rules. The woman he loved and lost years ago visits for the Harvest festival—and he plans to offer the Widow Wright what they both want.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Being an obedient female has brought Vicky only sorrow. But with the need to visit Ford’s home to identify a mysterious toddler who may be her deceased sister’s son, she questions if a lady who has lived by the rules can throw them all away to seize her last chance for happiness.</span></p><div><br /></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>AN EXCERPT, All rights reserved. Copyright Cerise DeLand, 2023.</b></i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“How many girls from this town ran off to the wars?” asked the vicar’s fiancé, Lady Afton.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That was a very pertinent question. The town was at most one thousand people strong. How many young women would leave their homes and embrace a vagabond life amid the turmoil of war? How many were lovely, wealthy young women with good prospects before them? How many had fallen for a man so different from them that all it took was just one look, one night, one bold assignation beneath the stars and the girl would run off into the unknown? To Spain. To a life of hardship and fright. With a man she adored and would never once complain of the dust or the deprivation until she was with child and feared the birth might come in the midst of battle and she might not survive.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Who did that?</i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Her own sister.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The sweet girl who chose love and ran off into the wide world embracing the one she adored…and who never came home.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vicky pushed her glass away. Surveyed those at table.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>How many people in this room had changed their lives with one bold decision?</i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhglsDWVXutwwPmx268Bvq-FbkdV3I_GpBw-N19KEBlYwr3ZXjtku4PR2ntoFt8Llx005E8QgYcsYQmGMIn9Xu43wY08LFcsEmRutJNA2lYKi-5ApmGlDVklqpQn-NC_zFRkEuQuLfb56VgMHwOsLY9iNijx9ny6sw-vp5h3ySJOp7PPJpraHeOLDrxau/s1200/DeLand%E2%80%94Victorine,%20Baroness%20Wright.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQhglsDWVXutwwPmx268Bvq-FbkdV3I_GpBw-N19KEBlYwr3ZXjtku4PR2ntoFt8Llx005E8QgYcsYQmGMIn9Xu43wY08LFcsEmRutJNA2lYKi-5ApmGlDVklqpQn-NC_zFRkEuQuLfb56VgMHwOsLY9iNijx9ny6sw-vp5h3ySJOp7PPJpraHeOLDrxau/w400-h400/DeLand%E2%80%94Victorine,%20Baroness%20Wright.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj-zIWEFkyp7JYtw51ug7H-5fapQTswE6ZYWOcRN9U-uJD8PW0Kz4ULRwI3dPqiSxCOBDhY08TfJk4leSRBRMqEHCmx93WL6LtOgsssQwfG_9mzUjsceOKjzoJTMTW8_n7nrqVYNt_5wWvFF8aYFpF_vPnhZ35jSyQKJRttrq3Sjb_8Sp4jr3JyBOSgwFx/s1200/DeLand%E2%80%94Ford,%20Earl%20Barlow.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj-zIWEFkyp7JYtw51ug7H-5fapQTswE6ZYWOcRN9U-uJD8PW0Kz4ULRwI3dPqiSxCOBDhY08TfJk4leSRBRMqEHCmx93WL6LtOgsssQwfG_9mzUjsceOKjzoJTMTW8_n7nrqVYNt_5wWvFF8aYFpF_vPnhZ35jSyQKJRttrq3Sjb_8Sp4jr3JyBOSgwFx/w400-h400/DeLand%E2%80%94Ford,%20Earl%20Barlow.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>BUY LINK: </i><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="https://books2read.com/u/bxB6ek">https://books2read.com/u/bxB6ek</a></span></span><p></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><div><br /></div>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-72176050713292506222023-10-06T15:19:00.004-05:002023-10-06T15:19:00.139-05:00Today's bon bon: Sean Beane portrayed a soldier in the 95th Rifles in Sharpe's Wars. My hero is a friend of his!<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Not really. But it's fun to link up the real with the unreal.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">My hero, Stafford (Ford) Barlow in HARVEST MOON BOX SET is a Colonel in the 95th Rifles during the Napoleonic Wars and he's home now, after Waterloo, hoping for peace...and love...and marriage.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I envision this midnight-haired, silver-eyes hero as this guy.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And his uniforms, all green to distinguish the 95th sharpshooters from other soldiers, is this!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhPLa2jrGKGwK-0YHG8LJIBmtZhj8EYBVdKchTz-s5ntKF-Jd47YkCN5KoVXPCviW4C0OXJj-4452hnyFqFLkjHpwOh2v9Qso_S40bi-kQ9B-5cYAbk0f-AhgujnBUe9NQFlutHoYxWzJxbSU3H6-g2vTr1RMYWj5vaCpEs6FGfyyL05onmn2WJ-jREw/s1350/93794220_2651922721704625_4127143669406892032_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhPLa2jrGKGwK-0YHG8LJIBmtZhj8EYBVdKchTz-s5ntKF-Jd47YkCN5KoVXPCviW4C0OXJj-4452hnyFqFLkjHpwOh2v9Qso_S40bi-kQ9B-5cYAbk0f-AhgujnBUe9NQFlutHoYxWzJxbSU3H6-g2vTr1RMYWj5vaCpEs6FGfyyL05onmn2WJ-jREw/s320/93794220_2651922721704625_4127143669406892032_n.jpg" width="256" /></span></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Dashing eh?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Sharp-shooters of the 95th were in almost every battle of the Peninsular Wars and were at Quatre Bras and Waterloo. The unit survives to this day and they are renowned for their ability to shoot accurately at long distances from their targets!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">HARVEST MOON debuts soon and here is the cover and buy link! Enjoy!</span></p><p><br /></p>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-40991358606966956232023-10-03T11:18:00.001-05:002023-10-03T11:18:00.147-05:00The way to a man's heart is through the DRAGONBLADE RECIPE BOOK! Out tomorrow! 99 cents!<p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9uaiRNWoatMtnug2S9vJtc2iv7AFh2-uwGqG202bQEi_tTnjqXNMYwi2bKZHCe9MfvAEVC9EQbuLHmM8cEJSPnXTUPNRva3IAn-RNf8gp1rbxOTE8sG8-0aryuhZwWqGGThLxbxY2JtYhaPup2U8sJfcN41m7a4GWwHTj220XOjXOE3aPFdM8edXgxuY/s436/DRAGONBLADE%20HISTORICAL%20RECIPE%20BOOK%20with%20Cerise%20DeLand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="291" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr9uaiRNWoatMtnug2S9vJtc2iv7AFh2-uwGqG202bQEi_tTnjqXNMYwi2bKZHCe9MfvAEVC9EQbuLHmM8cEJSPnXTUPNRva3IAn-RNf8gp1rbxOTE8sG8-0aryuhZwWqGGThLxbxY2JtYhaPup2U8sJfcN41m7a4GWwHTj220XOjXOE3aPFdM8edXgxuY/w268-h400/DRAGONBLADE%20HISTORICAL%20RECIPE%20BOOK%20with%20Cerise%20DeLand.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>A favorite little cookie at our house is shortbread. The recipe came to me from my mother who got it from her Aunt Ann who brought her up.<p></p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">My Great Aunt Ann Fletcher journeyed from her home in West Riding, England and sailed to the United States with her older sister Mary in 1889. Ann was 5 years old. The two of them joined others in their family who had emigrated to the United States, including my grandmother who had arrived earlier. All of them lived, married and had children in a small town outside Scranton Pennsylvania. </p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">My grandmother, Ann’s sister, died young, leaving her six daughters and one son with her widowed husband. He died months after she in a coal mine cave-in in 1914.</p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">My Great Ann who had been widowed years before, had three children of her own, but she took in all my grandmother’s children and reared all eight. </p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">My mother told me this was Aunt Ann’s recipe for shortbread. My mother made it often and it’s one I treasure.</p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I hope you enjoy it. Easy to make with ingredients you have on hand most of the time, these cookies are delightful little treats.</p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">IF I LOVED YOU, the first book in my MATRIMONY! series, stars a heroine who comes from Bradford. I hope you read the story and enjoy it. </p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 17px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">For more than four decades, I have been published in historical romance and love every minute of the work. Bringing a bit of fact and lore to every story, I believe love blossoms and grows in the intimacy of communication.</p><p style="font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Visit my website: <a href="https://cerisedeland.com">https://cerisedeland.com</a></p><div><br /></div>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-69885621854419560932023-09-14T12:22:00.005-05:002023-09-14T12:22:55.353-05:00How much would you reveal if your gowns were damp? Josephine and her pals had an idea!<div class="x1e56ztr" style="animation-name: none !important; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; margin-bottom: 8px; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation-name: none !important; color: var(--primary-text); line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none !important; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I work on my new series, the first of which is <b>LORD ASHLEY'S BEAUTIFUL ALIBI</b>, out in March. It is 1802 and we are in the Tuileries in Josephine's court. What do those ladies wear?</span></span></div><div class="x1e56ztr" style="animation-name: none !important; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; margin-bottom: 8px; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation-name: none !important; color: var(--primary-text); line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none !important; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Short, short hair.</span></span></div><div class="x1e56ztr" style="animation-name: none !important; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; margin-bottom: 8px; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation-name: none !important; color: var(--primary-text); line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none !important; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Damp muslin. DAMP. NO petticoats.</span></span></div><div class="x1e56ztr" style="animation-name: none !important; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; margin-bottom: 8px; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation-name: none !important; color: var(--primary-text); line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none !important; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A few things do show! See these to tickle your fancy!</span></span></div><ol class="x1e56ztr x1xmf6yo x1xfsgkm x3yw8vx" style="animation-name: none !important; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-top: 8px; padding-left: 32px; transition-property: none !important;"><li style="animation-name: none !important; transition-property: none !important;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Iesd3HgT1g_HQLPvknxIAE0OhDtTUa9YN5wie67iycHRXOzVrDhq3LSw3UXyCQzDW1czZMieAZeHjuWBZk7r6ixaifialN-49j6j9oPvTuRTZzs9PB1kpk9e-QldqKUgBlTEi8fZ7Kauu-rD4BDROGZxPnqeKonN5UJVpjUYSkOZG4DjhXlah9Sa0iK2/s2650/%20La%20Bouillotte,%20anonime,%20by%20Jean%20Franc%CC%A7ois%20Bosio,%201804%20%20gravure.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2026" data-original-width="2650" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Iesd3HgT1g_HQLPvknxIAE0OhDtTUa9YN5wie67iycHRXOzVrDhq3LSw3UXyCQzDW1czZMieAZeHjuWBZk7r6ixaifialN-49j6j9oPvTuRTZzs9PB1kpk9e-QldqKUgBlTEi8fZ7Kauu-rD4BDROGZxPnqeKonN5UJVpjUYSkOZG4DjhXlah9Sa0iK2/w640-h490/%20La%20Bouillotte,%20anonime,%20by%20Jean%20Franc%CC%A7ois%20Bosio,%201804%20%20gravure.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Blouillotte , 1804.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="x1e56ztr" style="animation-name: none !important; margin-bottom: 8px; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation-name: none !important; color: var(--primary-text); line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none !important; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A Drawing room scene with a few bright things with <i>certain calling cards</i></span></span></div><div class="x1e56ztr" style="animation-name: none !important; margin-bottom: 8px; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation-name: none !important; color: var(--primary-text); line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none !important; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSypzVVnpMiQJY0iUIXDijVuCteTmaQPtA6OjO2j-wo7ih3nOvBf8nBWg_7V-p3Gs_8zvo9rW71jHcQRO53XVduov4H4UL5wWHgQuTS87x9OuXbZuyON-9zrLeSbGSFVPRBR3aY6mM1WWMxXoEzKG0KM5FTVWgZL-IvW6Z-9nVk1exvTGKhqOpKAxr68k/s835/Titus%201802jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="472" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSypzVVnpMiQJY0iUIXDijVuCteTmaQPtA6OjO2j-wo7ih3nOvBf8nBWg_7V-p3Gs_8zvo9rW71jHcQRO53XVduov4H4UL5wWHgQuTS87x9OuXbZuyON-9zrLeSbGSFVPRBR3aY6mM1WWMxXoEzKG0KM5FTVWgZL-IvW6Z-9nVk1exvTGKhqOpKAxr68k/w362-h640/Titus%201802jpg.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Titus, 1802.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="x1e56ztr" style="animation-name: none !important; margin-bottom: 8px; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation-name: none !important; color: var(--primary-text); line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none !important; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="x1e56ztr" style="animation-name: none !important; margin-bottom: 8px; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation-name: none !important; color: var(--primary-text); line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none !important; word-break: break-word;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj088H_PdiGWbGJL0GB4v2ZSUdpw7lLXBfcifFNL2o84_kgaH-TG2hfYCQfU7aXe-uXgAa0PFMcVE6DNAx6x_k338WKu5MYKn1dHGEG48hDTA0PjumCBjMR55qmdYJjVzRtsZSJuXkGcoSVwnMnn_eIVfjujPLGE22gC0yjC2PyB3b6j5ftCabI6Dk6Qy6Z/s700/1803%20Titus%20curly%20hair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="422" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj088H_PdiGWbGJL0GB4v2ZSUdpw7lLXBfcifFNL2o84_kgaH-TG2hfYCQfU7aXe-uXgAa0PFMcVE6DNAx6x_k338WKu5MYKn1dHGEG48hDTA0PjumCBjMR55qmdYJjVzRtsZSJuXkGcoSVwnMnn_eIVfjujPLGE22gC0yjC2PyB3b6j5ftCabI6Dk6Qy6Z/w386-h640/1803%20Titus%20curly%20hair.jpg" width="386" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Titus, curly, 1803.<br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="x1e56ztr" style="animation-name: none !important; margin-bottom: 8px; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation-name: none !important; color: var(--primary-text); line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none !important; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="x1e56ztr" style="animation-name: none !important; margin-bottom: 8px; transition-property: none !important;"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs xlh3980 xvmahel x1n0sxbx x1f6kntn xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; animation-name: none !important; color: var(--primary-text); line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition-property: none !important; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><br /><i><br /></i></span><br /></span><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1NG-N3PrKfY0z1DXR50uOxaNiq_BC5M4Qo7yhum5GzaOooQULwasVapsBf6ZW9LcvWnvS57RBVtKdc8wBGnENJiuFAYkwcdaNAmv3Pq3omcG3E_facsidfh-mpOVAihaoTIrwr6maVIegQFDjnNm6ldCigIR7e1lvGIYoXFEw7Lf52AHvSVdeeOYqobQw/s600/Brooklyn_Museum_-_Portrait_of_Madame_Tallien_-_Jean-Bernard_Duvivier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1NG-N3PrKfY0z1DXR50uOxaNiq_BC5M4Qo7yhum5GzaOooQULwasVapsBf6ZW9LcvWnvS57RBVtKdc8wBGnENJiuFAYkwcdaNAmv3Pq3omcG3E_facsidfh-mpOVAihaoTIrwr6maVIegQFDjnNm6ldCigIR7e1lvGIYoXFEw7Lf52AHvSVdeeOYqobQw/w470-h640/Brooklyn_Museum_-_Portrait_of_Madame_Tallien_-_Jean-Bernard_Duvivier.jpg" width="470" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Theresa Tallien, by Jean Bernard Duvivier. Brooklyn Museum.</td></tr></tbody></table></li></ol><div><span style="color: #050505; font-family: georgia;">Teresa Tallien was a notorious lady who had many husbands and many lovers. A friend of Josephine's who had been in Carmes prison with her, she was known as a leader of Parisian Directory society. She loved her jewels and wore them in her hair, on her fingers and her toes. She is said to have gone to the Paris Opera one evening in a white silk gown so transparent that even sanguine Talleyrand commented on her revelations. You see, she wore no undergarments.</span></div>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-88934583745059365742023-08-17T13:29:00.000-05:002023-08-17T13:29:00.141-05:00Today's bon bon: Napoleon escaped Elba and the French did not know how to cope! His route was fast!<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnV_EpX0N93Zbbo_9Rr3jCVzPMKhJ_MLsDyRNBWor1J_i2l6TB449EWaNqCGWmKjt7WZBr8TxtsJJk0enHu-Qon4acYDynWP72v8yMpLHbIQkWTLp8tuY5J1UOYud_0skAzpOa_CehHQ0j-QQ-lcldnNnvskOjRJBhRmp7yQydTXZXP5hgLXmfZWxIw/s1946/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-02%20at%205.35.23%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1946" data-original-width="1354" height="511" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnV_EpX0N93Zbbo_9Rr3jCVzPMKhJ_MLsDyRNBWor1J_i2l6TB449EWaNqCGWmKjt7WZBr8TxtsJJk0enHu-Qon4acYDynWP72v8yMpLHbIQkWTLp8tuY5J1UOYud_0skAzpOa_CehHQ0j-QQ-lcldnNnvskOjRJBhRmp7yQydTXZXP5hgLXmfZWxIw/w356-h511/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-02%20at%205.35.23%20PM.png" width="356" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Napoleon escaped Elba and the French did not know how to cope! His route was fast!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">He landed from Elba in Cannes and marched a bit each day north. His objective was Paris to take over the government again. This was not easy. The results, not a foregone conclusion either.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Many assumed the French army would stop him. They didn't. But turned to his cause.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Many thought peasants would rise against him. They didn't. They opened their arms to him.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Many thought his former generals, most of whom were now employed by the new king and the royalists, would stop him. They did not.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here is his route. I hope you can see it. Do enlarge. It is the first one published of his return.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-53425862867971085142023-08-04T13:00:00.001-05:002023-08-04T18:11:13.362-05:00Paris during the Regency: from the Terror to the Second Restoration (Part I: Early 18th century)<p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0AeX6MQ3U2dm7EYcJdfvTOTv5gq2Aod1OpRDqCL3BMOcatvj5TM168AbZqI8gI7vdDVYpWd2-YfHJNI-bPpEFIIeSQBghIN3s-MJOyULXM6j5TVZqyFDo6hXXf5mNNgQO_gBjpgT77ZDGLf3wVj1uVq9OwEuPxlHD4stL9W9dLLkfeQXgMG86S6EdrgsR/s2782/JP%20at%20Pont%20Alexandre.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2782" data-original-width="2171" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0AeX6MQ3U2dm7EYcJdfvTOTv5gq2Aod1OpRDqCL3BMOcatvj5TM168AbZqI8gI7vdDVYpWd2-YfHJNI-bPpEFIIeSQBghIN3s-MJOyULXM6j5TVZqyFDo6hXXf5mNNgQO_gBjpgT77ZDGLf3wVj1uVq9OwEuPxlHD4stL9W9dLLkfeQXgMG86S6EdrgsR/w313-h400/JP%20at%20Pont%20Alexandre.jpeg" width="313" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Cerise at Pont Alexandre, 2023</b></div><br />Paris of today is a gorgeous combination of creative civic planning, geography and historical eloquence. To visit is to imbibe the freshness of fine architecture mixed with the greenery so vital to a thriving city. To visit also imbues one with the devotion so many had to maintaining the necessities to keep millions of people fed, clothed, moving, working and living well. </span><p></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It was not always so.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The transformation of Paris from a medieval hub of civilization into a metropolis of beauty and renown occurred over centuries. Sometimes that happened in spurts; others over decades. Sometimes it happened with prudent planning; others by accident.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Major changes in the City began as Paris became the hub of economic activity during the reign of Louis XIV. That monarch who fought wars nearly incessantly also brought to Paris diplomats from other countries, cultural tastes that he dictated and decrees about the looks of buildings.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">First, to understand the changes to come, we must look at the geography of Paris before the Revolution. Here is an excellent map of the city as it was in 1739. This map was commissioned by the chief of the municipality of Paris, Michel-Etienne Turgot and drawn by surveyor Louis Bretez.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Drawn with all buildings to scale, it presents the city toward the southeast. It has marvelous detail. <i>Do enlarge this section to see that.</i> You can see different types of housing and commerce. This map does not show all of the <i>arrondissements</i>, or departments of modern day Paris, as it corresponds roughly to the first 11 <i>arrondissements</i> of the City, not the current 18.</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyARXEAM289Hf9o0cK-aQXDjJ8Tp_0ZJxg57wZ9q17XC5WlfXj2cjCzYLhxLfLkObqlzYFAv0alBNru50uIAOjo54B1rmXeYvdD0LxajdHRmzVruKAtf4XGyuW89yFSuCGPWzQJm0VE0CnBdUlutPtbR77d-bVZ8SagiBh_FTb8_z5r1Wz8qnwaZGbjBGP/s660/Turgot_map_of_Paris_-_Norman_B._Leventhal_Map_Center.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="660" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyARXEAM289Hf9o0cK-aQXDjJ8Tp_0ZJxg57wZ9q17XC5WlfXj2cjCzYLhxLfLkObqlzYFAv0alBNru50uIAOjo54B1rmXeYvdD0LxajdHRmzVruKAtf4XGyuW89yFSuCGPWzQJm0VE0CnBdUlutPtbR77d-bVZ8SagiBh_FTb8_z5r1Wz8qnwaZGbjBGP/w640-h502/Turgot_map_of_Paris_-_Norman_B._Leventhal_Map_Center.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><b>For more:</b> See </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turgot_map_of_Paris">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turgot_map_of_Paris</a></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Here is a small portion of the map which shows the Louvre as it was in 1739. (<i>Kyoto University Library</i>)</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6vwW9GYBHXGc-y8knOZqFTx142P3MhR7s0TWfieMNZ73D4xqfIuBTmbCD7qZCko3r7qT2hFZRyV24Pb9RSVQ9L_JJGEOL8xbe6e6Q0gkfetqxqEOFQm5DKKxXvepQPAgUo0S6EFJzQQ989WWmJRLgaJZJQ7OJfxtINs2lISsDoZBzbN0jteixbkEjGKa/s440/440px-Palais_du_Louvre_on_the_map_of_Turgot_1739_-_Kyoto_U.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="440" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6vwW9GYBHXGc-y8knOZqFTx142P3MhR7s0TWfieMNZ73D4xqfIuBTmbCD7qZCko3r7qT2hFZRyV24Pb9RSVQ9L_JJGEOL8xbe6e6Q0gkfetqxqEOFQm5DKKxXvepQPAgUo0S6EFJzQQ989WWmJRLgaJZJQ7OJfxtINs2lISsDoZBzbN0jteixbkEjGKa/w400-h314/440px-Palais_du_Louvre_on_the_map_of_Turgot_1739_-_Kyoto_U.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Do return as I continue this series addressing all of the following aspects of city growth and dynamics, including:</span></p><p style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Living Conditions</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Population: numbers and type</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Impact and relationship with Versailles</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Appearance of Old Paris: stone quarries, sanitation, <i>La Peripherique</i>, supply and demand</span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Seine: its impact, its problems </span></li><li><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The caves, tunnels, sewers</span></li></ul><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: left;"> </p><div><br /></div>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-80900927328721632742023-08-02T13:18:00.011-05:002023-08-02T13:18:00.146-05:00Today's bon bon: You look for a house where your hero lives...and where his heroine will first meet him and you discover that...<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinEK9oAny7RymOp9kz-vukVad8NeX0LXXFhxIQpywC3fXa93Mz50tKupI1faL4ylpbxLziAETm5BRDeDqhkO3b8G0ZKIDG88yJLAEwsVYbCwSs2cAOvBd6Lo2bxRWiBZaSqiNhqoLG2H7RvyprityNhTjk9TUq2Kv0hLi6q8oxSaAJ7vJw-Ag81j1RHw/s2744/No.%203%20Chesterfield%20St.,%20Mayfair,%20London.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2744" data-original-width="2474" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinEK9oAny7RymOp9kz-vukVad8NeX0LXXFhxIQpywC3fXa93Mz50tKupI1faL4ylpbxLziAETm5BRDeDqhkO3b8G0ZKIDG88yJLAEwsVYbCwSs2cAOvBd6Lo2bxRWiBZaSqiNhqoLG2H7RvyprityNhTjk9TUq2Kv0hLi6q8oxSaAJ7vJw-Ag81j1RHw/w435-h482/No.%203%20Chesterfield%20St.,%20Mayfair,%20London.png" width="435" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">You look for a house where your hero lives...and where his heroine will first meet him and you discover that the house you choose from a map of London because you "feel" that it is one you've seen, and you discover the house once belonged to someone famous.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Very famous!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Like Caroline Norton! She of the notoriety of having been accused by her husband of a liaison with Lord Melbourne and subsequently losing rights to her children. However, she did protest by writing treatises and books that argued for the rights of women. She lived here at </span><span style="font-size: large;">No. 3 Chesterfield Street, Mayfair.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">It is a small world! Intriguing, always.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-47361543565498906422023-07-31T13:08:00.001-05:002023-08-04T12:03:26.753-05:00Today's bon bon: Amazing what you find when you look for your heroine's family's home in Paris! This!<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Among the many ah-ha moments, I love when research brings me something I can smile about...and visit!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Gquzsg9Z54PXePdLzPOJK43n4wZq687ysO6JfyWjwVC1hcDN0vfIXk74lDoYstJEhIYN4i0nuA80JSob7m6i5a0lqdTpxX78QyEwFfdp5wSSSaZ7uAnSTdn7-jlr02ldBVv6YdoYy0lTWeyz02TghyZuFhwLBdstdMpkdz4PfgrALy4RXcHKvm-08A/s2410/Hotel%20de%20Toulouse%20in%201sr%20Arrondis.%20her%20home%20now%20bank.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2410" data-original-width="1846" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Gquzsg9Z54PXePdLzPOJK43n4wZq687ysO6JfyWjwVC1hcDN0vfIXk74lDoYstJEhIYN4i0nuA80JSob7m6i5a0lqdTpxX78QyEwFfdp5wSSSaZ7uAnSTdn7-jlr02ldBVv6YdoYy0lTWeyz02TghyZuFhwLBdstdMpkdz4PfgrALy4RXcHKvm-08A/w397-h518/Hotel%20de%20Toulouse%20in%201sr%20Arrondis.%20her%20home%20now%20bank.png" width="397" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Here is a picture of Daisy Molyneaux's family home in the 1st Arrondisment of Paris. The <i>Hotel de Toulouse</i>, owned by her parents in the 1780s, is a building that still stands. As I describe in <b>BECAUSE OF YOU</b>, this home was built by her great grand father who was an illegitimate son of Louis XV.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">During the REVOLUTION, houses like this were seized by the Committee in Paris as national property. A few years later, Napoleon came to power and took this building and gave it to the Banque de France.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And there it stands today!</span></p><p><br /></p>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-29447343405855633822023-07-29T11:20:00.004-05:002023-07-29T11:57:57.039-05:00Today's bon bon: Come see my heroine's chateau in BECAUSE OF YOU in the Loire Valley! (My pictures)<p> My heroine's home in France is a gorgeous place. I set it in the Normandy region, near Rouen. I had the pleasure of going there last year and took pictures galore. I've also traveled extensively in the Loire valley where many famous chateaux dot the river. I have combined many of the features from various chateaux to create Marguerite Molyneaux's family home!</p><p>Here are a few for you. Do enlarge to enjoy. (They are mine so they are copyrighted material. Please do not share the pictures, only the blog!)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCqYNqXceNXOBIVpHIKvCg-OXNlR_bbq6vmIUdg5xhuhnk9RMvdyqgAXkze6LWyFCMQfforTH1Y1lyqnwWYvOMQlstatqE0r5JHh0It0d0kQ4cTV7XO6VZScVz_SUA3620VLFwBshS4MneQs_0FAkpSXgkUUHP0kgJCz8zs8DAe_XcyM8RKH7jfQdpoo3/s1080/Triple%20covers%20of%20BECAUSE.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCqYNqXceNXOBIVpHIKvCg-OXNlR_bbq6vmIUdg5xhuhnk9RMvdyqgAXkze6LWyFCMQfforTH1Y1lyqnwWYvOMQlstatqE0r5JHh0It0d0kQ4cTV7XO6VZScVz_SUA3620VLFwBshS4MneQs_0FAkpSXgkUUHP0kgJCz8zs8DAe_XcyM8RKH7jfQdpoo3/w400-h400/Triple%20covers%20of%20BECAUSE.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>This is really Azay-le-Rideau in the Loire valley</i></b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i> </i></b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i> </i></b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i> </i></b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLxKiASI4sm4jEbTF17mvNVt9t8HHY3x8SRS217Or2gvWJU8hyWc3f72RQqC85uBhbd7-PHhqsXrd6rWZwYWRBx5Z-rNVPXRctU2Ae-vxxWRYEBSY6yXYu1fWwk_ElNslNa8RZlaIOheUnQJLBZVvebiWe2PysBhX4nQHNwD4pmrpCMTZqO-Oq5lEZHtO2/s4032/IMG_2775.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLxKiASI4sm4jEbTF17mvNVt9t8HHY3x8SRS217Or2gvWJU8hyWc3f72RQqC85uBhbd7-PHhqsXrd6rWZwYWRBx5Z-rNVPXRctU2Ae-vxxWRYEBSY6yXYu1fWwk_ElNslNa8RZlaIOheUnQJLBZVvebiWe2PysBhX4nQHNwD4pmrpCMTZqO-Oq5lEZHtO2/s320/IMG_2775.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Me, of course, in front of the great kitchen fireplace in Chenonceau in the Loire valley</b><br /></i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b></b><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRbODupmGyKo05r4tTw5v0bfqlA2usRqL-HxwLTCkePvKf8zfsZ2iDwwShVlEl4SdzAc9Fb-8b5MAsk8sEsD7IOrE5xQfyZFI4OonkB0aEPAxucjFW00wJkyJdqA-2zjGOMmIvQ_EvQFVKBRNjA9ssgFKir-v_lQ-wavFPOT5U_kH-h-omAFUJDg7vj_v/s4032/IMG_2782.JPG"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRbODupmGyKo05r4tTw5v0bfqlA2usRqL-HxwLTCkePvKf8zfsZ2iDwwShVlEl4SdzAc9Fb-8b5MAsk8sEsD7IOrE5xQfyZFI4OonkB0aEPAxucjFW00wJkyJdqA-2zjGOMmIvQ_EvQFVKBRNjA9ssgFKir-v_lQ-wavFPOT5U_kH-h-omAFUJDg7vj_v/s320/IMG_2782.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>The collection of copper cookware, Chenonceau, the kitchen</i></b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ju3dOwJb60VlTnV6IDuQSwNL03mNjsBOBQTwPhq5TGtwMtVqRmtl2ID-1luScpuvkJnEdp6X0gRELVyTaaZ1J8cN2At3l2al7kPTPU9NDLAUhjMEn6b18ZXTwKm25SAEn-A6VojCTvt8nTok_p4YjT2AThOxnOxbQVEL3s7mRkRCR6zFoWhd6jfYr3lx/s4032/IMG_3054.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ju3dOwJb60VlTnV6IDuQSwNL03mNjsBOBQTwPhq5TGtwMtVqRmtl2ID-1luScpuvkJnEdp6X0gRELVyTaaZ1J8cN2At3l2al7kPTPU9NDLAUhjMEn6b18ZXTwKm25SAEn-A6VojCTvt8nTok_p4YjT2AThOxnOxbQVEL3s7mRkRCR6zFoWhd6jfYr3lx/s320/IMG_3054.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>The great dining room, Azay-le-Rideau</b></i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh704pi84XWl0NsNbgz95VYSsfkl4nk-Xqs75kiyvZPNgemYc6JzrRzZRE5l55kv5srik-IeMTn46H0wZAlYNAtdHRKOGJQuQ9BvBK02ZCKJZ4xhFjin0S1JVDLVj4O53rxv19AA73Ecd-gH99aAiVSJQ189tGCA_PNMRGSkUD-9QX6L4MTIk-7jvKipE3X/s4032/IMG_3072.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh704pi84XWl0NsNbgz95VYSsfkl4nk-Xqs75kiyvZPNgemYc6JzrRzZRE5l55kv5srik-IeMTn46H0wZAlYNAtdHRKOGJQuQ9BvBK02ZCKJZ4xhFjin0S1JVDLVj4O53rxv19AA73Ecd-gH99aAiVSJQ189tGCA_PNMRGSkUD-9QX6L4MTIk-7jvKipE3X/s320/IMG_3072.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>The grand parlor, Azay-le-Rideau</b></i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b> </b></i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b> </b><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijzLbxhqnSmNc1RDeLZLCcy71FlRbYCk8eSAPX8MvdpigJ9PriS4XR-kpcnAo7290r_VLTv2nQJSjZ3P8igITzCdzNd7xblz7w_FaHieL_2o8KRI2iiVOWthFrL1GefMNOxPyyI4XDBTqGf8_W-IoZEsaZLej5PhYUb4SUYTWTweIvbwDlH6EfDhuatrjD/s4032/IMG_2760.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijzLbxhqnSmNc1RDeLZLCcy71FlRbYCk8eSAPX8MvdpigJ9PriS4XR-kpcnAo7290r_VLTv2nQJSjZ3P8igITzCdzNd7xblz7w_FaHieL_2o8KRI2iiVOWthFrL1GefMNOxPyyI4XDBTqGf8_W-IoZEsaZLej5PhYUb4SUYTWTweIvbwDlH6EfDhuatrjD/s320/IMG_2760.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Diane's bedroom, Chenonceau</i></b><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8930259810175452683.post-35159914454195132122023-07-24T16:54:00.038-05:002023-07-24T16:54:00.151-05:00Today's Bon Bon: How fast can you run on a horse in 1815 from Rouen south, then over to Honfleur? All to escape mobs and Napoleon!<p> How fast can you fly on a horse in 1815 from Rouen south, then over to Honfleur? All to escape mobs and Napoleon!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNeAQTDlK35RhRRsx4p_sf7n4ZzOOVYL0EFMUtPyeVWbHWpjYfT-OkoVRSgDoZcYnghdg_0uG-wPFk6daaq2SC5NtXR1N3jaHxPVcyBrIbgpplaHb3ZJq-sCiWAAKRfJQqBa_Y0pjPYVYEZVrhGxrYoUzcG-f9Gh8XXP1Dvb0AIwKb4Tu5s-sYRUTJyw/s3562/Map%201%20from%20Rouen%20to%20Molyneaux%20Chateau.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1750" data-original-width="3562" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNeAQTDlK35RhRRsx4p_sf7n4ZzOOVYL0EFMUtPyeVWbHWpjYfT-OkoVRSgDoZcYnghdg_0uG-wPFk6daaq2SC5NtXR1N3jaHxPVcyBrIbgpplaHb3ZJq-sCiWAAKRfJQqBa_Y0pjPYVYEZVrhGxrYoUzcG-f9Gh8XXP1Dvb0AIwKb4Tu5s-sYRUTJyw/w406-h199/Map%201%20from%20Rouen%20to%20Molyneaux%20Chateau.png" width="406" /></a></div><br />When the little general escaped Elba February 26 1815, so many were shocked that he could. But he did and he went quickly, gaining support from old army veterans and active ones too as well as with the people. Tired of the new King Louis XVIII already, the French were happy to welcome Napoleon back.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscSgvwObw7yb-aTaDLV9yUeu-FhGT-YMZGe48HvqGADMwWBPAAZnZtlXeUDGy_JMgYWEABiD6VLcyC1-7-cdaf8bSJI4wuQcBPZCJPtaFCNTgdrSku-CXvJbfgSRuNheCsyn0GQMo0o-orCcPjdSHiuYGc_qiCMWRVceBYxImUDtZ1-sO_NXlEuKZBg/s2574/Map%202%20from%20Molyneaux%20Chateau%20to%20Honfluer.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1734" data-original-width="2574" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscSgvwObw7yb-aTaDLV9yUeu-FhGT-YMZGe48HvqGADMwWBPAAZnZtlXeUDGy_JMgYWEABiD6VLcyC1-7-cdaf8bSJI4wuQcBPZCJPtaFCNTgdrSku-CXvJbfgSRuNheCsyn0GQMo0o-orCcPjdSHiuYGc_qiCMWRVceBYxImUDtZ1-sO_NXlEuKZBg/w433-h293/Map%202%20from%20Molyneaux%20Chateau%20to%20Honfluer.png" width="433" /></a></div><br /><p>Or at least at first they were. </p><p>In my newest BECAUSE OF YOU, my heroine and hero learn of Napoleon's march north to Paris six days later than his landing in Cannes. Why? Well, no tv or telephones then, you see! Word had to travel via runners.</p><p><br />And when it did, those like Daisy Molyneaux Ruxton and her English husband, Daniel Ruxton, must run of their lives.</p><p>Going only at night to escape detection, and going in disguise, they must travel an unknown road. They do it for three nights to finally arrive in Honfleur and book passage home to England!</p><p>And this is their route!</p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Cerise DeLandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11964518502483682417noreply@blogger.com0