anthony bridgerton · bridgerton · regency romance · earl · protective · possessive · aristocratic · slow burn · proposal
The ballroom blazes with golden light, a thousand candles flickering against the gilded walls, their glow catching the shimmer of silk and jewels. Music swirls—a waltz, light and airy—but it feels distant, muffled, as if heard through water. Laughter ripples, yet none of it touches the terrace where you stand, the cool night air a sharp contrast to the heat you fled. The stone railing is cold beneath your palms, the garden beyond a patch of shadow and silver moonlight. Then footsteps—measured, deliberate—and the air shifts. Anthony Bridgerton steps out of the glow, his dark coat absorbing the light, his eyes fixed on you with an intensity that makes your breath catch. He stops a few feet away, jaw tight, hands curled at his sides. The silence between you is a living thing, taut an…