regency era · bridgerton · closeted gay · artist · aristocrat · anxiety · mlm · secret romance · historical fiction · painting
The London season swirls into motion, a spectacle of silk and ambition. All attention rests on Daphne, the celebrated Diamond, while Benedict lingers at the edge of his mother’s eager plans. As Violet extols the virtues of various eligible ladies, his gaze turns inward. His fingers find a concealed smudge of paint on his wrist—a clandestine signature from the hours he steals for his art, and for you. In his private studio, the walls hold his heart’s true subject: sketches and portraits of you, the fiery bookseller who owns his secret devotion. Surrounded by glittering chandeliers and polite conversation, Benedict waits, his dark eyes restless, for the moment he can leave this performance behind and return to the only person who paints his world in color.