Archive for the ‘Excerpts’ Category
I won’t waste time with a long introduction. This week’s My Sexy Saturday snippet is from my newest release, Just Right, which came out on Tuesday. Callie, who’s pretty handy thanks to her handyman father, has volunteered to help the Behr brothers work on her house. Ty, the hero of the story, has asked oldest brother Will what she can do.
***
She felt Will studying her, sizing her up. She narrowed her eyes and drew herself to her full height, five feet, four inches. At times like this, when dealing with judgmental men who looked at her and saw nothing but a helpless female, she’d gladly give up stardom for six inches of height and ten pounds less hair.
Finally, he spoke. “You know how to swing a sledgehammer?”
“I think I can manage.” It couldn’t be much harder than swinging a twenty-pound kettlebell, right? She could do that in her sleep—and sometimes did, when premiere parties ran long and interfered with her workouts at four in the morning with Gunnar Glory, personal trainer to the stars. She’d completed more than a few sweat sessions less than half awake.
He nodded. “Good. You can help Ty knock out the kitchen cabinets.”
Ty looked worried. Probably afraid she was going to clock him with the sledgehammer.
His words confirmed her suspicion. “Isn’t there something…easier she can do?”
Perhaps clocking him was a good idea. Might knock his sensibilities into the new millennium.
Like what you read? Just Right is available now at Turquoise Morning Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, All Romance eBooks and Smashwords. Or add it to your TBR list on Goodreads.
Welcome to this week’s My Sexy Saturday blog hop. The theme, “A Long, Sexy Time,” is designed to spotlight love that has been around for a while:
“… It’s all about those who have loved another for a long time. This love could have started when they were kids, when they were dating or even from afar.”
That pretty much leaves my couples out. They tend to meet and experience love — or hate — at first sight, and then overcome whatever obstacles are in their path to happily ever after. Dave and Melinda from DIVA IN THE DUGOUT are the closest I have to a couple who’s known each other for a while … and that’s only if you count a one-night stand, nearly five years ago, as knowing one another.
In this scene, Dave and Mel are trying to get along for their daughter’s sake. He’s just landed in Amarillo so he can meet Mel’s parents — something she’d denied him years earlier by not telling him she was pregnant. Keeping Tara a secret was a decision she had what she thought were good reasons for, but is now starting to regret.
Enjoy!
***
Mel bounced from foot to foot in the arrivals area of the Amarillo airport Wednesday afternoon. The steady flow of travelers slowed to a trickle before Dave strolled through the gate.
Damn, he looked fine. He walked tall and proud, his shoulders impossibly broad in a burgundy suit jacket. He carried a duffel the same color as his coat—his team colors.
When, for once, her smile didn’t feel forced, Mel realized she was glad to see him. “Welcome back, Muscles.”
He studied her for a moment before dropping his bag at his feet. Then he stepped up and folded her into a hug. His arms circled her waist, pressing her tightly against his flat stomach and broad chest. Her nerve endings started to sing, especially the bits of her rubbing all that hard muscle. Mmm.
“You feel even better than you look.” The thought popped out of Mel’s mouth before she could stop it. Her cheeks burned, and she could only hope the words were too muffled by his jacket for him to hear.
No such luck. His chest shook with laughter. “If I’d expected such a friendly greeting, I’d have come back sooner.”
Mel flattened her palms against his shoulders and he let her go. What the hell had she been thinking, falling into his arms like that? Just because he was trying to build a relationship with Tara didn’t mean he wanted one with her. After what she’d done, she was probably the last person he’d consider getting romantic with.
DIVA IN THE DUGOUT, the first book in my All Is Fair in Love & Baseball series, can be found at Turquoise Morning Press, Smashwords, All Romance Ebooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and iTunes.
P.S If you liked this snippet, my friend Lizzie Shane is giving away a copy of DIVA on her Facebook page this weekend. She’ll draw a winner Monday morning. Click here to enter.
Since dialogue is my favorite, this week’s My Sexy Saturday theme is right up my alley! I’ll share a snippet from my new release, BREAKING ALL THE RULES.
In this scene, Van and Allyson are having dinner together for the first time. (She won’t call it a date because he works for her.) They’ve been drinking, and the alcohol loosens her tongue to the point that she tells him her deep, dark secret: She’s still carrying her v-card, thanks to an overprotective father who scared off any potential boyfriends.
Happy reading!
***
A rueful smile replaced the challenge that had flashed in her eyes a moment ago. “I didn’t go out much in college, either. Being dateless all through high school, I was still pretty socially inept. I stayed in most of the time, studied hard and graduated in three years.”
Van absorbed the information, which gave him a new perspective. Maybe Allyson was stuffy and uptight because social situations were uncomfortable for her.
Before he could probe the topic any further, the waitress arrived with their dinners. When the woman slid their plates in front of them, Allyson eyed his dinner with more interest than her own.
He playfully shook his finger at her. “Ah-ah-ah, Ms. Red Meat on Tuesdays. You missed your chance.”
She gave him another pretty pout. At the same time, beneath the table, she squeezed his knee. “I sure hope not.”
Van reached for their margarita so fast that he knocked over his almost-empty glass of water on the way. Water dribbled across the table toward Ally’s boring-looking chicken and veggies, but he needed a drink more than he needed to save her meal. He polished off the rest of the drink in one gulp.
Thus fortified, he was prepared to respond. “I might be willing to renegotiate.”
Find BREAKING ALL THE RULES at Turquoise Morning Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, Smashwords and All Romance eBooks.
Every time I think I’m going to start posting here more regularly, something happens to throw me back off track. I get busy writing…working…doing sinks full of dirty dishes. Even these My Sexy Saturday posts don’t happen as regularly as I’d like.
This week’s theme is “Sexy Me Up,” and the way I read it, it’s pretty much author’s choice.
Remember, our sexiness can happen anywhere, anytime, day or night. People fall in love in many different ways. It could be on a date, at a school dance, on a hike, with the boy or girl next door, just anywhere two or sometimes more people or beings are drawn together because of that feeling called love.
Let’s do this. I’m sure I can find a nice moment between Van and Allyson, the hero and heroine of BREAKING ALL THE RULES, to share.
*Returns after perusing the manuscript*
Found one! In this scene, Van has talked Ally into having dinner with him. He tries to order for her — a mistake she quickly corrects. 😀
Enjoy!
***
After the waitress left, Donovan frowned at her. Surprisingly, his frown, too, did funny things to her insides. Or maybe the culprit was the delicious margarita she sipped.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
His eyebrows drew together. “You’ve wanted to eat here for eight years and you order the boring chicken?”
“I never said I wanted the steak. I came for the show.”
“But I brought you here for steak.”
“You came for steak,” she corrected before taking another small drink. The margarita was delicious—a perfect blend of salty and sweet. She’d have to be careful not to overindulge, because it’d be too easy to drink the whole thing. “I only eat red meat once a week—and it’s not on Friday night.”
Donovan’s lips twitched into a not-quite smile. “When, exactly, do you eat red meat, Allyson?”
BREAKING ALL THE RULES will be available this month from Turquoise Morning Press. Can’t wait to share all of Van and Allyson’s adventures with you!
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