Spotlight: Every Bride Has Her Day by Lynnette Austin

About the Book

CAN LOVE REVIVE A WILTING HEART?

Cricket O’Malley can’t wait to plant roots back home in Georgia, where she’s returned to restore an abandoned flower shop to its former glory. The only blemish? Her neighbor’s house is even more neglected than her old flower shop, and its occupant seems as surly as he is darkly handsome.
 
Devastated body and soul after a tough case went south, New York City detective Sam DeLuca thought he’d have no trouble finding solitude in the quiet Georgia town of Misty Bottoms, but his bubbly neighbor seems determined to shine happiness into Sam’s life. Sam is equally determined to close himself off, but his heart says otherwise…

Lynnette’s Tip for the Perfect Wedding

He popped the question! Now what? Although it’s far from romantic, do yourselves a favor and set your budget. Be realistic about this right from the start. Don’t overspend. Once you know what you’re looking at moneywise, then, and only then, should you start looking at venues. Choose somewhere that will allow you to afford the rest of your special day. This is a good time, too, to decide what you absolutely need versus what you want. There’s a big difference!
 
Consider earmarking one credit card for all your wedding expenditures. You’ll rack up thousands of bonus points that will come in very handy on your honeymoon! A caveat here. Pay off everything the minute the bill comes. If you let interest accrue, you’ll lose any advantage. Also, using the credit card doesn’t mean tossing away the budget. You still need to set a limit and stick to it.
 
Don’t forget to use the resources at your fingertips to save money where needed. You want beautiful chandeliers, but they’re out of reach budget-wise. On Pinterest, you can find directions for making some great ones out of hula hoops and white lights. Your wedding is about you and your fiancé. Don’t lose sight of that as you’re planning and preparing. It will help if you prioritize right from the start. Agree on the most important aspects of the day and work from there.

Excerpt from EVERY BRIDE HAS HER DAY

“Hold on a sec.” Sam raised a finger and headed back inside. Grabbing the small radio he’d found tucked inside a closet, he placed it on the ledge above the sink, dialed up a station that played a lot of Frank Sinatra, and opened the window. The music drifted into the twilight.

In another cupboard, he found a stub of a candle in a squat holder. His aunt Gertie’d probably kept it in case of a power outage. It would do. He lit it and stepped outside to find Cricket curled up on the back porch swing, Hobo at her feet.

“So you decided to come home,” he said to the dog. “You’ve been gone half the day.”

In answer, Hobo thumped his tail on the porch.

“Yeah, I know. You heard steak was on the menu for dinner.”

The tail thumped harder, and Cricket laughed, a warm, sultry sound.

Sam set the candle on a small side table, his system on high alert.

Cricket O’Malley. The girl-next-door meets sex goddess.

He didn’t understand it, but that didn’t seem to matter. Chemistry fairly sizzled between them.

He cleared his throat, then leaned down beside the fire circle. After he got a nice little blaze started, he pulled an old bench close. “I know we don’t need the heat—” He broke off. No, they sure didn’t. If they got within ten miles of each other, they generated enough of their own. “I mean, uh, I thought it might add a little ambiance.”

“Nothing I enjoy more than sittin’ around a campfire.”

“Have a seat then, and I’ll start the steaks.”

After he tossed them on the grill, he inched down beside Cricket.

The woman smelled like heaven. Or sin. He couldn’t decide which and slung an arm over the bench back. Hobo jumped up beside him.

Sam slid closer to Cricket to give the dog more room.

Hobo took it and more.

“You’re crowding me, boy.”

Those big eyes stared up at him, then Hobo threw his head back in an ear-piercing howl.

“Stop that!”

The dog answered with another mournful cry.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake.” He tried to move the dog off the bench, but he’d become a boneless, dead weight.

Cricket laughed. “I think we both know what he wants.”

Sam let out a half-laugh. “You up for it?”

“I can handle it if you can.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m up for it.” He rolled his eyes. “Wrong way to put that, but—”

He broke off as she laid a hand on the side of his face, leaned into him, and gave him a taste of heaven.

“Not enough,” he muttered, pulling her closer, dipping his lips again and angling them to take more. He trailed kisses along her neck, then moved back to her mouth.  His hands moved down her arms, brushed the sides of her breasts.

A log dropped and sent up a loud popping and a shower of sparks.

He drew back and laid his forehead against hers, noticed, thank you God, her ragged breathing matched his own. “Cricket—”

“Shhh.” She laid a finger over his lips. “Let’s just accept that for what it was.”

“What was it?”

“Darned if I know.” She laughed. “But Hobo’s quiet.”

Sam looked at the dog who, job done, had hopped off the bench and rested in the grass. “I’m liking that dog more every day.

About the Author

The luxury of staying home when the weather turns nasty, of working in PJs and bare feet, and the fact that daydreaming is not only permissible but encouraged, are a few of the reasons middle school teacher Lynnette Austin gave up the classroom to write full-time. Lynnette grew up in Pennsylvania’s Alleghany Mountains, moved to Upstate New York, then to the Rockies in Wyoming. Presently she and her husband divide their time between Southwest Florida’s beaches and Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. A finalist in RWA's Golden Heart Contest, PASIC's Book of Your Heart Contest, and Georgia Romance Writers' Maggie Contest, she’s published five books as Lynnette Hallberg. She’s currently writing as Lynnette Austin. Having grown up in a small town, that’s where her heart takes her—to those quirky small towns where everybody knows everybody...and all their business, for better or worse.  Visit Lynnette at www.authorlynnetteaustin.com.

Connect with Lynnette: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

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Excerpt: House of the Hanging Jade by Amy M. Reade

About the Book

Tired of the cold winters in Washington, D.C. and disturbed by her increasingly obsessive boyfriend, Kailani Kanaka savors her move back to her native Big Island of Hawaii. She also finds a new job as personal chef for the Jorgensen family. The gentle caress of the Hawaiian trade winds, the soft sigh of the swaying palm trees, and the stunning blue waters of the Pacific lull her into a sense of calm at the House of Hanging Jade--an idyll that quickly fades as it becomes apparent that dark secrets lurk within her new home. Furtive whispers in the night, a terrifying shark attack, and the discovery of a dead body leave Kailani shaken and afraid. But it's the unexpected appearance of her ex-boyfriend, tracking her every move and demanding she return to him, that has her fearing for her life . . .

I knew I should have stayed home.

I bent my head as the wind whipped down Massachusetts Avenue, hurling snowflakes at my face, stinging my cheeks with hard, frosty pellets. The icy sidewalks were treacherous, making my walk to work precarious and slow. There were very few others brave or foolish enough to be out in this weather. I passed one man out walking his dog and silently praised him for being so devoted.

I finally arrived at the restaurant. I stamped on the snow that had piled up against the front door and slipped my key into the lock with fingers stiff and clumsy from the cold. Once inside, it only took me a second to realize that no one else was there. On a normal day, one without a blizzard, my assistant Nunzio would already have come in through the back and flipped on the kitchen lights before I arrived. I groaned. Even Nunzio, whom I could always count on, had stayed home. I moved through the darkened dining room and turned on the lights in the kitchen. As they blinked to life, I heard a heavy knock at the front door.

Hurrying to open it, I recognized the face of Geoffrey, the restaurant’s owner and my current boyfriend, bundled up in a thick scarf and hat.

“Kailani, what are you doing here?” he exclaimed, brushing snow off his boots in the vestibule.

“Someone has to be here to get things started,” I answered testily. “I don’t think we can open today,” Geoffrey said. “There’s no way the delivery trucks can get through, and I don’t think we’d have any customers even if they could.”

“You mean I came all this way for nothing?” I whined. Geoffrey smiled down at me. “Sorry. I just assumed you’d know not to come in on a day like this.”

“Why did you come in, then?”

“To catch up on paperwork. Plus, snowstorms don’t bother me.” “Ugh. They bother me. Well, I guess if you don’t need me here, I’ll head back home.”

“Want me to stop by later?”

I didn’t, but I nodded. Geoffrey and I hadn’t been dating for long. He was already becoming a little too clingy.

He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “Be safe getting home. I’d call you a cab, but there isn’t a single one on the streets.” “Believe me, I know.”

I trudged home the same way I had come, the snow falling even harder now and blowing sideways, making it difficult for me to see. When I finally made it to my apartment building, I clumped up the stairs in my heavy boots and stood inside my apartment, leaning against the door for several moments to catch my breath. It took me a while to peel off all my layers. I left them lying on the floor while I heated up milk on the stove for hot chocolate. As the milk warmed, I gazed at a canvas photo that hung in my front hall. It was a faraway view of the beach, taken from my parents’ backyard, overlooking the black sand and the curling waves of the azure Pacific Ocean.

“We’ve got to go home,” I said aloud to my cat, Meli, as she stepped daintily around me. This wasn’t the first time I had expressed this sentiment to Meli, but this time she stopped and looked up at me. She blinked and twitched her ears.

It was the sign I needed.

I watched the snow continue to fall for several hours from the warmth and safety of my apartment. Meli and I curled up on the couch while I tried to read a book, but I couldn’t concentrate. My thoughts returned again and again to palm trees and warm, caressing trade winds, to the faces of my mother and father, of my sister and her little girl. Geoffrey eventually stopped by, bringing with him an icy blast of air as I opened the door to the hallway.

He laughed. “Looks like this storm may never end.”

I invited him into the warmth of the apartment. “Take off your stuff. Want some hot chocolate?” I called over my shoulder as I walked into the kitchen.

“Sure,” he answered, struggling with one of his boots. I joined him in the living room a few minutes later. He was trying to stroke Meli’s chin, but she apparently wanted none of that. Her ears flattened back and she squirmed out of his reach.

I handed him the mug of hot chocolate and sat down opposite him. “Geoffrey, I have news,” I told him warily, knowing he probably wouldn’t be as happy as I was.

“What is it?”

“I’m going back to Hawaii.” I waited for his reaction.

“That’s nice. It’ll do you good to get out of this weather for a while.”

He obviously wasn’t getting it. “No, not for a while. I’m moving back. For good.”

I was right. He was not happy. In fact, he looked stricken, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. “What do you mean, for good?” he asked, choking on his hot chocolate.

“I mean, I just can’t stand it here any longer. I’m never going to get used to the weather, I miss my parents, and my niece is growing up without her auntie. It’s time to go back. This is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. I’ll miss you, Geoffrey, but this is what’s best for me,” I added, trying to soften the blow.

He looked like he was struggling for words.

“But . . . but . . . what will you do?”

“I’ll do the same thing I do here, Geoffrey. Sous-chefs are not unique to DC.”

“Okay, but what will I do? Without you, I mean?”

I felt sorry for him. He looked crestfallen.

“Geoffrey,” I said gently, “there are lots of women in Washington who are looking for someone as wonderful and kind and handsome and successful as you are. I have to do what my heart is telling me to do, and that’s to go back to Hawaii.”

He nodded slowly, his eyes downcast. “Is there anything I can say to keep you here?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“When are you leaving?”

“I don’t know. I just made the decision this morning.”

He sighed and leaned back against the couch cushions, holding his mug on his lap and staring into space.

“Geoffrey? You okay?” I asked.

He set his mug on the coffee table and pushed himself up from the sofa. “I guess I should get going, then. Will you keep working at the restaurant until you leave?”

I was surprised that he wanted to leave already, but I didn’t mention it.

“Of course. I’ll give you plenty of time to find another fabulous sous-chef.”

I watched Geoffrey as he walked down the hallway of my apartment building. His shoulders were stooped and his gait slow. He looked like a forlorn little boy. Poor Geoffrey. At the end of the hallway, right by the elevator, he turned around and made a pleading motion with his hands and walked back toward me.

Uh-oh.

“Kailani, how can you just throw away all the time we’ve spent together?”

I was a little taken aback, but I suppose I shouldn’t have been. Such dramatic statements were normal with him. “Geoffrey, we haven’t really spent too much time together. We haven’t been dating very long.”

“But doesn’t that time mean something to you?”

“Yes, of course it does. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and we’ve had fun together. But it’s time for me to go home. And I’m afraid a long-distance relationship just isn’t possible. It’s too far away.”

“There’s got to be a way, Kailani. I just can’t stand the thought of losing you.”

“I’m sorry, Geoffrey. I’ve got to go. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” I closed the door gently and stood there until I heard the ding of the elevator.

I waited a few hours before calling my mother since there was a five-hour time difference between DC and Hawaii.

She and my father were both thrilled by my news, as I knew they would be. They had a million questions for me, like when I would be coming home, where I would be looking for a new job, and whether I could live with them for a while.

“I don’t know!” I laughed. “I’m going to start putting out some feelers right away for jobs in restaurants and resorts along the Kohala Coast. Someone must need a sous-chef. Or even a head chef. But I’ll be home soon, don’t worry. I can’t stand another day of this winter weather.”

I hung up, promising to keep them posted about my job hunt. Suddenly, the winter seemed a little warmer.

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Amy M. Reade is also the author of Secrets of Hallstead House and The Ghosts of Peppernell Manor. She grew up in northern New York, just south of the Canadian border, and spent her weekends and summers on the St. Lawrence River. She graduated from Cornell University and then went on to law school at Indiana University in Bloomington. She practiced law in New York City before moving to southern New Jersey, where, in addition to writing, she is a wife, a full-time mom and a volunteer in school, church and community groups. She lives just a stone’s throw from the Atlantic Ocean with her husband and three children as well as a dog and two cats. She loves cooking and all things Hawaii and is currently at work on her next novel. Visit her website at or at her blog.

Connect with Amy at:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Approval Junkie: Adventures In Caring Too Much by Faith Salie

About the Book

From comedian and journalist Faith Salie, of NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! and CBS News Sunday Morning, a collection of daring, funny essays chronicling the author’s adventures during her lifelong quest for approval
 
Faith Salie has done it all in the name of validation. Whether it’s trying to impress her parents with a perfect GPA, undergoing an exorcism in the hopes of saving her toxic marriage, or maintaining the BMI of “a flapper with a touch of dysentery,” Salie is the ultimate approval seeker—an “approval junkie,” if you will. 

In “Miss Aphrodite,” she recounts her strategy for winning the high school beauty pageant. (“Not to brag or anything, but no one stood a chance against my emaciated, spastic resolve.”) “What I Wore to My Divorce” describes Salie’s struggle to pick the perfect outfit to wear to the courthouse to divorce her “wasband.” (“I envisioned a look that said, ‘Yo, THIS is what you’ll be missing…even though you’ve introduced your new girlfriend to our mutual friends, and she’s a decade younger than I am and is also a fit model.”) In “Ovary Achiever,” she shares tips on how to ace your egg retrieval. (“Thank your fertility doctor when she announces you have ‘amazing ovaries.’ Try to be humble about it [‘Oh,these old things?’].”) And in “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me About Batman’s Nipples” she reveals the secrets behind Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! (“I study for this show like Tracy Flick on Adderall”). 

With thoughtful irreverence, Salie reflects on why she tries so hard to please others, and herself, highlighting a phenomenon that many people—especially women—experience at home and in the workplace. Equal parts laugh-out loud funny and poignant, Approval Junkie is one woman’s journey to realizing that seeking approval from others is more than just getting them to like you—it’s challenging yourself to achieve, and survive, more than you ever thought you could.

Excerpt

I totally saw the proposal coming, because, well, it was simply time. We’d talked about getting married, explicitly and erosively, for so long that it wasn’t worth talking about anymore. We’d been dating for five years, which is also known as a “lustrum.” But even that rococo word doesn’t romanticize that half a decade is a long time to wait, and everyone in our lives was sick of it. There was an unspoken feeling of Let’s get this over with, so we can see if it will make things better. Please buckle up, because here comes some caps lock: YES I TOTALLY KNOW THAT GETTING MARRIED IS NEVER THE WAY TO FIX A CRAPPY RELATIONSHIP BUT I ALSO KNOW I SHOULD FLOSS MY TEETH EVERY DAY BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH THANKS. 

I really didn’t think it would happen this one particular afternoon. This explains why I had no makeup on and had decked myself out in an Old Navy shirt, comfy jeans, and boots that supplied no flattering heel height. The wasband had gone into the Lighthouse Museum, because his great-grandfather or someone had had something to do with the building of the village lighthouse. I was exhausted (from an­ticipation) so I stayed in the rental car, reclined my seat, and napped. He woke me up with a knock on the window and an enthusiastic grin. “You’ve got to see this view!” 

If you’ve watched Braveheart, you know that Scotland doesn’t really give a shite that it’s late May or that you’re about to get proposed to, so it was wildly windy and chilly. My hair was flying everywhere. Poised on the precipice, we admired the vibrant indigo of the North Sea and the was­band’s cultural provenance. 

When he told me to sit on the lone bench surrounded by wildflowers, I knew. His fist was clenched, and he began to kneel. My heart started beating faster. 

I shook my head. “Oh my God . . . no. Stop.” That is what I said. Something deep inside me, beyond ego and beyond heart, knew this thing for which I’d been yearning wasn’t what was best for us. 

He paused midkneel, his blue-gray eyes full of hurt. Un­characteristically, transparently, vulnerably surprised and hurt. I’d never seen that look on his face before, and I would never see it again. It lasted maybe “one Mississippi, two Mississippi,” and I couldn’t bear it. 

“Go ahead,” I said. “I’m sorry, go ahead.” 

He knelt down and asked me to marry him. He kept it simple. Perhaps that was a bold choice suggestive of a re­birth of our relationship, or maybe it was head-in-sandy not to acknowledge how rough our journey to this moment had been. Or, quite likely, I wasn’t much of a muse after ordering him to stop proposing. 

When he asked, “Will you marry me?,” I looked at him through my shades, coolly. His question, like his first “I love you,” created such a panoply of emotions that the best course seemed to be to try to keep my face neutral. I didn’t smile or cry or gasp. I waited a few moments, my heart beat­ing out of my chest, while I tried to relish the return of that ephemeral taste of power. 

The man I deeply loved and resented, in whom I’d deeply invested, was on one knee, asking me the question I’d longed to hear since our first date. It was, in theory, the ul­timate gesture of approval, but it didn’t feel that way. It was too hard-earned, and that made me feel hollow. The Scot­tish winds carried any “power” I had out to sea. I said only, “Yes,” quietly, because I wanted to. I wanted to marry him. 

You don’t have to believe in karma to understand this: he and I were meant to be, well, not meant to be. We had to live through the first part to realize the last part. 

I couldn’t wear his grandmother’s ring, because it was too small. Way to feel fat at your betrothal.

Excerpted from Approval Junkie by Faith Salie. Copyright © 2016 by Faith Salie. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

About the Author

FAITH SALIE is an Emmy-winning contributor to CBS News Sunday Morning and a panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! She also hosts the PBS show, Science Goes To The Movies. As a commentator on politics and pop culture, she’s been interviewed by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Bill O’Reilly, and Anderson Cooper. As a television and public radio host, she herself has interviewed newsmakers from Lorne Michaels to President Carter to Robert Redford, who invited her to call him “Bob.” Faith attended Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship, and while her fellow scholars went on to become governors and mayors, she landed on a Star Trek collectible trading card worth hundreds of cents.  She lives in New York City with her husband, two children, and her husband’s dog.

Excerpt: Single by Collette West

Synopsis

Underdog Luke "Single" Singleton is yearning to make a comeback. After getting hit in the neck with a pitch—an injury that nearly cost him his life—he has one last chance to play for his hometown team, the Stockton Beavers. But his mom has Alzheimer's, and he's all she has to depend on. How can he pursue his career, much less someone special? 

Personal care aide Roberta Bennett is done dating baseball players. Having had her share of heartbreak, she heads to Stockton hoping for a fresh start. But after she finds Luke’s mom outside, lost, and alone, she can’t refuse when he hires her on the spot. Unbeknownst to Luke, Roberta is all too familiar with the violent tendencies of the pitcher who hit him. 

Now that they’re living under the same roof, the last thing either of them is looking for is a relationship. But it’s not long before they find themselves drawn to each other. And right when Luke is thinking about finally making a change to his single status, a secret from Roberta's past emerges with the power to tear them apart.

Excerpt

A sob rises up in my throat. "Luke, don’t you see? I can’t give you what you want. What’s done can't be undone.” The tears start flowing in earnest now, and I can't hold them back. "It’s just, at the time, I convinced myself that I was okay with it because I never thought I'd meet someone like you. I gave up on life, on ever falling in love again, on ever being happy again.” I take a shaky breath. “And now, I have nothing left to offer you.”

"Don't say that," he cries, getting up and reaching for me. "You're everything I could ever want and more. Don’t you know that?"

I shy away from him, not allowing him to pull me into the warmth of his embrace. "And do you really think I could be happy, knowing that you threw away your future on account of me? Luke, I refuse to hold you back. I want you to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of because you deserve it. That’s why I want you to tell your manager yes. You owe it to yourself, your mom…your dad…to go and play in New York.” I sigh deeply. “If you don’t, I don’t think I’d ever be able to forgive myself.” Hugging my arms to my chest, I slowly back my way out of the kitchen.

"Roberta…" he whispers.

But with silent tears streaming down my face, I keep going. Once I get inside my room, I lock the door before throwing myself down onto the bed, tugging the sheets around me that are still warm from his body.

About the Author

Collette West grew up as somewhat of a jock-nerd hybrid. Entering the world three weeks premature, her dad nearly missed her birth because he had seats behind the dugout for a sold-out, highly-anticipated match-up between two of baseball’s biggest rivals. Not to be outdone, her book-loving mom taught her how to read by the time she was three. A love of the game coupled with an appreciation for the written word were instilled in Collette‘s impressionable brain from a young age. No wonder her characters believe in the philosophy: sports + romance = a little slice of heaven.

Splitting her time between the Pocono Mountains and Manhattan, Collette indulges her inner fangirl by going to as many games as she can from hockey to baseball and downloading every sports romance novel in existence onto her iPad. When she’s not clicking away on her laptop, she enjoys walking her dog in Central Park, satisfying her caffeine craving at the Starbucks on Broadway and keeping an eye out for Mr. Right. But above all, she loves dishing with her readers. Email her at collette_west@yahoo.com.

She is the author of the New York Kings series which includes: NIGHT GAMES, GAME CHANGER, GAME ON, PERFECTGAME, INSIDE GAME and GAME WINNER.

Connect with Collette at: Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Newsletter

Excerpt Reveal: Reprise by Lisa Swallow

About the Book

Drummer Nate Campbell is a 'Ruby Riot twin' - and that's all he wants anybody to know. The only person allowed close is his brother, Will, and even that's not working out these days. For Nate, girls are a dispensable distraction and the rock star life suits his needs. Nobody will expect him to hand his heart over if he pretends he doesn't have a one.

Falling for Nate Campbell was the second biggest mistake of Riley Sawyer's life. Working as a junior PR girl on the Blue Phoenix European and Ruby Riot tour, she earned a reputation as unapproachable and unable to switch off from work. With a side to her life Riley keeps hidden, she was happy to maintain her distance. But after an encounter with Nate, and several difficult weeks, Riley left the circuit and vowed never to tour with bands again.

Two years later Riley achieves her ambition and is a PR manager and Ruby Riot are headlining stadiums. She meets Nate again for the first time in two years and nothing has changed. The animosity stands and so does the attraction. Neither sees this as a problem because they can avoid each other for the two days until Riley leaves.

What they don't count on is that Nate's bloody-mindedness and an unfortunate set of circumstances leads to the pair snowed-in at a pub on the Yorkshire Moors for several days. Forced to spend time together, Riley and Nate are pushed into discussing what happened on tour and find themselves in a situation neither of them expected.

When the snow retreats and they return to London, Nate discovers Riley has her own secret and it's one deeply connected to his past. Nate backs away, unsure if he can continue a relationship with the girl who's more like himself than he realised.

Nate won't have long to decide because Riley isn't prepared to let a damaged commitmentphobe into her life. And she has zero interest in fixing a man who refuses to fix himself.

Reprise is the third standalone book in the Ruby Riot series.

Excerpt

RILEY

Short of time, I devour the chocolate cake, happy the coffee is half-decent. A text arrives, asking why I'm late, and I wipe my fingers before answering.

Each minute that passes, I'm putting off the inevitable.

And as I head towards the lobby, the inevitable appears.

I didn't mean to but, unprepared, I stop in my tracks. Nate Campbell strides across the tiled floor in my direction. Dressed in dark denim and Converse, greying T-shirt stretched across his chest, he hasn't changed. The twins are different these days; bass player Will wears his hair longer so there's no doubt this twin with short, spiked hair is Nate.

I'm convinced Nate's about to blank me and walk past but he stops too. His green eyes fix on mine with disinterest. I'm wrong; he has changed. His eyes are creased by tiredness, his skin paler, but this doesn't detract from the deceptive attractiveness of his perfect features. I cannot believe I kissed that mouth; allowed those hands on my body. But there's nothing attractive behind his lucky genetics, unless Nate's changed on the inside too. From what I've heard, he hasn't.

“Riley,” he says in greeting.

“Hello, Nate.”

“I heard you were coming. How long you staying?”

“A couple of days.”

“Not long, then.”

“Too long.”

Nate stares at my mouth, then flicks his gaze back to my eyes. His mouth tips at one corner and I hold my breath. It may be two years since, but I've seen that look on Nate's face before. Amusement.

“You haven't changed,” he says.

“Neither have you, much.”

“Yeah?”

I wave a hand at him. “You look the same.”

“That isn't what I meant. Your attitude.” Nate crosses his arms. “But yeah, you're skinnier and your hair's blonder. I preferred it brown.”

I bristle at the fact he checked me out. “Your attitude remains the same too, then.”

I swore I'd avoid this, but already the animosity slips in.

“Still get your knickers in a twist over everything?”

“What?”

“Just a question. I heard you lost your shit with Melissa a couple of hours ago.” He smirks. “Smiley Riley's back in town.”

“Jesus, Nate. Two minutes and you've already started this. Don't you think we should forget what happened and be professional?”

Two years.

Two years to say the words that needed saying back then. How we should've left things. Professional.

“About what happened? You still dwelling on that?” Nate shakes his head. “Ancient history, Riley.”

“Okay.” I put my phone in my bag. “Call this the line in the sand. I'll ignore what happened in the past if you do. A couple of days here and I'm gone, and we don’t have to see each other again. We can be civil for that long.”

Nate rubs his index finger along his lips, staring at my mouth again. “How about we just keep out of each other's way?”

“Sounds like a great idea.”

“If you can, of course.”

I laugh, a short derisive sound. “Seriously?”

Nate steps closer and that tiny change in proximity floods back the frustrating physical effect the man I hate has on me. I tuck my hands beneath my arms, goose bumps rising along my neck. Has the absence made this worse? Sometimes I have stupid dreams about Nate that involve far too much intimacy and wake up disgusted with myself. Why the hell can't I control my subconscious?

Nate raises a hand to my face and I'm too stunned to react before he touches the corner of my mouth. “Riley,” he whispers, moving his face closer to mine. “There's something you need to know.”

I blink as the sensation of his fingertip sends a tiny shock across my mouth and I part my lips. “What?”

Instead of darkened eyes to match my thumping heart, the amusement remains on his face. Nate holds his index finger up. “You have chocolate around your mouth.”

I step back and narrow my eyes at him.

He grins and wipes his hand on his jeans. “Gotcha.”

“Asshole!”

“You're not over me, are you?”

Before I get a chance to tell Nate exactly what I think of him, he moves past me. “Two years, Riley!” Nate calls as he walks away. “Get a grip!”

I glance around, relieved nobody saw our encounter, then rush to the nearest ladies’ room. Fury is replaced by horror. Chocolate is smeared around the edges of my mouth, in a way any five-year-old would be proud of. My professional image ruined by a slice of bloody cake. With shaking hands, I wipe the mess away with a paper towel.

Damn you, Nate Campbell.

About the Author

Lisa is an Amazon bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance. She is originally from the UK and moved to Australia in 2001. She now lives in Perth, Western Australia with her husband, three children, and Weimaraner, Tilly, who often makes appearances on Lisa’s social media.

Lisa’s first publication was a moving poem about the rain, followed by a suspenseful story about shoes. Following these successes at nine years old there was a long gap in her writing career, until she published her first book in 2013.

In the past, Lisa worked as an English teacher in France, as an advertising copywriter in England, and ran her own business in Australia. Now she spends her days with imaginary rock stars.

She lived in Europe as a child and also travelled when she left university. This has given Lisa stories which would sound far-fetched if she wrote them down, and maybe one day she will. These days, Lisa is happy in her writing cave, under Tilly’s supervision.

Connect with Lisa: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Cover Reveal: Young Love by Janelle Stalder

Synopsis

Honor Jacobs has a dream, and she won't stop until she achieves it.

Dancing is her life, which means she has no time for men. Especially not tattoo artists with hard eyes, and a mouth that has her thinking things she shouldn't be. Staying as far away from Grey Anderson as possible is the solution to all her problems. Except that's easier said than done. And no matter how much space she puts between them, it's never enough. He might think she's too young, and she might think he's not the one for her, but their hearts think differently. It'll all come down to will and determination...she just needs to decide which path she's destined to take. 

***This book is part of the Bloomfield Series, which includes: Brush Strokes, Simple Beginnings, and Deciding Love. However, each book can still be read as a stand alone.

About the Author

Janelle Stalder was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario. At an early age she developed a love for literature. Her debut novel, Eden, was the first book in a series of four, released in September of 2011. Since then she has released an Adult Dystopian Romance series, the New World Series, hitting the best sellers list on Amazon. She has also released a Mature YA/NA novel, Brush Strokes, that stayed on the best sellers list for contemporary romance for sixteen straight weeks. She is a strong supporter of other independent authors, and loves to interact with her readers. When she’s not writing, Janelle is at home with her husband, two children, Aiden and Elora, her little bun in the oven that is on the way, and her two furry children, Alice and Lily. She now resides in a small town in Ontario in her old, possibly haunted, century home.

Connect with Janelle: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads