FORBIDDEN FATE (Crown Pointe #3) by Mary Catherine Gebhard Release Date: May 28th Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51206149-forbidden-fate
Preorder Today for $2.99 Today!! Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UrMyHB Apple Books: https://apple.co/32te76O Nook: http://bit.ly/2T2pEqD Kobo: http://bit.ly/3cUY1HN Universal: books2read.com/u/3nvEB5 Start Grayson and Story's journey in Stolen Soulmate! Amazon: https://amzn.to/3dom8Pk Apple Books: https://apple.co/37solWH Nook: http://bit.ly/3aHsvfm Kobo: http://bit.ly/2TWK05G Universal: books2read.com/u/mlwYMP Blurb: If Grayson Crowne and I are fated, then our fate is forbidden. Our happily ever after will only end one way…in heartbreak. Forbidden Fate is the third book in the Crowne Point universe. You need to have read Stolen Soulmate to read Forbidden Fate. About the Author: I started writing the moment I could read. My first characters were Wibbley and Squig and I used MS Word and clipart to bring them to life when I was a kid in elementary school. I started seriously thinking about being a writer in High School and I remember the day exactly, because it was such an epiphany. I was always so uncertain. You know how everyone was always asking what you wanted to be when you were older? Well I NEVER could decide. I wanted to be a marine biologist. An actor. A FIRE FIGHTER (thank you Joaquin Phoenix in Ladder 49 for that phase). One day it hit me—A WRITER. I could do it ALL. Then you couldn’t stop me from writing. I penned my first novel at fifteen (but don’t ask me to show it to you, because it’s like I was in competition to beat the thesaurus). When I was diagnosed with a chronic illness, writing became even more important, because it became my therapy. When I wrote my characters, suddenly I wasn’t so alone. These days you can find me daydreaming about where to travel with my husband, singing in my car, or lost in the newest K drama. And planning my next novel, of course Connect w/Mary Catherine: Website: https://www.marygebhard.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marycgebhard/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/YouOwnMeMCG/ Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/marycgebhard Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marycgebhard/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8441964.Mary_Catherine_Gebhard Amazon: https://amzn.to/32yfz6B Bookbub: https://bookbub.com/profile/mary-catherine-gebhard Newsletter Signup: http://www.subscribepage.com/newsubsMCG
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THAT NIGHT by K.I. Lynn - Release BlitzRelease Date: March 23, 2020 Cover Design: Lori Jackson Design Genre: Contemporary Romance SYNOPSISI got pregnant on New Year’s Eve. ADD TO YOUR TBRPURCHASE LINKS Amazon Universal ~ https://geni.us/blo1Au Nook ~ http://bit.ly/2TmQud5 Apple Books ~ https://geni.us/HGoezsi Kobo ~ http://bit.ly/2wqdjns ABOUT THE AUTHORK.I. Lynn is the USA Today Bestselling Author from The Bend Anthology and the Amazon Bestselling Series, Breach. She spent her life in the arts, everything from music to painting and ceramics, then to writing. Characters have always run around in her head, acting out their stories, but it wasn’t until later in life she would put them to pen. It would turn out to be the one thing she was really passionate about. CONNECT WITH K.I. LYNNNewsletter Sign Up: http://bit.ly/2ruu5Kt Facebook Author Page: http://bit.ly/2ru6Tfv Facebook Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2tinVhV Goodreads Author Page: http://bit.ly/2tD4zDR Goodreads Reader Group: http://bit.ly/2rujf7x Twitter: http://bit.ly/2tD1ZgP Instagram: http://bit.ly/2sgNGkp Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2sIocO8 BookBub Author Page: http://bit.ly/2kpQGcC
Title: The Promise
Series: Lost in New York
Author: Felice Stevens
Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: March 23, 2020
When Ezra Green sits next to Monroe Friedman in their high school English class, friendship blooms into first love, and even Ezra moving to California won’t keep them apart. Ezra promises Roe that once he finishes college, he’ll come home and the two will be together. In the meantime they’ll write and keep in touch. Nothing has to change.
A promise broken:
After months of unanswered letters, Roe makes one final attempt to contact Ezra with disastrous results. Ezra will never be his and he needs to move on.
Now, more than twenty years later, Ezra has come home. He doesn’t know why Roe stopped writing, but he’s determined to find out. But Roe won’t talk to him and Ezra doesn’t understand why. After all, Roe is the one who cut off contact. Isn’t he?
The promise of what is meant to be:
When Roe’s beloved grandmother suffers a stroke, the past becomes the present, and Ezra comes up with a plan. Pretending to be together to make an old lady happy should be no big deal, but after an unexpected explosive night together, decades-old secrets and lies are exposed, shattering Roe’s control and Ezra’s heart. Is first love only a dream and a promise merely words, or are Ezra and Roe meant to last a lifetime?
“Are you married?”
His brows drew together. “Married? No, why?”
I pointed to his hand. “Your ring. I thought it was a wedding band.”
A wistful smile tipped his lips. “No. It belonged to a friend.” He gazed down at it and twisted the thin braided gold band around and around. “He died.”
Pain as sharp as a knife jab twisted inside. “I’m sorry. It sounds like you were very close.” A lover, I supposed, and my heart seized with jealousy. I must be fucking crazy to feel like this. I was an adult, not a high-school kid anymore. Yet I still wanted to know about this man who obviously meant so much to him, but Ezra had become tight-lipped and didn’t seem to want to elaborate.
“We were, yeah.”
His lips pressed together, and I waited for him to speak further, but he remained frustratingly silent. My annoyance spiked. “Asking again, what are you doing here? If you want to forget the past, why not make a clean break and wipe me from your memory?”
Like you did when you left.
But I wouldn’t say that out loud. It was stupid for a forty-year-old man to still be hurt about events more than two decades old.
“Roe, come on.” He took my hand in his, and the shock to my system from his touch woke me up as if I’d been sleeping for years. “I-I thought we could be friends. I don’t know many people in the city, and it gets lonely.” Smooth fingers rubbed against mine. Goddamn, it felt so good.
“You? Lonely? A big-time agent in Hollywood? I’m sure you have millions of friends coast to coast. All you need to do is pick up the phone, and you’re set.” I tried to pull my hand from his, but he held firm.
“They don’t know me.”
“And I do, not seeing you all these years?” I couldn’t believe he had the gall to say that crap to me. “You’re being ridiculous.” Yet I couldn’t pull away.
“No. I’m not.” His thumb played over the top of my hand, and tingles shot through me despite my reluctance. “My industry is so fake; people say what they want to get who they want. It can get so lonely. I’ve never connected with anyone the way I did with you.”
I could tell him about loneliness. Long, dark nights wishing I could talk to him, but the few times we tried, it was awkward with my parents around, and…well, it wasn’t easy to talk about how we felt, so we agreed to write. And for a while we did, but then the letters dwindled to nothing. Endless years where finances, school, and work prevented me from traveling to California to surprise and eventually confront Ezra. If he’d wanted me, he’d have made the effort, my pride argued with my heart. He had the means to pick up and go wherever he desired. There had been other men for me, of course, but the affairs had led nowhere.
The phone rang, but I let it go to voice mail. All the broken pieces of the past floating around in my head paralyzed me.
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I’d turned into a solid block of ice and could barely breathe. Maybe it was a delayed reaction to the slight hangover from last night’s two beers. The intensity of Ezra’s eyes captured me, drawing me in like I was his prey. I felt devoured whole. I shivered, goose bumps rising on my arms as if his lips had touched my sensitive skin.
“Roe,” he whispered and tugged my hand.
With my brain on hold, I swayed toward him and fell into his mouth, my body lighting up the moment Ezra’s lips found mine. He grabbed my face, and I dug my hands into the thick of that glorious head of hair and pulled him close. I drank him down as if parched, as if I’d been traveling through a desert for years. His kiss flowed through me, watering my dried-up soul.
Felice Stevens has always been a romantic at heart. She believes that while life is tough, there is always a happy ending just around the corner. Her characters have to work for it, however. Like life in NYC, nothing comes easy, and that includes love.
She lives in New York City and has way too much black in her wardrobe yet can't stop buying "just one more pair" of black pants. Felice is a happily addicted Bravo and Say Yes to the Dress addict and proud of it. And let's not get started on House Hunters. Her dream day starts out with iced coffee and ends with Prosecco, because...why shouldn't it? You can find her procrastinating on FB in her reader group, Felice's Breakfast Club.
You can find all my books, grouped by series in proper reading order on my website located here:
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Title: Custodian of the Spirits
Series: The Valley of the Heart's Delight
Author: Bronwyn Long Borne
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: February 5, 2020
Left penniless after her husband’s death, Fiona Lenihan and her two young children set out for California in search of a fresh start. Ten years ago Fiona fled the Irish Potato Famine. She has crossed an ocean, why not a continent?
Kier Moran is a loner with a reputation for being the best tracker, best shot, and best guide. As a favor to his aging parents, he is leading their wagon train west to the Santa Clara Valley, known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight.
Kier intends to deliver his parents safely to California then resume life under the sun and stars. But meeting Fiona Lenihan threatens his simple plan.
Bronwyn Long Borne is a nurse by day and writer by night. She grew up in Wyoming, where you can still see the wheel ruts carved into the land by the thousands of covered wagons headed west.
Her first novels are the self-published Shalemar Trilogy--Length of Days, Poetry of Days, and the forthcoming Wonder of Days--under the pen name Rohret Buchner.
Bronwyn and her husband live in Denver, Colorado. They share a love of food, wine, the mountains, and the arts.
Please visit www.bronwynlong.com to learn more about Bronwyn and her books.
♦ ♦ ♦
Title: Blood Always
Series: The Five Families, Book #3
Author: Jill Ramsower
Genre: Mafia Romance
Release Day: April 15, 2020
Photographer: Chris Davis at Specular
Model: Anthony Lowther
Cover Designer: Hang Le
♦ ♦ ♦
It was supposed to be business.
Two families, one wedding, zero emotion.
My father’s mafia outfit had saved my life.
I owed them everything.
An arranged marriage was hardly a sacrifice when I would have already been long dead had it not been for them.
I would give up my independence for the Lucciano Family.
I would bind myself to the man whose family tore my life to pieces.
Matteo De Luca was vicious claws sheathed in refinement and class.
He saw my untamed independence as a challenge.
I saw his alluring authority as a threat.
There was a ruthless storm that raged in his oceanic gaze. A majestic tidal wave of temper and domination looking to break on my rocky shores.
He would annihilate me.
Rip open my layers until all my pretty secrets were scattered at his feet.
The worst part? I wanted to experience whatever it was Matteo had to offer, and I hated myself for it.
I wanted to launch myself at him.
To kiss him. To kill him.
To end the debilitating torture of the unknown.
The moment our paths collided, our lives were altered irrevocably.
Taking us from enemies allied by a strategic marriage to something dark and consuming.
Something that tasted like obsession.
♦ ♦ ♦Enter the Cover Reveal Giveaway HERE!♦ ♦ ♦With Jill’s books, you can count on confident heroines, plenty of steamy tension, and deliciously assertive leading men. There are no guarantees in life, but with her books, you know everything will work out in the end. However, a perfect ending would not be nearly as satisfying without a seemingly insurmountable challenge. Jill loves to add plenty of adversity in her stories, creating unforgettably dynamic characters and sneaky plot twists you will never see coming. Jill is a Texan, born and raised. She manages the hectic social calendars for her three active children and occasionally spends an evening with her dashing husband. Aside from being an author and a mom, she's a travel junkie and loves to read when she is not lost in her own stories. ♦ ♦ ♦♦ ♦ ♦
Title: Once a Rake, Always a Rogue
Series: Potions and Passions #3
Author: Catherine Stein
Genre: Romance/Historical/Steampunk
Release Date: March 23, 2020
Cover Design: Impluvium Studio
Dr. Ernest Montford has left behind his rakish youth for a respectable life mixing medicinal potions and helping patients. So when his best friend's sister is threatened with incarceration in an asylum, he rushes to help. But Lady Astrid Wembley isn't keen to heed Monte's medical advice. Worse, she's part of his wild past: the mysterious girl he could never forget.
But the woman he can’t forget…
Astrid has fond memories of her long-ago passionate encounter on the beach. Unfortunately, the Monte who kissed her so thoroughly that day shows little resemblance to the stuffy, abstemious doctor with absurd health advice. Still, she has little choice but to put up with him until her sanity is proven and she can return to her life of scientific study.
Might be his undoing.
Dangerous potions and unethical experiments await Astrid if she fails, and only with Monte's help can she expose the true horrors of the asylum and thwart the plans of the men controlling it. But the longer Astrid and Monte are together, the more their old passion sparks, and the more she longs to unleash the rogue that still lurks inside him.
Monte swiveled just in time to see a woman step through the doorway—a dark-haired, curvaceous, and far-too-familiar woman.
“Oh, fuck,” he blurted. By some miracle, his profanity was lost beneath Cal’s introductions. “Astrid, please allow me to present my dear friend, Dr. Ernest Montford. Monte, this is my sister, Lady Astrid Wembley.” Monte was dead. Deceased. Bereft of life. Cal was going to drag him into the well-trimmed gardens and beat him senseless with the rocks Lady Astrid was so fond of. He would be left for the ravens to pick at. Then the young lady would be sent to the asylum and Cal would return to kill him once again for his failure to help. Maybe he was dead already. This certainly felt like hell. Why now, of all times, must he reap the reward of his misspent youth? It put not only his friendship at risk, but her future as well. He had envisioned finding her in a hundred different ways, but never had he even considered something like this. This was the price, it seemed, for attempting to seduce an innocent young lady. It’s been seven years, he told himself. Perhaps she doesn’t remember you. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance at last, Dr. Montford,” Lady Astrid greeted him, eyes sparkling. Her plump, pink lips grinned up at him. “It feels as though we ought to have met years ago.” So much for that hope. She not only remembered, but she was taunting him. Her piercing gaze caressed him head to toe, just as it had that day on the beach, sending a rush of arousal straight to his cock. Damn. Thank God long coats were in fashion. “Yes,” he replied idiotically. His memory was faulty, it seemed, because she was vastly more beautiful than he recalled. Or perhaps she had simply fully grown into her womanhood. Her face transfixed him, so round and cheery, with clear, wide eyes. Her shapely little nose sported a small silver ring in the left nostril that he found curiously appealing. And those lips. Lush, kissable lips. Monte remembered the taste of those lips. Crisp, tart, with a deep, subtle sweetness. As perfect as a fruit plucked at the peak of ripeness. He had to wrench his gaze from her mouth, but only made the situation worse by allowing himself to examine the rest of her body. Someone had forced her sumptuous figure into a rigid, conservative day dress of the type worn by any number of respectable ladies. It did nothing to flatter her, though it couldn’t disguise her generous bosom. Monte would much rather have seen her in peasant dress. “I understood you to be a dissolute rake,” she said, “but Cal tells me you have become quite respectable and boring.” Lord, but she was impertinent. Her sass made words like “delightful” and “refreshing” spring to mind. Why did he like that about her? He oughtn’t like that. He glanced over at Cal, because looking anywhere in the vicinity of Lady Astrid caused nothing but rakish thoughts. Monte steadied himself with a deep breath and addressed the lady, determined to proceed in a calm and civilized fashion. “Er, yes. I admit to a certain foolishness in my youth, but I believe any man can reform himself should he make the effort. I do my best to live by moderate and healthful habits.” “How interesting.” Her flat tone implied he was the dullest man she’d ever met, but her eyes had lost none of their sparkle. Tantalizing, teasing woman. He wanted to push her up against the wall and smother her taunts with kisses. His disobedient body took a step toward her. Hell. He needed to escape before the situation got any more out of hand. Before he did something unforgivable. Before Cal began to suspect he already had done. “You must excuse me, but I need to check that my trunks have been delivered and get settled in. We needn’t conduct any interviews or the like until tomorrow.” “Interviews?” He gazed into her eyes, narrowed in puzzlement but deep with curiosity. Sharp, intelligent eyes. Studying him like a specimen in her collection. “I must conduct and record proper medical examinations if we are to prove you to be of sound mind and body.” “Ah. So that is how you are to ‘help.’” “You disapprove?” “I’d hoped for something more like advice. Ideally better advice than, ‘act normal.’” She cast an irritable look at her brother. “I will do my best to offer what professional wisdom I possess. Please excuse me. I will see you at tea.” Assuming he could get himself under control by tea time. Act normal. Would that he were able.
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Award-winning author Catherine Stein believes that everyone deserves love and that Happily Ever After has the power to help, to heal, and to comfort. She writes sassy, sexy romance set during the Victorian and Edwardian. Her books are full of action, adventure, magic, and fantastic technologies.
Catherine lives in Michigan with her husband and three rambunctious girls. She loves steampunk and Oxford commas, and can often be found dressed in Renaissance Festival clothing, drinking copious amounts of tea.
Today we have the blog tour for A SIMPLE WEDDING by Leigh Duncan! Check it out and be sure to grab your copy today!
Title: A Simple WeddingAuthor: Leigh DuncanGenre: Sweet RomanceAbout A Simple Wedding:Fall in love with Heart’s Landing,
a romantic wedding destination,
in the first book of a Hallmark series.
Jenny always dreamed of getting married at Heart’s Landing. But when she finally visits the charming small town, she’s there to make wedding arrangements for someone else: her cousin, who also happens to be her boss and a famous movie star. Her cousin wants a simple wedding, not a media circus. To keep the event top-secret, she’s talked her assistant Jenny into pretending she’s the one getting married. Nick, a baker and lifelong resident of Heart’s Landing, is intrigued by this bride-to-be who starts visiting his bakery for sweet treats and conversation. It seems strange that her fiancé isn’t at least little involved with the wedding plans. As Jenny tries to keep up with her fickle cousin’s ever-changing demands—which exasperate the florist, the caterer, and several other vendors—she tries to hide her attraction to Nick. Meanwhile, the people in town talk Nick into trying to distract Jenny with a sightseeing tour in order to keep her from changing her mind again. The more time Nick spends with Jenny, the harder it becomes to remind himself that she’s already spoken for. Planning this wedding couldn’t be more complicated…and what will happen once the truth comes to light?
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“No buts. If you need to adjust the plans, just do it.” He managed to angle his body away from hers, a move that back- fired when he ended up facing her. Staring down at Jenny’s pert features, he cleared his throat. “Why waste the energy fighting it? If you know it’s something you’re going to end up doing anyway, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and heartache if you just tackle it head on.”
Jenny’s dark eyes brightened. “That’s exactly what I need- ed to hear. Thanks, Nick.” “Now, how can I help?” She reached out. Her fingers barely made contact with his arm, but her touch sent tingles of awareness coursing through him. He tried telling himself that his was nothing more than the usual reaction of a man in the presence of a pretty woman, but he knew there was more to it than that. He was dangerously close to crossing a line with Jenny, something he absolutely wouldn’t do. Not even if she wanted him to. “Well.” Jenny tilted her head and issued a challenge. “I need a bigger cake.” “No problem.” He could easily add another layer to her wedding cake, maybe even two. But something in Jenny’s expression triggered a flicker of doubt. Had he just commit- ted to more than he could deliver? Not exactly sure he was going to like her answer, he ventured a tentative, “How much bigger?” Her gaze cut to one side. “Enough to serve two hundred and fifty guests.” “Whooo.” Air whistled through his teeth. That was a lot more cake. “I’ve been having second thoughts about the flavor, too.” “Okay,” he said bracing himself. He’d known about Jenny’s soft spot for chocolate since the day they met. But to craft a cake in her favorite flavor for that many people would require extra work. He’d need to dowels to support each layer of the dense, heavy... “Almond,” she said firmly. Not chocolate? He frowned, recalling how her nose had scrunched up during the tasting. She didn’t even like almond. “And it needs more, uh.” “More what?” he asked, growing more perplexed by the moment. “It needs more pizzazz.” He took a breath. Of all the brides he’d worked with over the years, he would have sworn Jenny was the least likely to want a lavishly decorated cake. But maybe he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. “I could pipe the icing to match the pattern of your dress,” he suggested, certain she’d consider the idea too ornate. “And add a cascade of rose-gold flowers down one side.” A happy smile teased Jenny’s lips. “Yes. That’s it. Exactly.” Nick folded his arms across his chest. They said no good deed went unpunished. He should have known offering ad- vice to a bride-to-be would come back to haunt him. This larger, fancier cake would take the better part of a week to create. Worse, just when he’d sworn he’d keep his distance from Jenny, he’d have to work closely with her on a whole new design. “I’ll get on it first thing in the morning,” he promised on his way to the stairs. “I’ll stop by in the afternoon so we can go over the par- ticulars. Save me a cupcake?” Though he automatically agreed, he shook his head as he headed for the van. His determination to keep his distance from Jenny had lasted less than two minutes before she’d melted it, just like she’d melted his heart.
About the Author:
Leigh Duncan, an Amazon bestselling author and a National Readers’ Choice Award winner, has written over two dozen novels, novellas and short stories, including A Simple Wedding, A Country Wedding, and Journey Back to Christmas for Hallmark Publishing, the Glades County Cowboys series for Harlequin, and her own Orange Blossom series. Leigh lives on Central Florida's East Coast where she writes complex, heartwarming, and emotional stories with a dash of Southern sass.
Connect with Leigh:
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Today we have the blog tour for TEMPTING TALK by Sara Whitney! Check it out and grab your copy today!
Title: TEMPTING TALKAuthor: Sara WhitneyGenre: Contemporary RomanceAbout Tempting Talk:Deejay Mabel Bowen rocks the morning airwaves, but once she signs off, she’s happy going home alone; a long-ago humiliation taught her that women in the public eye should be cautious about dating. Then she meets the Clark Kent-ish accountant overseeing the sale of her radio station and starts wondering if she should break her own “girl, don’t date him” rules. Since he was teenager, Jake Carey has worked to lift his family out of poverty, and he’s now on the verge of a promotion that’ll secure their financial future. Why, then, is he so quick to set aside his spreadsheets whenever the gorgeous morning show host is around? After years of using work as an excuse to avoid searching for emotional connections, he’s now jumping at every chance to spend time with Mabel and her maple syrup voice. Despite their initial reservations, Mabel and Jake move from conversations over coffee to flirty office lunches to a night out that obliterates all their previously drawn lines. Then a professional betrayal sends Mabel fleeing back to the safety of her single-girl rules. But Jake isn't ready to give up on this once-in-a-lifetime love and sets out to balance their work/life books. Can he convince Mabel to turn up the volume on their future, or will she decide that the numbers don’t add up? Tempting Talk, a 2019 RWA© Golden Heart© award finalist, is book 3 in Sara Whitney's funny, feisty contemporary romance series, Tempt Me. Turn on your favorite playlist and get reading!
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When they signed off for the day, Mabel and Dave exchanged deejay fives—air slaps that didn’t require lazy radio hosts to get out of their chairs and actually smack palms—and then they both jumped when a knock on the big studio window startled them. It was the new station owner, Brandon, grinning like a kid tapping away at fish in an aquarium. He gestured for them to step into the greenroom.
“Shall we?” Dave asked. She lifted her chin. “No other option. They’re between us and the exit.” But her heart pounded harder than it should have as she stepped through the door Dave held open. “Dave and Mabel, this is Jake Carey.” Brandon turned and gestured to the man standing next to him. “He’s the accountant here to sort out the books.” Jake’s assessing gaze landed on her, and blood rushed to Mabel’s cheeks at his bold stare, but no way was she backing down. She lifted her chin and studied him right back. Tall. Thick black hair. Strong square jaw. Suit that cost more than her car. Muscular body filling out that suit with— Nope. Her brain was galloping away from her toward an entirely off-limits target. She swallowed the excess saliva suddenly pooling in her mouth and forced her eyes away from what was clearly Superman in his Clark Kent persona. “Would you two have a seat?” Brandon pointed at the greenroom couch like a king commanding his subjects. “I’d love to talk a little bit about what you see for your future here at WNCB.” Although the battered couch was comfortable enough for a deejay who needed a quick nap between shifts, it was also covered in a number of suspicious stains and tended to sag toward the middle. When she and Dave settled in, they ended up shoulder to shoulder and sitting much lower than Brandon, who stood in the middle of the room to address the peasants, while Jake leaned against the greenroom desk. Its uneven legs wobbled under his weight, but he just shifted to accommodate the instability, the navy suit fabric stretching taut over his thighs. Wishing she could be so unflappable in the face of uncooperative furniture, Mabel surreptitiously tugged the hem of her skirt as close to her knees as she could get it and fought the urge to fluff the headphone divot out of her hair. “Congratulations on having the second-most popular morning show in this market!” Brandon boomed once they were settled. “You two are a big reason that Lowell Consolidated purchased your station.” Mabel studied Brandon as he spoke, wondering why he didn’t leave her as flustered as his partner. He was handsome enough with blue eyes and sharp, clean features. But her gaze slid over to Clark Kent three feet away from him to confirm that yep, Brandon came across as a lesser specimen of manhood. A little less imposing, a little less handsome. A little… less. Meanwhile, Jake had assumed enough control over the rickety desk to cross one ankle over the other, looking artfully posed and a little bored. It wasn’t like her to let broad shoulders and thick, shiny hair distract her. Ditto that long stretch of neck running from Jake’s jaw down to his crisp white shirt collar. That was definitely not worth a second glance. And— And oh God, Brandon had been talking this whole time.
Catch up on the Series:
Tempting Heat (Tempt Me Book 1)
Amazon | Apple | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Google Play | Universal Link
Tempting Taste (Tempt Me Book 2)
Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Google Play | Apple | Universal Link
About Sara:Sara Whitney writes sassy, sexy contemporary romance novels packed with wit, heat, and heart. A 2019 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award finalist, Sara worked as a newspaper reporter and film critic before she earned her Ph.D. and landed in academia. She’s a good pinball player, a so-so karaoke singer, and an expert TV opinion-haver. In a funny twist of fate, Sara’s married to a divorce attorney, and she likes to think that her happily-ever-afters help keep their household in balance. She and her husband live in the Midwest surrounded by books, cats, and half-empty coffee cups. Keep up with Sara by subscribing to her mailing list here.
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Title: Take Me Back
Series: Hidden Cove Firefighters
Author: Kathryn Shay
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 23, 2020
Six years ago, Kate Cassidy broke Rafe Casella’s heart by abandoning him a few months before their wedding. Now she’s in town with the gut-wrenching news that she had his baby, in secret, and she wants Rafe back. She has to be kidding!
But Kate is deadly serious. She made the worst mistake of her life when she left Hidden Cove and she’s determined to fix it. She plans to reinstate herself in the fire department and raise her son in a loving family—one that includes his father.
A rollercoaster of emotion, devastating fires, a stalker targeting Kate and a sizzling attraction that never diminished, set the two of them on an irrevocable course to reunion. That is if they can all stay alive.
If you liked the face-paced events, breathtaking tenderness, uplifting messages of forgiveness, as well as on-the-edge-of-your-seat fire scenes, all characteristic of the Hidden Cove Fire Department Series, then you’ll love New York Times bestselling author Kathryn Shay’s ninth installment.
Don’t miss books 1-8 in the beloved Hidden Cove Firefighter series: AFTER THE FIRE, ON THE LINE, NOTHING MORE TO LOSE, AMERICA’S BRAVEST, IT HAD TO BE YOU, CHASING THE FIRE, THE FIRE INSIDE and A BURNING PASSION.
“What the hell are you doing here?” “Hello, Rafe.” Kate Cassidy’s voice was still husky; she used to turn him on with just its sound. He couldn’t swallow, as if cotton was stuck in his throat. He gripped the door handle. Finally, he was able to reiterate, “What do you want, Kate?” She straitened her shoulders. It was longer, now. “I came to explain some things.” After six years, she wanted to explain some things! “From where? I don’t even know where you ran to.” “Not far. Upstate.” Ludicrously, because she’d almost left him at the altar and he should be cursing her, he asked, “Did you get a job as a firefighter?” “No. Long story why.” She’d let her hair grow some, and light brown waves fell around her face past down her back. She’d also put on some weight, but there was still that same sadness in her eyes that she always carried with her. He shrugged away the observation. “Well, whatever you want with me, I don’t want to hear it.” “I want you back, Rafe.” An ugly laugh escaped him. “You gotta be kidding me?” “I’m not.” She reached out and grasped his arm. “It's true. I still love you.” As if he’d been burned, he viciously shook her off. “No.” Stepping back, he closed the door in her face, but stood there staring at it. In a few minutes, the bell rang again. He couldn’t stop himself from opening the door again. This time, she wasn’t alone. She held a little boy by the hand. It was a punch in gut. He tore his gaze away and the words just blurted out. “He should have been mine.” Kate held his gaze. “Look at him, Rafe.” He did. And noticed some things. The boy was probably about five. His hair was a bit curly, dark brown, with dark eyes. The curve of his mouth seemed familiar. And he stuck his hands in his pockets like…oh, my God, like Rafe always did. Realization slammed into him. “Oh, my God?” Kate said, “Go back in the car, honey.” “But you said—” “Just for a bit. Mommy has some private things to talk to about, then you can see him again.” When the boy trudged out of sight, she raised her chin. “He’s your son.” “You said when you left if you ever had a baby, you didn’t want two first responders as parents. That you couldn’t bear to have him end up alone like you did and risk him having a childhood like yours.” “I meant every word.” Again, he moved await because he didn’t want to grab her in anger. “You left out one little fact back then. That you were already pregnant.” “You wouldn’t have let me go if you knew.” “You’re right I wouldn’t.” His voice came out gruff. “I would have insisted we go through with the wedding. I’d have forced us to go to counseling, for as long as it took. Damn you, Kate, I would have protected you!” The last came out loud. The boy came running over. He must not have gotten into the car. “Mommy, why’s he yelling?” Immediately, Rafe squatted. “I shouldn’t have. It’s wrong to shout at people. I’m sorry.” He smiled. “What’s your name?” “Tomaso Rafael Casella.” He held her gaze. “After my father?” “Yes, and you.” Holding onto his mother’s legs, Tommy asked, “Are you my daddy?” “Did your mother say I was?” “Un-huh, after my other dad, Connor, died.” He took in a breath. “You married someone else?” “I’ll explain if you let us inside.” “Come on, Tommy.” He stood and led them inside. At the exact moment when two little guys rumbled down the stairs which led to the foyer. “We’re ready to go outside.” “Oh, dear Lord, you already have two boys. Mitch and Megan said you weren’t married. But…” She frowned. “I don’t understand.” “Let’s go to the back and I’ll explain.” They by-passed a big living room to the right and entered the kitchen. Kate had loved this old Victorian that he’d bought when he was twenty and fixed up the three lives. She stood behind a chair, frowning, as he addressed the kids. “Tommy, this is Mike and Mattie. I’d like you guys go in the family room to watch that movie you two wanted to see?” The boys scurried away. Tommy hesitated. Until one turned back. “Come on, Tommy, we got a great movie.” So, he went with them. It took excruciatingly long to get the boys settled in front of the TV. “We’ll talk at the table where we can see them.” The kitchen overlooked the family room. When Rafe served her mug, she’d blanked her face. “I have only one thing to say to you, Kate. Any future with me is impossible.” # Sweat soaked the shirt of Rafe’s uniform inside his turnout coat as he crawled along the duplex’s first floor. Burning timbers fell on each side of him and his group that followed. “Everybody okay?” His squad checked in. Brick said, “It’s hotter than hell in here, Cap.” Firefighters suffered some ill effects of the protective gear. It slowed them down and made movement harder. Which increased heat fatigue. “Yeah. You okay?” “Uh-huh.” “Sounds like you’re having trouble breathing.” The physiological effects of higher heart rate and higher core temperature restricted breathing. “The heat’s gettin’ to me.” “Me, too,” Lorelei Lane put in. “There’s the stairs,” Rafe told them after seeing a brief outline of them through the thermal camera. “I’ll take Brick and Lorelei with me.” Which wouldn’t incur as much exertion as climbing. “The rest of you check upstairs. Lieutenant, you’re in charge.” Bronson said, “Yes, sir.” Laborious minutes later, even for Rafe, they reached their destination, the first-floor bedroom in the back. “There’s not time to quiz you, Lane. Let’s just get to the beds.” In here, too, black smoke curled around them like fog as they continued their creep, feeling their way along the floor. Rafe, first in line, put his hands on one side of the bed. “A body.” Brick had gone to the opposite side. “Another one here.” “Can you get him alone?” “Does a bear shit in the woods?” His friend sounded offended. Rafe would chide him afterward. Rafe grunted as he picked up the woman. She was slight and he considered letting Lane carry her out but just then a bad feeling seized him. And he trusted his gut. “Follow me out, Brick. Lane, you take up the rear.” Crashing timbers and the sound of water slapping the flames had gotten louder back here. Rafe coughed. Conditions were worsening. They’d just reached the exit from the bedroom, when they heard five repeated short blasts of a horn above the cacophony. Into the radio, BC Peter Baker barked, “Evacuate now. Evacuate immediately.” “Everybody hear?” Rafe asked on their internal channel. He forced himself to stay calm. Bronson, Ruggero and Sullivan checked in with yeses. “We’re on our way down. No one up here.” “We need to move faster,” he called behind him. The acrid scents of burning wood had kicked up. He walked as fast as possible with the woman over his shoulder. They’d almost reached the exit when Lorelei shrieked, “Oh, my God, Cap, Brick just went down.” “Went down to his knees?” “No, he collapsed forward.” Rafe sounded his mayday alarm. A high-pitched screeching rent the air. In seconds, Beth relieved Rafe of the woman, and Murray scooped up the victim who’d gone forward with Brick. Rafe, his heart beating fast, snapped out, “I’ll get Brick under the arms. Ruggero take his legs.” It seemed to take forever before they got outside. Not only was Brick heavy but they were experiencing fatigue, now, too. “Get away from the house, quick Rafe,” Baker shouted as they carried their brother to safety. They were 30 feet away when the duplex exploded.
A NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author, Kathryn Shay has been a lifelong writer and teacher. She has written dozens of self-published original romance titles, print books with the Berkley Publishing Group and Harlequin Enterprises and mainstream women’s fiction with Bold Strokes Books. She has won many awards for her work: five RT Book Reviews awards, the Bookseller’s Best Award, Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year and several “Starred Reviews.” One of her firefighter books hit #20 on the NEW YORK TIMES list. Her novels have been serialized in COSMOPOLITAN magazine and featured in USA TODAY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and PEOPLE magazine. There are over ten million copies of her books in print and downloaded online. Reviewers have called her work “emotional and heart-wrenching.”
Phoenix
-- EXCERPT: After taking a quick second to review my new patient’s file, I stepped into my office—and stopped dead in my tracks. The dark silhouette faced the window, sitting in my chair. His back was to me, his feet kicked up on the windowsill as if he owned the place. The first thing I noticed was the size of his feet, two dirty cowboy boots crossed at the ankles, a trail of mud running down the wall. I literally cringed. He had brown, shaggy hair that looked like it hadn’t seen a pair of scissors in months, and a neck as thick as a tree trunk. A tattoo peeked out of the collar of a black leather jacket stretched over the widest shoulders I’d ever seen. Although he had to have heard the door open, the man didn’t move. Yep, my new patient, whom I’d never met, had made himself right at home behind my desk in my office chair. Had he gone through my stuff? Pilfered through my space? My mind began spinning with all the confidential information he could have read on my desk. Totally unacceptable, and totally inappropriate. Little did I know what kind of inappropriate this man had in store for me. “Thanks for showing up.” The faceless voice was jarringly low. The man was pissed. At me. “Excuse me?” He kicked his boots off the window, plopping them onto the floor with a thud, leaving enough mud to fill the Grand Canyon. Another cringe. “You’re late,” he said, still not gracing me with the front part of his body. I blinked. No way. This was not happening. Who did this guy think he was? I bit the inside of my cheek and squared my shoulders. Professional, professional, you need this job, be professional, I reminded myself. “I apologize, Mr…” I glanced at the name typed on the file in my hands. “Steele.” “Phoenix.” The chair swiveled and a flutter of butterflies rippled through me. And I thought the voice was jarring… His eyes were the color of a tropical ocean, a baby blue, almost iridescent, if not for the heat that spilled from them. The lines of his face were sharp with defined angles, a mirror to the disinterest he wore like a beacon, blinking brightly, making sure I knew he didn’t care to be there. Days of unkempt scruff covered his clenched jaw line, pulling my attention to a pair of lips that had me licking my own. Circles shaded his puffy eyes with wrinkles at the edges suggesting he was a good decade older than me, possibly pushing forty. A grey T-shirt fit snuggly under that leather jacket, defining a pair of pecs I could only assume were as hard as the expression he was pinning me with. I felt my weight to my tiptoes, like a magnet being pulled, assessing him with a frowned expression that I knew was giving me away. Because under all that weather-beaten, overtly masculine appearance, narrowed eyes, and locked jaw, there was a strikingly handsome man. Hidden, almost as if on purpose. I’d never seen an aura before, but the man vibrated the air around him in a hostile, dark cloud like an animal warning of its presence. I could actually feel him in my office. A Mighty King. Fallen.
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