Welcome to everyone visiting from The Romance Reviews Sizzling Summer Reads party!
Here's a little excerpt from my latest release, Bad Ex Karma, where the heroine, Delia, seems to think she's cursed, since the men she dates end up with a concussion or a trip to the ER. This is her first meeting with Jonathan, a man who definitely intrigues her:
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While Brooke and Carly gleefully plotted out my dating future, I spent the morning doing some grocery shopping. Which is not a hardship, since I have always loved the area farm stands and farmers' markets, with the endless varieties of fresh lettuce, and the field-grown tomatoes, and—
Wow. The local hotties.
I tried to make my head swivel back towards the carrots and eggplant in front of me, but I couldn't quit looking at the sexy man inspecting some fresh herbs across the aisle.
He was about six feet tall, with dark curls peeking out from under his Red Sox cap. The snug white T-shirt and form-fitting faded jeans revealed a nice muscular frame, but not like he was trying to show it off, merely being comfortable.
The most intriguing thing about him, though, was the blissful expression on his face when he lifted a bunch of cilantro to his nose.
He actually closed his eyes and smiled. I couldn't help but smile too.
If my self-confidence had completed its stint in rehab, I might have walked over to share the delightful experience with him. But it hadn't, so I didn't.
He opened his eyes, and caught me staring. I tried to look away, but for some reason couldn't do it. Maybe it was his adorably sheepish expression.
"I love cilantro," he said.
"I can tell." I wished I had something flirtatious to add, like Brooke would have if she were in my place. I just smiled, hoping it would be enough to keep things going a little longer.
Not that it mattered. His cell phone rang, breaking the small connection we'd shared. He headed toward the back of the farm stand, frowning as he talked to whoever had called him.
I shook my head. What was I even here for in the first place? I glanced down at the shopping list crumpled in my hand. Right. Salad things.
I grabbed a massive head of red-leaf lettuce that looked like it had been part of a mad scientist's experiment. I also picked up a basket of cherry tomatoes, and since a cucumber sounded good, I snagged that too.
I vowed to actually use them before they turned into unintentional gazpacho in the crisper at home.
I pushed my shopping basket around the corner, stopping in front of the display of herbs. The licorice scent of basil was tempting, as was the pungent dill. Instead, I reached for the cilantro, debating whether I needed it.
I didn't cook all that often, so if I didn't actually use it in a meal, it would freshen up the fridge in a big way.
All of a sudden I could smell the most delicious scent, even better than fresh-baked bread or newly-minted money. I turned, and the source of that intoxicating aroma was standing next to me. He was even cuter up close.
"Here," he said, taking the cilantro bunch from my hand. He extracted a different one from the table and gave it to me. "This one's better. Fresher."
"Okay," I answered, breathless. Why couldn't I think of something else to say? I would have slapped my palm against my forehead to dislodge something clever, but I didn't want him to start walking backwards, his hands in the air while he waited for Security to surround me with their guns drawn.
Had this curse made me stupid on top of everything else? That was just cruel.
He leaned forward to peek into my shopping basket. "What are you making?"
"Nothing short of a miracle," I said. "Or something for the garbage man to haul away next week. I haven't decided yet."
He burst out laughing. "Well, either way, you've got a great start here." He darted around the corner, giving me a great view of his awesome backside. "This will be a great addition." He came back, the most perfect lime sitting in the middle of his palm.
I plucked the fruit from his outstretched hand. What else was I going to do? He'd gone to so much trouble to find it for me. Still, I couldn't help but sympathize with Eve, who had also been tempted with fruit despite her best intentions.
"Do you get a commission here or something?"
He shook his head, setting those gorgeous curls to dancing. His eyes sparkled, causing me to feel incredibly lightheaded. Maybe my blood sugar was low. I couldn't chomp into the lime though, not without ending up with a puckery expression.
"I know a few things about food," he said. "And I like to share it."
"That's actually something I prefer to leave to the professionals. I'm better with wine. Unfortunately you can't have it at every meal."
"That's a shame, isn't it?" He bit his lip, to keep his smile at bay, and then he glanced up at me, as if trying to decide whether to say something. "Ouch. I think I bit my tongue."
All at once I remembered how toxic I was. I had to step back before the Bad Ex Karma swept up this bundle of hotness and thrashed him repeatedly against the cement floor to prove its point to me.
"I've got to go," I said, dashing towards the cashier. "Thanks for the tips on cilantro."
He probably thought I didn't like tongue-biters. And maybe I didn't. I didn't have a chance to find out. It was way more important that I leave before he got hurt. Not that I could explain that to him without sounding even wackier. I turned my head, slightly, to see if he was rashly heading my direction. . .or if he was bleeding out on the floor, a bundle of cilantro to his lip to staunch the blood flow.
To my relief, he wasn't on the floor. In fact, he wasn't anywhere. I breathed out a huge sigh, and started tossing produce onto the cashier's stand like I was bowling with veggies.
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Bad Ex Karma is available for just 99 cents, for a limited time!
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