Successful landscape architect Dean Jackson is like a son to Bella's parents. But he's a persistent annoyance to her—he seems to have forgotten his unforgivable blunder thirteen years earlier.
When Bella transforms her parents' gift shop into a cookie cottage, Dean's generosity and magnetic smile are hard to resist, and those feelings of unrequited adolescent love come rushing back. But can Bella let go of the past and accept Dean for the man he is today?
There came that half-teasing, half-serious smile. To avoid it, she started pulling Christmas balls hung on red-and-green silk ribbons from the large box she’d brought out.
“I can help you hang those in the window. I hid the hooks above the molding last year so we don’t have to remove them every year.”
“Clever.” Her sarcastic tone couldn’t be mistaken.
“We’ll need a ladder,” he determined. “I’ll get it from the back, then you can hand me the balls, and I’ll attach them.”
She slitted her eyes at him. “I want to hang the balls. You can do something else.”
“Fine. But it takes two for this job. You don’t want to be going up and down the ladder each time you hang a ball. It’s inefficient.”
He had a point. She’d have to bury her reluctance to work with him at the risk of coming up with some other childish excuse.
Once Dean brought the ladder to the window, she climbed up three steps and took the first ball from him. Not a well-thought-out plan since her butt was now at his eye level.
“Can you stand over here, please?” She pointed to the other side of the ladder.
“It’s better if I stand behind you, to spot you. In case you lose your balance.” His grin emerged, and she gritted her teeth to prevent a growl.
Her novel, “Unchained Memories,” won the Wisconsin Romance Writers Write Touch Readers’ Award and the ACRA Readers’ Choice Heart of Excellence Award. “Sworn to Forget,” the first of the four-book Sworn Sisters Series was a finalist for the illustrious RONE award as well as the Book Buyers Best Award. Her novellas, “The Blueberry Swirl Waltz” and “A Song For Another Day” each came in first in their category in the National Excellence in Story Telling contest.
Buoyed by advice and solace from her lifelong girlfriends, known as the Sworn Sisters, Sam gains insight into how her complicated teen years set her on her workaholic path—a path which destroyed her marriage and her spirit.
Although not looking for male distraction, she finds one in local lawyer, Michael McCain. Having spurned his high-powered job in the city, he knows the importance of leading a balanced life. Their time together is magical. But it comes to an abrupt end when Sam goes back to her job in NYC and achieves partnership. Yet, happiness is missing. Will Sam finally recognize that life is about balance, compromise, and love?
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Sounds like a very good book
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteNice excerpt! Sounds like a fun book. Pretty cover.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sue. I love the cover (thanks to Diana Carlile, the cover artist). It was definitely a fun book to write. And red velvet crinkles, which I had never made before, are delicious.
DeleteI enjoyed reading the excerpt, Maria and Red Velvet Crinkles and Christmas Sprinkles sounds like an excellent holiday read for me! I love the cover! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a great day!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Stormy. It has some funny scenes in it, which I loved writing. I hope you get a chance to read it.
DeleteThanks for hosting me and for mentioning the free prequel to Sworn to Remember for signing up for my newsletter.
ReplyDelete