Join the authors at #MFRWHooks here http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com for some great excerpts Mine is a medical romance about a modern marriage of convenience
BLURB;
” This is medieval.” That’s Carrie’s response to the reading of her grandfather’s will. The money will allow her to provide for her ill mother and give her the chance to give up one of her full time jobs as a nurse. The money won’t be hers until she marries. This creates a dilemma. She has no time for dating and doesn’t know who would marry her until she thinks of her former best friend, Tony. But can she ask him? Two months later time is running out and she decides to take the plunge.
Three years ago, Tony and his wife divorced. Last year he obtained custody or their child. When Carrie asks him to marry her he decides since this won’t be a real marriage, he can accept. Years ago, he loved Carrie but never said anything to her. Now burned, he doesn’t believe in love. To help her uncomplicate her life he agrees.
Can Tony and Carrie get past the reason for the marriage and find love and make a home for his son?
EXCERPT:
She slowed the car to a crawl. Waves of
panic lashed against her momentary calm. The place in her head where she’d
filed his address was empty. She braked. The paper with the directions
fluttered from the dashboard. She bent and grabbed them.
One glance was enough to retrieve the
forgotten data. She eased off the brake and cruised the street. Half the houses
had missing numbers. What now? Then at
the foot of the dead end street, she saw the ones she’d memorized displayed in
shiny brass on a massive gray house that looked like the setting for a Gothic
novel.
A broad lawn fronted the house. The
tailored grass stood in contrast to the tangles on either side.
“This is the place.” She gulped a breath.
After parking at the curb, she slowly
released a held breath. She strode up the walk and onto the wide porch. Muffled
shouts and noises came from inside the house. She rang the bell. What sounded
like a slammed door nearly sent her back to the car. Who was staging a major
temper tantrum? She thought Tony lived
alone.
She rang the bell again, this time holding
for several peals. The door opened and she forgot why she’d come. She forgot to
breathe. Her eyes widened and her heart pounded in a staccato rhythm until she
thought her ribs would crack.
He was more than she remembered.
Are you sure you want to be here?
“Tony.” His name escaped on a sigh. She
felt like a teenager come face to face with the latest movie hero. This was the
man she planned to ask…She changed her mind. Time to retreat. The plan wouldn’t
work, not with the things he made her feel and what he made her want.
“Carrie...Oh lord, it’s been ages. What
are you doing here? You look terrific.”
She did?
He must be blind. Even her coworkers had made comments about the deep
smudges beneath her eyes. Most days, she felt as though she was suffering from
terminal exhaustion.
“Come in.” He took her hand.
Exhaustion vanished. He’d always made her
feet great, but this instant tonic-effect startled her. Coming to see him had
grown corners she couldn’t see around.
“I can’t believe you’re here.” He drew her
inside. “What brings you to town?”
She wanted to tell him, but the words
caught in her throat. “Would you believe I was in the neighborhood?
Tony laughed. “No.”
She inhaled and the spicy scent of him
invaded her space. “I came...” She couldn’t finish the sentence. He’d been her
hero, her prince, her fantasy lover. In the flesh, he relegated those images to
black and white.
“I bet you came to apply for the nursing
position at the clinic.” He steered her down a hall that needed paint into a
large living room. “Did you get lost on the way there? Unfortunately, I’m not the one you need to
see.”
She shook her head. “Another job is the
last thing I need. I already have two.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “Necessity.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s a long story.” She sighed. “I
shouldn’t have come.”
“What’s wrong? Sounds like you need a shoulder.”
The entire body, she thought. “You could
say...It’s like this...I have a problem that needs a solution...It’s sort of...”
Her throat closed. Maybe she should leave. Go home. Forget the plan. Find a new
one. Except, he was her first, last and only choice.
My Places
Buy Mark
Sounds great. Enjoyed the excerpt. :)
ReplyDeleteQuite a problem! This excerpt does her situation justice. I can only imagine his reaction!
ReplyDeleteOh boy talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Great excerpt. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat job showing her ambivalent feelings. You've cross pollinated 'Friends to Lovers' with 'Fake Relationship'. That's a potent combination!
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt. You've shown her inner conflict quite well.
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm replying so late my a little bit busy Wednesday suddenly went crazy busy.
Sounds like a super-fun read! Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteKari
This is beautifully written. I love the description of the house!
ReplyDeleteI would not make a fun romance heroine. I would just find a gay dude friend to marry, pay him a cut of the inheritance, and amicably divorce him in a few years.
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