Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Wednesday Seducing the Baker #MFRWHooks #BWLAuthor #Contemporary romance #Baker

Seducing the Baker (At First Sight Book 6)

The authors at #MFRWHooks found here  http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com Are posting some great excerpts. Mine is the sixth in the Seduction Series She was the only girl who said no

Blurb:
She was the only girl to turn him down. What will happen when business and a wedding bring them together again.

Jules Grayson was a player as a teen and that hasn’t changed. Business and a friend’s wedding join to bring him to the place where his life had imploded and where his trust issues began. A Ponzi scheme and a suicide forced him into a group home he hated. For ten years he has avoided returning.

Grace Sutton is faced with a dilemma added to by the appearance of Jules in her Sweet and Spicy Cupcake bakery. Years ago she turned Jules down but she had a crush. His appearance erodes the vow she made years ago. Men had used her mother and led the woman into drugs and alcohol. Grace vowed to forego relationships with men until she could support herself. Though the bakery is making money, she doesn’t feel secure. When Jules arrives with a contract for a magazine feature, she is conflicted and attracted.



Excerpt:
A frown creased Grace’s forehead. Did she know this man? Something resonated in her memories but no name bobbed to the surface. He resembled the faceless man of her fantasies. The hair, short and styles instead of long and shaggy. Was he someone she’d seen on TV, except she watched cooking shows, not sports, prime time or movies?
“How did you get in here?”
“By the door.”
His crooked grin brought a name closer to the surface. Did he look like someone she should know? “Why did Bonnie let you come into the kitchen?”
“The arrival of a flock of customers derailed her.”
Grace sucked in a breath. Who was he? He was too young and too well-dressed to be one of the men her mother had dragged home years ago. “Do you really think the cupcake is good?”
“I do.” He finished the last bite and crumpled the paper. With a flick of his wrist he tossed the small wad into the trash bin across the room. “You’ve achieved a miracle. Edible fruitcake.”
His smooth words spread over her skin like a swatch of velvet. Whoever he was he talked about the treat like a man who knew food. Was he a rival? Had he come to steal her recipes? He certainly hadn’t appeared to ask for a job. Not when he wore what looked like custom-made clothes.
“What will you call this one?”
Grace stepped back. The cold marble of the worktable edge pressed against her back. “Fruitcake.”
“Not like any I’ve ever tasted.” He grinned. “I hate holiday parties where the hostess pushed dark dense stuff she’d ordered by mail or baked.”
Grace laughed. “I’ve eaten some of that kind. This was my sixteenth try to make an edible one.”
He stepped closer. “Persistence pays. You’ve created a light cake with the traditional flavors and the right amount of fruit. The touch of rum in the frosting is perfect.” He raked his fingers messing his perfectly stylish dark hair. “Is it legal?”
“Just a flavor essence.” Definitely the competition. Warmth shone in his deep brown eyes. When he stepped in her direction she grasped the pastry bag. “Who are you?”
“Don’t you remember me? I’ve never forgotten you.”
The dimple in his left cheek made her want to touch. Seduction filled his voice. A whiff of evergreen beneath the aroma of the bakers reached her. He oozed the kind of danger she had to time to allow in her life. The suggestive gleam in his eyes raised a need to run. Only, she was trapped.
He placed his hand on her arm. Though the touch was light she felt as though his fingers branded her. “Think back, Grace.”
“I’ve never seen you before.”
“Sure you have.”
“Really?”
“I sure remember you. Years a go I made a play and you turned me down. When I said you would be sorry, you said I would be the one to regret.”
With warp speed her thoughts flew to the fence between the group homes. Was he really? He looked so different from the boy she’d known. The features of the face in her thoughts matured and became the man crowding her space.

“Jules Grayson, what are you doing here?”

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5 comments:

Ellen Mint said...

I've always thought the trick to fruitcake is to drown it in so much booze that's all people taste. Very cute excerpt.

Dee S Knight and Anne Krist said...

I love this excerpt, Janet!

Holly Bargo said...

Sounds like he may have been the one to have regrets.

Daryl Devoré said...

LOL - is the cake legal. Love the humour.

Lisabet Sarai said...

I think she must have deliberately tried to erase him from her memory.

Great scene, with humor and emotion.