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 rang the bell again. 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.
“Be glad to listen.” He patted her hand. “Are you saying in
all these years, you haven’t found anyone else to listen?
I haven’t looked, she thought. There couldn’t be a
replacement for Tony. She couldn’t tell him that. “I thought...Maybe you can
help.”
“Be glad to try. Go ahead.”
A crash resounded. Carrie jumped. “I think you’re the one
with the problem.”
“You could say that.” Tony rolled his eyes upward. “My son’s
protesting his punishment for his latest series of pranks. He’s grounded with
no TV and no phone.”
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2 comments:
I love this sentence: " Coming to see him had grown corners she couldn’t see around." Great hook.
It seems like they really could help each other.
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