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http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com for some great excerpts. Mine is from Seducing the Baker. She's the only girl who turned him down.
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:
Where is the
owner? I must speak to her.”
The blonde
leaned on the counter. “She’s busy creating a new cupcake.”
“Is she here or
at home?”
“In the back.”
She pointed to a door behind the counter. “I’ll let her know you’re here but if
she’s working you’ll have to wait.”
She stepped
from the counter. The bell above the door chimed.
The arrival of
several customers distracted the clerk. Jules couldn’t wait. He made a snap
decision. On Monday morning he intended to have the signed contract delivered
to Allie.
“You can’t go
back there.”
Ignoring the
young woman’s shout he slipped around the end of the display case and opened
the door. Heat, a touch of vanilla and a jolt of rum and lemon hit him. The
aromas gathered in a collage of scent.
The baker stood
beside a marble topped table. She wore a long apron tied at her slender waist.
Temptation to discover if his hands could span her waist nearly caused him to
forget why he’d come into this room. A white hairnet covered hair as dark as
his. Would her face match the delectable rear view? She held a plastic bag and
swirled icing on a cupcake. The door closed with a loud snap.
Without turning
she held out one of the confections. “Try this one and let me know if I’ve
mastered the flavor.”
Jules accepted.
The voice belonged to the woman of his brief phone conversations. During those
moments he’d conjured a face to match the throaty voice. The image belonged to
the only girl who had turned him down.
What if? Such
an occurrence would be beyond belief. Still the thought stirred his desire.
Cool it, dude.
Jules bit into
the cupcake. Rum and lemon, spices and small bits of fruit blended into
perfection.
“What do you
think?”
The question
pulled him from a haze of tastes and desire. What about me licking this icing from your breasts? Had he said
that aloud?
“Well?” She
turned.
He nearly
dropped the rest of the cupcake. Her face belonged to his memories of the star
of his teenage fantasies. Alarms clanged. Trouble.
He drew a deep breath. This time he intended to succeed.
“Actually the
flavor’s great. Fruitcake but light. The spices, fruit and icing blend
perfectly.”
* * *
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.”
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