From
Fake to Forever
by
Jennifer Shhirk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE:
Contemporary Romance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Sandra
Moyer’s preschool is struggling, so she reluctantly agrees to let
super-famous actor Ben Capshaw research a role there. Ben’s always
joking around, never serious, but there’s something about the
buttoned-up, beautiful Sandra and her young daughter that makes him
want to take life more seriously. But Sandra won’t trust him—what
if it’s all an act, research for the role? As the lines between
make-believe and reality blur, Ben will have to decide if love is
worth casting aside the role of his life for a new role…that could
last a lifetime.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt
One:
From the
corner of her eye, Sandra Moyer noticed a tall, bearded man leaning
against the playground fence and automatically tensed. Because she
was a single mom and alone, her paranoid nature already labeled him a
felon, although technically he was doing nothing wrong. In fact, come
to think of it, he had a pretty nice body with those real-life Hulk
arms and broad chest. She didn’t know what that made her for
noticing something like that about a man she assumed was on some
Family Watchdog list, but the phrase “cheap and desperate” came
to mind.
Since
when did I start ogling the physiques of strange men?
Her
shoulders wilted as she brooded over that question. She obviously
needed to get out more. She needed to just get out. The problem was
she didn’t see herself doing that any time soon. Her self-esteem
had hit rock bottom and hadn’t been able to locate its way back up
since the day she’d found Steve cheating on her with one of his
costars.
An
unpleasant picture of her ex-husband lip-locked with a Julianne
Moore–type redhead popped into her mind, and she shuddered.
Actors.
Did their profession ever mesh with reality?
The
answer to that was a resounding no. Unfortunately, she’d learned
that one the hard way. Steve had even thought she’d understand the
main reason he had the affair was for the publicity and what it could
do for his career and income. Like that was supposed to make her feel
so much better about it.
“Mommy,
I want to play in the sandbox.”
Her
daughter’s voice pulled her from those depressing thoughts, and she
gratefully looked down. “Okay, honey. Just five more minutes,
though.”
Hannah
squealed and dashed through the playground as fast as her little legs
could run. Sandra couldn’t help but smile. Life was so simple when
you were four. The little things kept you happy. And why not?
Four-year-olds didn’t think about paying the rent or overdue bills.
Things that were constantly on her mind ever since she’d opened the
preschool with her sister. No, the only thing you worried about at
that age was whether Mommy would give you ice cream if you didn’t
eat your string beans.
She’d
kill for that kind of stress again.
Unfortunately,
the thought of homicide had her eyes traveling back to the well-built
man she’d been ogling earlier. He was tossing around a football
with a young boy now. Nothing illegal, but something was off. She had
a sixth sense when it came to protecting her daughter, and right now
it was telling her something big. Like he’d just gotten out of
prison. It must have been a whopper of a sentence, too, judging from
the long, scraggly hair and the kind of beard and mustache Santa
Claus would envy. She never made a habit of associating with men who
looked liked convicts, but there was something familiar about him…
She
doubted he had a child enrolled in her preschool. Story time at the
public library? She highly doubted that, too. He didn’t exactly
look like the loving Father Knows Best type, considering that
fire-breathing skull on his calf wasn’t designed to instill
tenderness. At least he was out spending time with his son, which was
a lot more than what her daughter was getting from her own father.
As if
her thoughts had been telepathically sent out, the man in question
cast a lingering gaze over in her direction. And he smiled.
Oh. My.
Goodness.
Oh, no,
don’t even think about it. Don’t you dare come over here. She
fumbled to put her sunglasses back on and almost punched out a lens.
Please stay where you are. He’d better be a jolly person being his
usual overly friendly self and not just leering at her. But she laid
odds on the latter.
What was
it with her? She could attract a creep from the next state over
without even trying. A talent she’d gladly relinquish.
She
flopped down on a bench. Opening her purse, she yanked out a book and
hid her face behind it. If she pretended to be engrossed in reading,
maybe the man would reconsider trying to strike up a conversation.
Yeah, that’s all she needed—some ex-con cozying up to her.
Confident
her glasses hid her eyes, she lowered the book a half inch and
sneaked another peek. Tall, Dark, and Scraggly had his back to her
now. Relief enveloped her. Thank goodness, she thought, slowly
letting out a breath.
One
deadbeat per lifetime was enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
Jennifer
Shirk has a bachelor degree in pharmacy-which has in NO WAY at all
helped her with her writing career. But she likes to point it out,
since it shows romantic-at-hearts come in all shapes, sizes, and
mind-numbing educations.
She
writes sweet (and sometimes even funny) romances for Samhain
Publishing, Avalon Books/Montlake Romance and now Entangled
Publishing. She won third place in the RWA 2006 NYC's Kathryn Hayes
Love and Laughter Contest with her first book, THE ROLE OF A
LIFETIME. Recently, her novel SUNNY DAYS FOR SAM won the 2013 Golden
Quill Published Authors Contest for Best Traditional Romance.
Lately
she's been on a serious exercise kick. But don't hold that against
her.
Author
Website: www.jennifershirk.com
Author
Blog: http://jennifershirk.blogspot.com/
Author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenniferShirk
Author
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjennifershirk
Author
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jennifershirk
Newsletter:
eepurl.com/Q6TH1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Jennifer
will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner
via rafflecopter during the tour.
