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Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Hollywood Actress by L. Grubb


Hollywood
Actress
Hollywood
Royalty Book 1
by
L. Grubb
Genre:
Contemporary Romance 

Acting
is my life but cocaine is my salvation.





My
name is Mya Fritz and I’m Hollywood Royalty, Oscar winner, best
actress of 2018. But I’m a fucking wreck, though on the outside I
act like I own the world.

I’ve
not always been this way, I swear it. But after a relationship to
another Hollywood big wig, I’ve been left reeling. He has power
over me that no one else has. He has something that could ruin
everything I’ve worked my ass off for. And I have no doubt that
Finn Thimble will fucking annihilate me. There’s nothing I can do
to stop him getting revenge if I ever talk about what he put me
through. This secret that only we know about, a secret so big that my
fucking family would be ashamed of me over, is the one reason I
turned to drugs. Drugs help me breathe, they help me focus. Hell,
they fucking do everything to stop me from ending my own miserable
existence. I know I should be grateful for what I have, and I am, but
it’s hard to stay at the top when an epic thunder cloud looms over
your head.

I
have no one in my corner and that’s because no one knows. And it
needs to stay that way. Especially as my growing feelings for
Hollywood Actor Levi Jameson is on the line. I promised I’d never
involve myself with another actor, but here I am again, falling for
someone I shouldn’t. Levi is the opposite of Finn; gentle, kind and
fucking delicious. I mean, have you seen his dimples? Swoon.
But
our budding friendship is built on lies. I know this; he doesn’t.
He doesn’t know the real reason I’m pulling back from him. And if
I tell him? Finn will know, he’ll then make sure the world knows
our dirty secret.

Can
I move forward and be happy? Could I ever have a relationship with
someone as prominent and handsome as Levi Jameson; the Hollywood
heart throb? Time will tell but fuck, this isn’t going to be
pretty.

All
I can do is hope and pray. Hope that cocaine keeps me from talking.
Hope that If the truth ever comes out that I can pick myself up and
carry on… with or without Levi. Wish me fucking luck.




**On
Sale for only .99 cents!!**


Hollywood Bestie
Hollywood Royalty Book
2

A
messy divorce. An unexpected crush and a Hollywood actress as a best
friend. My life is drama with a capital D.





I’ve been with
one man since the age of fifteen, a man I loved so much that my mind
was blinded to his laziness and controlling nature. Spending your
entire adulthood with one man, dating will be awkward. But with a
messy divorce ahead of me, I’m not looking for love. I’m looking
for nothing more than how to process life without my husband. Finding
him between a much younger woman’s legs ripped my heart to shreds,
my trust in men has been shattered. Not only that, but I’m awkward
as fuck. 

Mya has opened doors for me in my career; I’ve
gone from stylist to fashionista for celebrities in a matter of
months. My whole world has been turned on its axis and as I establish
a name for myself in Hollywood, I’m avoiding my
soon-to-be-ex-husband like he’s the plague. It’s not unheard of
for an ex to stalk you, but I never thought it would happen to me.
How could I think of dating other men when Evan is always over my
shoulder, gripping me with an unknown fear.

I’m taking from
Evan everything that he owns; money, house, cars… everything. He
deserves to have nothing in his life. Nothing. And I will win this
fucking battle, even if it could get me killed.

But life threw
me a curveball when Hollywood heartthrob, Bradley Cooper, entered my
life, I’m suddenly questioning what the fuck I’ve been missing my
whole life. Could we become anything more than friends? Will Evan
scare him away? Or will I?




**Coming
Soon!! **


Lucii
is your typical British girl, hates the sun and hibernates when
summer arrives! She lives at home, in the UK, with her 2 daughters
and husband, where they spend the day watching peppa pig and The
Greatest Showman, and playing with mega-blocks and reading a million
books.





She started off as a regular person, job, home life,
health issues and a love of reading. After reading the Fifty shade
phenomenon, she went onto social media to seek other authors writing
the same or similar genres. She entered a world she didn’t know
existed and went to open a successful blog. 

Inspiring
dreams took a back burner, while she learned the book community and
met a bunch of amazing authors and readers alike.

A year later
she decided to start writing, hoping against hope that her friends
and fellow readers will like what she brings to the table.












Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive content and a giveaway!







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Book Blast for THE FIXER UPPER by Maggie Mae Gallagher


THE FIXER UPPER
by Maggie Mae Gallagher


~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to the cover reveal of Maggie Mae Gallagher's latest book The Fixer Upper which will be released September 6. Enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post for a chance to win a $15 Amazon/BN GC.


GENRE:


Contemporary Romance





Abby Callier is more in love with Shakespearean heroes than any real man, and she’s beginning to wonder if there is life for her outside the pages of a book. It doesn’t help that her esteemed parents tend to view her as they would one of their science experiments gone wrong. On the eve of finishing her dissertation, she escapes her staid existence to live in the house she inherited from her Great Aunt Evie in the small town of Echo Springs, Colorado. Because, let’s face it, when a woman starts comparing her life to horror films, it might be time for a break.



Sheriff Nate Barnes believes in law and order and carefully building the life you want. In his spare time, he has been remodeling his house in the hope that one day it will be filled with the family he makes. But Nate doesn’t like drama or complications and tends to avoid them at all costs. And yet, when Miss Abigail Callier, his newest neighbor, beans him with a nine iron, he can’t help but wonder if she might just be the complication he’s been searching for all along. It doesn’t hurt that he discovers a journal hidden away by the previous tenant and decides to use Old Man Turner’s advice to romance Abby into his life.



Abby never expected her next-door neighbor, the newly dubbed Sheriff Stud Muffin, to be just the distraction her world needed. The problem is she doesn’t know whether she should make Echo Springs her home, or if this town is just a stopover point in her life’s trajectory. And she doesn’t want to tell Nate that she might not be sticking around—even though she should because it’s the right thing to do, the honest thing—because then all the scintillatingly hot kisses with the Sheriff will come to an abrupt halt. Did she mention that he’s a really great kisser?


Enjoy an Excerpt

Abby opened the door to two delivery men wearing Styman and Sons logos on their polos. Greg Styman Junior and Teddy Styman were the sons part of the company. They were both relatively attractive guys in a down-home Mayberry type of way, and were young—far, far too young.


While Abby might be nearing her twenty-ninth birthday, these two reminded her of students—fresh-faced, with that innocent wide-eyed wonder of youth that people tended to lose by their mid-twenties.



One of the things that had drawn her to the local appliance shop, instead of heading into Denver and one of those big-box stores to make her purchase, had been their willingness to haul away the old freezer free of charge. Styman and Sons would strip it and refurbish any of the old parts that weren’t rusted or still viable and resell them online. It made Abby feel like she was doing something good for the environment because the whole thing wouldn’t end up in a landfill.



Abby was standing on her porch, watching the two guys pull her handy-dandy new deepfreeze from the truck, when she was flattened.



She’d barely had time to issue an umphff before she was on her back on the ivory wooden porch, a hulking brute covered in dark black fur towering over her. She lay on her back, trying to assess the damage as a large, wet, pink tongue slobbered over her face. From this angle, she could tell there were a few parts of the roof overhang that needed to be fixed before winter arrived.



Her hands slid into the soft, short fur, attempting to move the massive beast as it said hello with an almost rabid enthusiasm. Abby would have had better luck moving one of the fourteen footers nearby.



“Rufus, stupid mutt, get off her.” Abby heard the deep baritone filled with abject horror.



Rufus, the mammoth Great Dane, listened about as well as a toddler playing with his favorite toy and, instead of moving off her, decided he really wanted to cuddle and lie on top of her. Her breath whooshed out of her again at the dog’s impressive weight. He had to outweigh her by twenty pounds.



“Jesus, Rufus.” Nate Barnes tugged and yanked the hulking beast of a dog off Abby’s prone form. Rufus seemed to think that meant Nate wanted to play and wrestle around. They skirmished on her porch for a minute or so, until Rufus spied a rabbit and took off after the poor creature.



She was starting to push herself up, mentally assessing the damage, when Nate held out a hand to her, a mask of apology adding a deep line to his furrowed brow. “I’m so sorry. Are you all right? He’s harmless, really. The lamebrain just thinks he’s more of a lap dog and doesn’t realize how big he is.”



Abby felt a few brain cells faint as she accepted his help, placing her hand in his much longer one, noticing that the fingers were rough with calluses.



“It’s okay,” she said as she gained her feet, only to be shocked—and a little turned on—as he ran his hands over her, checking for injuries. As much as she tried to rationalize that it was a police-style frisking, a low burn ignited in her belly. Before she did something entirely stupid, like invite him in where he could give her body a private inspection, she batted his hands away. “No harm done. He seems like a big lover.”



Nate smiled sheepishly as he retreated a step, and it did nothing to lessen his impact.



She almost sawed her tongue in half. See? I shouldn’t talk to people, ever. Especially not after Sheriff Stud Muffin put his hands all over her. The action had short-wired and fried her brain, leading to her precarious foot-in-mouth disease. As if he knew she had been talking about him, Rufus loped back up her porch, making a beeline directly for her or, better yet, her crotch, as he planted his wet nose there by way of greeting.



“Rufus, get off her. Jesus, I’m sorry. He’s normally not like this,” Nate explained, more than a little flummoxed and embarrassed as he tried to yank him off.



It was nice to know the guy was human. After their initial and rather violent meeting, she’d wondered if he was a superhero in disguise. She had hit him with the golf club with her full force and the guy had barely flinched.


About the Author:

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Maggie grew up listening to Cardinals baseball and reading anything she could get her hands on. She remembers her mother saying if only she would read the right type of books instead binging her way through the romance aisles at the bookstore, she’d have been a doctor. While Maggie never did get that doctorate, she graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with an M.A. in History.



Maggie is a bestselling and award-winning author published in multiple fiction genres. She also writes erotic romance under the name Anya Summers. A total geek at her core, when she is not writing, she adores attending the latest comic con or spending time with her family. She currently lives in the Midwest with her two furry felines.



Visit her website here: http://www.maggiemaegallagher.com




Visit her on social media here:



Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MagMaeGallagher/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magmaegallagher

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7846308.Maggie_Mae_Gallagher

Twitter: https://twitter.com/magmaegallagher

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/maggiegallagher

BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maggie-mae-gallagher



Don’t miss these exciting titles by Maggie Mae Gallagher!



The Mystic Series



REMEMBER ME: https://amzn.to/2GuwEpY

CASKET GIRL: https://amzn.to/2Dmw9MD



The Cantati Chronicles



RUPTURED: https://amzn.to/2GueJ2L

ANOINTED: https://amzn.to/2Gu0Xgm

ASCENDED: https://amzn.to/2VRGSpz



And if you like your romance with a bit of spice and kink be sure to check out Maggie Mae Gallagher writing as Anya Summers on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/Anya-Summers/e/B01EGTVRKC/


GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 
$15 Amazon/BN GC


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment; the more they comment, the better their chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:





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Hazakura by V.C. Buckley blitz


Hazakura
V.C. Buckley
Publication date: July 11th 2019
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Suspense

The most awaited sequel to the award winning book, HANAMI.

Kenjin Kiyohara, the son of Asia’s most powerful tycoon has finally won the heart of Sakura Shintani, the heir to Japan’s most notorious crime dynasty. But their new love is threatened by a sadistic adversary who sees Kenjin as Sakura’s only weakness. And as the threats start coming in, Sakura worries for Kenjin’s safety and starts to doubt her decision to be with him. But Kenjin is determined to stay by her side and prove that he can hold his own inside the treacherous world that she belongs to, even if it might cost him his life.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

—

EXCERPT:

“Is this seat taken?”

Jin looked up to see Jiaolong’s lanky frame standing over him. His former rival used to intimidate him, but now he was strangely glad to see him. Especially after what he’d done for Sakura.

“It’s yours,” Jin answered. He stood up to acknowledge Jiaolong with a handshake.

Jiaolong smiled, unfastening the button of his black blazer before lowering himself into the foldable seat.

“Sakura told me about what you did,” Jin said. “Thank you.”

Jiaolong shook his head, still smiling. “No, don’t thank me,” he said. “I didn’t do it for you.”

Jin rolled his eyes. He was the same old Jiaolong.

“You do know this puts us on an equal footing now, don’t you?” Jiaolong’s words made Jin straighten up in his seat.

“How so?” he asked.

Jiaolong relaxed in his seat, crossing his legs. “The serum we made is as good as your hug. Maybe even better… because it will be capable of keeping her safe even when you’re not around.”

Jin arched an eyebrow. “What are you trying to say?”

Jiaolong shrugged, his lips breaking into a grin. “I stepped aside for you back then because you could keep Sakura safe from herself while I couldn’t. But now, the serum has changed everything.” He threw his gaze back at Jin. “I guess I don’t have to give way to you anymore. Because now, I am just as capable as you.”

Jin blinked. The vein in his head started to throb. Was this guy serious? “Sakura’s already mine,” Jin declared, aware that his tone had changed. “You’re too late.”

“You’re probably right. No one else can claim Sakura,” Jiaolong said, crossing his arms as he shifted his weight in the chair. “Unless, you’re dead.” A smile spread across Jiaolong’s face.



Author Bio:

V.C. Buckley was born in a secret government facility and was shipped off to an Island in Southeast Asia. She grew up braving tropical thunderstorms and warding off evil characters. At sixteen she jetted all over the world after being discovered by an agent. Her stories come from gritty moments of her childhood to the glitz of her travels. She now lives in Manila with her husband, two kids and an herb garden that has hijacked her balcony.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram


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Stranger Rituals by Kali Rose Schmidt blitz


Stranger Rituals
Kali Rose Schmidt
Publication date: July 9th 2019
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult

A fighter with a venomous grudge.

A monster with an immortal curse.

A girl with a terrible gift.

All three out for blood in a land torn apart by harsh gods and holy wars. Each entwined with the other, on their own quests for vengeance, and yet held together by strange links to sinister pasts. As their fates unravel, a dangerous romance blooms, and violent darkness beckons.

At turns both darkly humorous and utterly morbid, STRANGER RITUALS is the startling first novel in Kali Rose Schmidt’s dark new series.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks

—

EXCERPT:

She swallowed, and then moved away, ducking her face from his grasp, hating how he knew her weakness so well. She rose from her knees. The Djavul stared up at her a moment, then gracefully stood to his full height.

“What did they want?” she questioned.

Vojtech smiled. “You have a job to do.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know. That’s guarding you. It’s a thrill a minute.” She gestured toward the ruined soldier beside them.

Vojtech frowned. “I actually thought you were growing bored here. No attacks in three months, only this idiot sneaking around in the desert.” He shrugged. “It seems Olofsson is losing his fear of me.”

“Good.” Scarko’s words mingled with fury. “Let him. It’ll serve our purpose for the second Holy War.” She stalked back to the Warskian soldier’s head, lifted it by the scraggly, blood-drenched hair. “So, what did the gods want?”

Vojtech watched her carefully, hands clasped before him. “You’re to go to the city of Kezda. A boy there is immune, it seems, to Vrakan abilities. You are to kill him.”

Scarko dropped the head with a thud. “What?” she hissed. “Why me? I’m your guard. Send someone else.”

Vojtech smiled. “As much as I enjoy you bossing me around, the gods are not so easily convinced.” He wiped his hands on his black robes and sighed. “This boy is a street fighter,” he wrinkled his nose, “taking on Vrakan defectives from the Warskian army. While he isn’t able to die from the usual Vrakan methods—ice, wind, fire, shadows—I think your magic could kill him. That’s why you.”

Scarko left the head on the stone floor and stalked toward the stairwell, behind the Djavul.

“I’m sure he’d die by sword just fine. Tell the gods I won’t go. A street fighter—the nerve of them…”

She made to pass Vojtech, but he snaked a hand out and gently stroked her dark blonde braid, the color of damp sand. She spun around to face him, fury in her eyes. But it was equally matched in his.

“I am the Djavul of the Order of Saints, Scarko Kadezska. You will not blasphemy our gods here. You know as well as I do that we cannot resist their orders, and we should not. They have guided me thus far.” He took a step toward her, brushed a cold finger against her cheek. “You will do this, and you will return to me.”

She stuck her tongue out at him and turned, clomping up the stairs. She heard him chuckle softly as she pushed open the doors from the dungeon, the Shadows on guard making way for her, black thread entwined in their grey cloaks, same as hers.

“Watch him,” she said unceremoniously.”



Author Bio:

Kali Rose Schmidt is an author, mother, and villain lover. She likes bloody tales of monsters, yoga with the lights off, and anything that goes bump in the night.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest




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Enemy Within by Marcella Burnard


Enemy
Within
Chronicles
of the Empire
Book
One
Marcella
Burnard

Genre: Sci-Fi Romance

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Date of Publication: July 17,
2019

ISBN: 978-1-5092-2698-6 Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-5092-2699-3 Digital

Number of pages: 422
Word Count: 98539

Cover Artist: Debbie Taylor

Tagline: The military hung her
out to dry. Captain Ari Idylle isn’t going to dangle.

Book Description:

Horrific torture in an alien
prison torpedoed Captain Ari Idylle's military career. Stripped of command and
banished to her father's scientific expedition to finish a PhD she doesn't
want, Ari refuses to fly a desk. She intends to have her command back by any
means possible, until pirates commandeer her father's ship, and she's once
again a prisoner. Perhaps this cunning captor isn't what he pretends to be.

As far as Cullin Seaghdh is
concerned, the same goes for Ari. Her past association with aliens puts her
dead center in Cullin's cross-hairs. If she hasn't been brainwashed and
returned as a spy, then she must be part of a traitorous alliance endangering
billions of lives. He can't afford the desire she fires within him. His mission
comes first. He'll stop at nothing, including her destruction, to uncover her
true purpose and protect what is his.


Amazon
Buy links for Enemy Within

https://amzn.to/2WVgzDD

Excerpt:
“You know how to
use that thing?” He nodded at the energy blade in her hand.
She swallowed
outrage and awarded him a tight smile. “I am proficient.”
He grinned.
“Ever fight for your life?”
“No,” she said,
pleased her tone remained steady.
His smile deepened.
“Then this isn’t so different. We aren’t fighting for your life, are we? We’re
fighting for theirs.” He gestured at the knot of scientists.
Fear gripped
her. She’d won matches. She had awards. She practiced religiously. Sure, she’d
fought Chekydran with the might of an Armada Prowler at her disposal. But
energy blade combat had always been a highly regulated sport, a dance with
specific choreography designed to minimize injury. She’d never dueled for
anything of more value than a bit of metal or a piece of paper to hang on her
office wall. Swallowing hard, she eased into guard position.
Taking his time,
he matched her stance. Ari did her best not to frown at the avid smiles on his
men’s faces or at the effortless way he sank into position and crossed his
blade with hers.
Her mind raced.
She had to find a way to keep everyone alive. No matter the cost.
Captain Cullin
Seaghdh tapped her blade with his, bringing her attention back to her
predicament and his damnably cocky grin.
“You’re willing
to trade your life for theirs?” he asked, his question pitched for her ears
only, his smile gone and his gaze searching.
Troubled, she
shook her head. “Are you intimating I have a choice?”
“Then fight.” He
lunged.
Ari scrambled
back, her parries thrown off by the aggressive attack. He didn’t press his
advantage. That maddening grin flashed at her as he backed off. One step. Two.
Charity. She
wanted to scream at him. She clamped her jaw shut and advanced the ground he’d
offered.
“Out of
practice?” He opened his defenses, daring her.
She accepted,
ignoring the taunt. She had no intention of explaining that she’d had a hard
time keeping up on weapons practice while a prisoner of war. Her attack
wavered, but she pulled it together and forced him back a step to avoid her blade.
He drew her in and then pushed her back, like a teacher hearing lessons. She
ached to wipe that smile from his face.
“Point,” he
said, nodding at her chest.
She glanced
down. The bastard had sliced clean through her jacket and the buttons of her
shirt. A shiver ran through her. One millimeter more and she’d be bleeding,
probably on the floor. A slice like that one took enough control and skill to
scare her.
“Lesson one,” he
said. “Watch the man wielding the blade, but never lose sight of the business
end.”
Lessons? Or
something more? From the shock of physical awareness twining through her blood,
she suspected they were no longer discussing energy blades.
Snarling to
cover the grudging admiration at Seaghdh’s skill welling up within her, Ari
charged him. He did not retreat. They locked, body to body, blade to blade.
Feeling the leashed strength coiled in him, she knew instantly that she’d made
a mistake, one that in any other circumstance would have been fatal. Scorched
where their bodies strained against one another at chest and hip, she struggled
to control the rush of yearning crashing her defenses. What was wrong with her?
She met his
hooded gaze. Desire glittered in the golden depths of his eyes. Pleasure
rocketed through her, almost painful in its intensity. She’d forgotten what if
felt like to be appreciated as a woman, and the want in his eyes, shadowed by
surprise, took her breath away.


About
the Author:

Marcella Burnard graduated from
Cornish College of the Arts with a degree in acting. She’s a Tarot-reading,
Third-degree Wiccan who knows far too much about space travel because she
desperately wanted to be an astronaut when she grew up. Turns out she gets air
sick. She wisely decided to write space travel instead. Marcella writes science
fiction romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, and fantasy. If a story brings the
weird, Marcella’s right there for it. She lives in Florida where she and her
husband are outnumbered by cats. Marcella is actively involved in feline rescue
in the Tampa Bay area and you can always find cat photos and videos on her
Facebook page or on her Instagram account.

http://www.marcellaburnard.com

https://www.facebook.com/marcellaburnardauthor/

http://www.marcellaburnard.com/contact.html

https://twitter.com/marcellaburnard

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3409619.Marcella_Burnard 

http://marcellaburnard.blogspot.com/ 





https://www.instagram.com/marcellaburnard/

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HOME IMPROVEMENT by Tara Lain






Home Improvement
by Tara Lain


Blurb:

Romance on Aisle Sixteen—opposites attract amid the hammers and screws of the home improvement store.

Gabe Mason became a father at seventeen, and his daughter, Ellie, is the most important thing in his life. But being the parent the courts demand means Gabe has given up most of his dreams—education, making furniture, a gay social life—to be a model dad with a steady, reliable job in a home improvement store. Life’s predictable until Jerry, a shy, eccentric guy in a hat and sunglasses, begs Gabe to oversee the renovation of his run-down mansion.

Gabe loves the house and the work, and Jerry's pretty lovable too, but when Gabe discovers Jerry’s secret identity, he fears their passion could overturn both their lives forever. 



Available for purchase at 
Kindle | Amazon Paperback | iTunes | Kobo | Nook | Dreamspinner Press



Excerpt


Excerpt 2 – Home Improvement – A Love Story

From the driveway, a flagstone walk led onto a lawn. He peered around the corner just as Jerry stepped out on one of several large wooden porches and waved. “Here.”
Oddly, the walkway stopped, and there didn’t seem to be a clear path to where Jerry was standing, so Gabe struck out across the grass, found another walkway leading down the side of the hill, and took it to the porch. “Hi. This isn’t an easy place to find.”
Jerry smiled. He’d taken off his glasses, but he still wore the beanie. “I’m glad you found it.” His voice seemed to have dropped half an octave since earlier at the ImproveMart, and it shivered down Gabe’s spine. “Please come in.”
Even on the porch, it wasn’t completely clear where a person was supposed to enter the house. There were doors on two different walls, but Gabe followed Jerry through the entrance on the back wall of the porch and stopped. “Whoa.”
Spread out in front of him was a wide-open house with thick plaster walls, polished-wood ceilings, a huge two-story great room with floor-to-ceiling windows, and a hand-polished wooden staircase leading to a second floor. The whole thing was run-down and in need of repair, but what an amazing house.
Gabe shook his head. “This is fantastic. How did you ever find it?”
“I saw it online and called the real estate agent.”
Gabe glanced at Jerry. Apparently in the comfort of his own home, the guy could actually put an entire sentence together. While you couldn’t describe him as relaxed, he didn’t appear to be ready to run. In fact he grinned. “Want to see the rest?”
“Sure.” He could hardly wait, actually. The place was some marvelous mix of midcentury and craftsman styles with all the wood details Gabe loved.
Jerry walked to the great room first—and great it was. A huge fan in the shape of giant palm fronds was suspended from the center of the soaring ceiling. Gabe pointed. “Does it work?”
Jerry shook his head. “No. It needs fixing.”
In the center of the room, in front of a giant fireplace that Gabe would bet also didn’t work, sat two plastic camp chairs—all the furniture in the entire room.
Off the great room was a smaller paneled library. After Gabe looked into it, Jerry led him back across the big room and up the beautiful staircase to the second floor. A long hall illuminated by skylights stretched in front of them.
Jerry laughed, and it was a light, airy sound that bounced through Gabe’s belly like a swig of champagne. “I think I must get a cat. Can’t you see a cat chasing a toy down this hall?”
“How many bedrooms and baths?”
“Five of each. One bath downstairs. I’ll show you when we go back down.”
Each bedroom had some kind of damage—peeling drywall, water-soaked woodwork, and stained carpet. The bathrooms were a particular mess with old, rust-stained fixtures.
Finally, they got to the end of the hall and stepped into what had to be the master—a huge room with floor-to-ceiling windows on two walls. Gabe drew a breath. “This is gorgeous. The light’s magical.”
“Yes. It’s one of my favorite rooms.”
Gabe glanced at the mattress lying on the floor covered in mussed sheets directly under a skylight. Must be quite a view. He swallowed hard.
The tour went back downstairs, and Gabe saw the wreck of a kitchen. “Does the cooktop even work?”
“No.”
Several pizza boxes lay on the large central island.
Finally, they walked out the dining room french doors to a huge backyard. “How big is the property?”
“Two and a half acres.”
“Wow.” The centerpiece of the back was an enormous pool, not quite Olympic standard, but it would have served a good-sized community. “At least it’s full of water. It must not be in too bad repair.”
“No, it’s pretty good, but the filter equipment is total trash. It leaks like the West Wing.”
Gabe snorted. Who dreamed Jerry had a sense of humor?
Jerry turned in a circle, like he was seeing the mansion for the first time. “It’d been on the market for years and people were scared off by all the work.”
Gabe stared at him. Giving the tour, Jerry had put together the most words he’d spoken end to end since Gabe met him. “And you’re not scared of the work?”
Jerry shook his head and grinned like a loon. Clearly, this was his baby. “No, I’m not worried.” His smile lit up his face, making his unusual eyes shine. “Not since I met you.”




About the Author


Tara Lain believes in happy ever afters – and magic. Same thing. In fact, she says, she doesn’t believe, she knows. Tara shares this passion in her best-selling stories that star her unique, charismatic heroes — the beautiful boys of romance —  and adventurous heroines. Quarterbacks and cops, werewolves and witches, blue collar or billionaires, Tara’s characters, readers say, love deeply, resolve seemingly insurmountable differences, and ultimately live their lives authentically. After many years living in southern California, Tara, her soulmate honey and her soulmate dog decided they wanted less cars and more trees, prompting a move to Ashland, Oregon where Tara’s creating new stories and loving living in a small town with big culture. Likely a Gryffindor but possessed of Parseltongue, Tara loves animals of all kinds, diversity, open minds, coconut crunch ice cream from Zoeys, and her readers. She also loves to hear from you.   








You can find Tara at Lain

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