Vivian Arend's Blog, page 21

Travel Picture: Puerto Lopez

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Happy Wednesday, it’s time for another of Vivian’s travel pictures. Here is the catch of the day from Puerto Lopez.

Travel Picture: Love Letters Conference in Berlin

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It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for another of Vivian’s travel pictures. Check out this amazing shot from Berlin, when Vivian was visiting for the Love Letters Conference!

Feature Friday: Love is a Battlefield

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For a limited time, get LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD on sale for $0.99.

The street front was empty as Jack Hunter parked his Aston Martin near the front door of DreamMakers Inc. The music from the party he’d just left still pulsed in his veins, and he hummed along with the tune stuck on repeat in his brain, clicking open his trunk to pull out the enormous box filled with mostly full bottles of leftover booze.

Normally at the end of a party, remaining stock belonged to the clients who’d purchased it. In this case the party had been for one of their own, which meant the leftovers were going to refill the office liquor cabinet.

Jack grinned. When he and his best friend, Parker Wilson, had established DreamMakers it had been gamble. They’d wanted to capitalize on the skills they’d gained as soldiers while enjoying life to the max. The fact the company had become wildly successful didn’t suck.

He put his shoulder to the door, balancing the heavy box with one arm as he coded in the security key. After years of serving overseas as a Ranger, it felt strange to be home. Still watching his back, and the backs of his partners, only no longer against a foreign danger.

The security system flickered from armed to standby, and he moved quickly to get under shelter as rain began to fall.

Inside the office, he moved rapidly through the darkness, familiar with every inch of space. To his right their secretary’s desk stood vigil near the front door, a half-dozen comfortable waiting chairs lining the wall across from it. Didi had left her radio on low—no matter how many times he and the guys teased her, they couldn’t convince the older woman to shut things off at night. And considering how much work she did, none of the three partners was prepared to call her up on the carpet for something as minor as leaving her music playing night and day.

He shut off the radio, then headed to the staff area at the back of the building, past the center corridor where they each had an office. He and Dean Colter pretended to work in theirs. Parker Wilson actually had a desk and chairs in his office space, his open door revealing impeccable military neatness in every organized inch.

Jack wasn’t so much into the office furniture and filing cabinets. He had a couch. It worked fine for the rare times he was in the building.

DreamMakers organized dates for the people who couldn’t coordinate enthusiastic enough romantic gestures on their own. In the beginning, their work had been one hundred percent reaching out to confused and desperate friends. The guys who needed some major groveling to get themselves off their ladies’ shit-lists, but over the past three years the company’s reputation had grown.

It wasn’t just about getting their fellow man out of trouble anymore. Now they helped anyone who needed some direction in planning a romantic date or kickass celebration.

Jack paced the hallway, the sneakers he’d changed into after leaving the party landing silently on the laminate flooring. He made it all the way to the staff room/kitchen area and froze.

A light shone by the sink. That in itself wasn’t enough to make him blink. No, it was the light and the dusty backpack lying on the counter that shoved his suspicions into high gear.

He set the box in his hands on the floor, checking around carefully as he reached for the corner cupboard and silently pulled out the gun stashed there. Didi constantly teased the men about the strategically placed weapons in the office, and their reply was always the same—Rangers for life. You could take the man outta the army, but you couldn’t take the army outta the man.

Gun in hand, Jack eased into the corner to prepare himself for anything.A quick peek behind the freestanding barrier by the back exit revealed a worn pair of shoes left outside the bathroom door.

Someone appeared to have entered the building, and unless they were currently strolling the streets of San Francisco in bare feet, they had to still be around. And from the size of the shoes, his mystery person was a whole lot smaller than him.

He’d already seen into all but three of the rooms, and one of those was rapidly eliminated as Jack cautiously poked his head around the corner to discover an empty bathroom.

The towel hanging on the rack was still damp, but other than that there was no sign of his intruder. Which left one of two places.

He paced silently down the hall to stand outside Dean’s office, cocking his head toward the door. Nothing. Nothing but silence so thick it made his ears buzz. He was reaching for the doorknob when a low murmur jerked him from his task.

Someone in the building, less than ten feet away. Somewhere behind the door that led to Jack’s domain.

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Travel Picture: Hawaii

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It’s Wednesday and time for a travel picture from Vivian’s many adventures. This week, we have a great shot from Hawaii!

Travel Picture Wednesday: Berlin

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Happy hump day, who needs a fun new travel picture to get them through the rest of the week? Check out this fancy ice cream display from Berlin!

Feature Friday: Rocky Mountain Heat

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Start the Six pack Ranch Series with ROCKY MOUNTAIN HEAT. Download your copy for FREE!

Jaxi was so busy passing food bowls she missed his question. Jesse nudged her in the ribs, and she turned to discover Blake’s storm-grey eyes staring at her. Jesse’s fingers lingered on her side, and she pinched his wrist to prompt him to withdraw them.

Jesse was fun, but Blake…he made her body ache.

“Are you still working for the doctor and his wife?” Blake asked again.

Mike cleared his throat. “Actually, Jaxi’s got a new job.” All heads swung toward the end of the table.

“She’ll be my helper for the next bit.” Marion made a face at her arm before glancing up and putting on what Jaxi was coming to recognize as her make-the-best-of-it expression—something midway between a grimace and a grin. “Doctor’s orders are that I have a nursemaid, and if I have to have one, she’s my first choice.”

Joel leaned over and whispered as he scooped another spoonful of stew onto her plate. “You’d be my first choice as well. Wanna play doctor with me later?”

Jaxi hid her laugh behind a cough. She had to cool the twins off and fast if her plan to catch Blake’s attention was going to work. She looked across to see Blake’s eyes darken as his gaze flicked between her and where Joel’s elbow rested on her chair.

Interesting. A tiny flicker of feminine intuition trembled with hope.

Marion told Daniel about the compound fracture of her arm and how long the cast needed to stay on and all the details he’d missed while trapped in the tractor hauling bales. Jaxi enjoyed her supper, taking time to lick every drop of the savoury stew from her fork, listening to the easy conversation about what needed to be accomplished in the fields the following day and what animals had to be transferred where.

She watched each of the faces around her in turn to see what their reaction was to the announcement she would be in their hair for the next while. Travis gave her his usual smoldering stare, the one that made her wonder if he was still attracted to her, in spite of everything else that had gone south between them. Daniel and Matt seemed pleased to have her around, in their typical non-threatening and non-sexual way. The twins—well, they were a little too delighted by her presence, but she’d already suspected she’d have to nip any plans of theirs in the bud.

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Travel Picture: Utah

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Happy Hump Day! Enjoy one of Vivian’ travel picture to get you through this mid-week day! This picture form Utah is amazing!!

Travel Picture: Yukon

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It’s time for another of Vivian’s travel pictures, and this week is from the Yukon!

Feature Friday: All Fired Up

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Be sure to pick up ALL FIRED UP, the first book from the DreamMakers series, co-written with Elle Kennedy, for FREE. It’s free for a limited time.

Chapter One

“This needs to be big. No, it needs to be huge. I’m talking flowers and candles and sunset helicopter rides and—whatever the hell it is you people do. If she says no, I’ll… I don’t know what I’ll do. She has to say yes. She has to. Got it?”

The grade-A douchebag on the black leather couch crossed his arms over the front of his tailored suit jacket, his cobalt-blue eyes daring the two men across from him to challenge his final remark.

From their respective armchairs, Parker Wilson and Dean Colter exchanged a brief glance. In the three years DreamMakers Inc. had been in business, Parker and his colleagues had met with a lot of asshole boyfriends, but Parker could honestly say Phil Shotelle was one of the worst. From the moment the sharply dressed executive had sauntered into their office, Parker had been attempting to hide his disdain for the dark-haired man. Something about Shotelle rubbed him the wrong way. Probably the air of self-entitled importance the dude exuded in spades.

Dean, whose poker face was most definitely lacking, addressed their client with an unmistakable smirk. “You seem mighty worried your lady is gonna turn down the proposal. Any trouble in paradise we need to be aware of?”

Phil’s expression clouded over. “No,” he said in a tight voice. “Our relationship is rock-solid—and, frankly, none of your concern. I’m hiring you to plan a fantasy date, not to play therapist.”

Parker leaned back in his chair and tried not to grin. Clearly Dean had hit the nail right on the head—there was trouble in paradise, and the panicky glint that kept flashing in Phil’s eyes confirmed it.

But the douchebag was correct. DreamMakers didn’t provide counseling services, or matchmaking. The business had been designed to help clueless men plan the most romantic dates that said clueless men weren’t able to conceive of on their own—a job a battle-hardened soldier like Parker would never have imagined himself doing, not in a million years.

After his stint in the Rangers, he’d figured he’d wind up working security or taking an instructor gig on one of the army’s training bases. Instead, he’d founded DreamMakers with two of his fellow Special Ops soldiers, and somehow their little operation had transformed into a booming business, offering a service that was in surprisingly high demand in the San Francisco area.

Unfortunately, the influx of clientele meant jerks like Phil Shotelle were bound to cross their path.

“All right, why don’t you tell us a bit about your girlfriend?” Parker said in his most diplomatic voice, all the while fighting the urge to kick their new client right out of the office.

Phil shifted awkwardly on the sofa. “What do you want to know?”

“Her name would be a good start.” Dean’s tone was laced with humor.

“Ah, right. It’s Lynn. Her name is Lynn Davidson.”

“Okay. And what does Lynn do?”

“She works at the Bay City Press. We both do. I’m the junior vice president of advertising. She does the layouts for the paper.” Phil’s lips curled in a sneer. “She’s declined three opportunities for promotion in the last two years.”

Parker didn’t miss the note of scorn. In fact, he didn’t sense an ounce of love or warmth coming from the guy in relation to the woman he was going to propose to.

“How long have you been together?” he asked briskly.

“Almost five months.”

Dean’s dark eyebrows shot up. “And you’re already planning on popping the question? You must really believe she’s the one, huh?”

Phil offered a blank stare. “What?”

“The one,” Dean echoed. “The woman of your dreams, the fabled Mrs. Shotelle, your one and only, etcetera, etcetera.”

The other man blinked. “Ah. Right. Yeah, sure, she’s the one.”

It took all of Parker’s willpower not to gape at the moron sitting in front of them. “Yeah, sure, she’s the one” was about the most half-assed response he’d ever heard in his life. He didn’t normally root against his clients, but damn, he found himself hoping Phil’s main squeeze rejected the proposal. He didn’t know this Lynn, but he already felt pretty fucking sorry for her.

“So, what does she enjoy?” Parker asked. “What are her hobbies?”

Cue another blank look.

He smothered a sigh. “What about favorites? Favorite color, movie, music?”

Phil shrugged.

Oh, for fuck’s sake. The man was about to propose to the woman and he couldn’t even name her favorite color?

“You know what,” Dean spoke up, “why don’t you take a few minutes to think about it? We’ll need you to fill out some forms anyway, including a questionnaire about your woman. And there’s also a couple of waivers you’ll need to sign.”

“What kind of waivers?” Phil asked suspiciously.

“Standard 374-9. Release of liability for performance of services. Then we have the 17-4 regarding transportation.”

Phil’s eyes glazed over as Dean rambled on, spewing a list of numbers and techno jargon that sounded damn impressive. When Dean stopped and flashed his grin, Parker covered his mouth with a hand to hide his amusement behind a cough.

“I beg your pardon?” Phil blinked a few times. “Release of liability?”

Dean cleared his throat. “Means you acknowledge and understand that while we’re planning the date, it’s your job to woo your woman. If it’s a proposal, we can’t guarantee she’ll say yes, and we won’t be held liable if the answer is no.”

A nod. “Fair enough.”

“Just head to the lobby and ask Didi for the paperwork, and you can take as long as you need with it. We’ll talk fees and ideas when you’re done,” Dean added.

Looking relieved, Phil rose from the couch and nodded. “Sounds good.”

A moment later, the heavy oak door closed behind him, leaving Parker and Dean alone in the office.

“That poor woman,” Parker declared.

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Travel Picture: Kenai Penisula

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This week’s travel picture is from a fishing trip off the Kenai Penisula.