Mary E. Thompson's Blog, page 41

Green Beer and Red Wine (Mar 10)

Mac didn’t know what he was thinking. He should have just walked right past her when he saw her standing at her trunk, but something compelled him to talk to her, to offer her help.

He heard her blow out a breath slowly. He hoped she said yes. He hoped she said no.

“You really don’t have to,” she finally sighed.

He knew that sound. It was one where the other person was saying, ‘I’d love the help, but I don’t want to ask for it.’

Wordlessly, Mac reached around her and lifted two bags from the cart into her trunk. She grabbed another bag and set it beside his. He grabbed two more, and before he knew it her trunk was full and her cart empty.

“Thanks,” she said, somewhat reluctantly. She held her head high but never actually looked at him. He knew he hurt her when he froze, but he hadn’t been on a date in years, and dating a single mom was a whole different ball game than dating any other woman.

“Hey, uh, about earlier…” he started.

“What? When I asked you out and you froze like a deer in headlights?”

He chuckled at her bluntness. She wasn’t someone who was going to back down, even if it had embarrassed her. She was strong. He could tell that easily. No one was going to push her around.

“Yeah, about that. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. I guess I was a little shocked.”

Shocked didn’t even begin to describe what he was feeling, but he wasn’t going to elaborate with her. If he did she’d speed off and never look back.

Did he want her to look back?

He didn’t know, but he didn’t want her to think his hesitation had anything to do with her. That wasn’t fair.

“You looked like you were going to throw up,” she said, a hint of teasing in her sweet voice. Mac finally managed to look at her again and saw a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. Amusement at him. He was the one who rejected her, or it seemed that way, but she was laughing at him.

“Yeah, well, it’s not every day a beautiful woman asks me out. Usually they’re asking where the St. Patrick’s Day decorations are.”

She laughed at his lame joke, just like he’d hoped she would. Her eyes lit up with her laughter, sparkling in the late afternoon sun. He couldn’t stop his attraction to her, and if he was honest, he didn’t want to. It had been a long time since he’d spent any time with a woman, for any reason, and by some miracle, that one wanted to see him again.

He extended his hand to her. “I’m Mac.”

Her laughter died on her lips as she looked down at his hand as though any minute he might slap her instead of shake her hand. The longer she stood staring at his hand, the more he realized how ridiculous she must have felt when he didn’t respond to her request for dinner.

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Green Beer and Red Wine (Mar 9)

Christine stood staring at the guy from the party store. He couldn’t have looked more shell shocked if he’d tried. She almost wondered if he’d heard her because of the blank look on his face, but it morphed into something close to fear and she knew he was going to say no.

“Never mind,” she said, saving him from awkwardly turning her down. She didn’t know why she even asked him out. Dating as a single mom was borderline crazy. Most men weren’t interested in taking on the responsibility another man left behind.

Christine turned away from him and focused on loading her groceries onto the belt. The cashier worked quickly, but it wasn’t nearly fast enough. Standing just a few feet from the guy she’d just asked out, the guy who looked like he’d rather swallow fire than go out with her, Christine felt heat climb her neck and settle into her cheeks. She desperately wanted to pick up the gallon of milk that rolled by and press it to her skin, but she knew that would only draw more attention to her embarrassment.

“Do you have your rewards card?” the cashier asked, pulling Christine from her distress. She dug through her purse for her wallet and unearthed the card she needed. Ready to go as soon as her groceries were paid for, she swiped her credit card and helped bag groceries, throwing granola bars in with bananas, formula in with ice cream, and anything else she could get her hands on.

As soon as the cashier declared she was free to go Christine bolted for the door. She didn’t look back. She couldn’t have another memory of him looking at her like she was the last person he’d ever date. She just had to get away.

At her car she opened the back and started loading bags. She cursed herself for the way she’d packed the bags, knowing it would mean she had twice as much work to do when she got home. Instead of just carrying in the cold stuff when she brought Angela in and going back for the rest when she was sleeping, Christine would need to carry it all.

“Dammit,” she swore at herself. She couldn’t leave it like it was. She had to redo all the bags so she could actually carry it in without leaving her child alone inside, which wasn’t an option.

Shaking her head, Christine set out to unpack and repack every bag. She put cold items together and other food together. She separated the non-food items and was finally ready to start loading everything into her trunk.

Then she heard his voice, “Do you need some help?”

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Plump & Pretty first kiss

Plump & Pretty is coming next week! Riley was such a great character to write. She’s sort of like the person I always wanted to be. She works in a bookstore (something I always thought would be so much fun), she loves to sew (me too), and she’s confident in who she is (who doesn’t want to be that). She wants love, sure, but she had other dreams and goals. Her big dream was owning the book store she worked at, READ.

Too bad Connor has other things on his mind besides work…

Excerpt from Plump & Pretty

I sighed heavily, hoping he was right. His fingers continued rubbing between my eyes, something that was more soothing than I ever thought possible. Instead of being self conscious sitting next to Connor Lee, I felt myself slipping further and further away from my worries. I was relaxed, content even. I still felt lost as far as my career went, but I was okay with it.

Connor’s finger moved over my forehead and his hand tunneled through my hair. He massaged my head softly, working down over my scalp to the tight muscles in my neck. A moan slipped from my lips, unconsciously, and I felt my cheeks heat with embarrassment. Connor froze for a second, barely long enough for me to notice, then his hand moved again, cupping my cheek.

I wondered for a brief second what he was doing, then I felt his breath on my face, followed by his lips on mine.

Connor Lee was kissing me!

My teenaged self was doing a happy dance inside, while the rest of me was getting lost in the soft press of his delicious lips against mine. A hint of coffee and chocolate from the mocha clung to his lips. His hand slid around to my neck, and he leaned over me further, his tongue tracing the seam of my lips.

My lips parted for his tongue without hesitation. As his tongue swept through my mouth I tasted the coffee on his breath and the mocha on his tongue. I wanted more and eagerly met his kiss with my own excitement. His other hand went to my waist and held me against the soft leather of the seat.

Wait.

Leather seat. Mocha cupcakes. Coffee. Connor Lee. Me? Something wasn’t right.

My hands moved to his shoulders and pushed.

Hard.

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Green Beer and Red Wine (Mar 7)

Mac did not have time for a run-in in the grocery store. Especially with the random woman who’d plagued his thoughts for a week.

He was shocked to see her there, but even more astonished when her eyes lit up like she was happy to see him.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “Go ahead.”

She shook her hair, brown waves cascading over her shoulders. God, she was beautiful. He wanted to run his hands through her silky tresses, but he knew that would probably earn him a trip to the police station instead of one to her bedroom.

Jeez, Mac had to get ahold of himself. He was lusting after a perfect stranger, someone he’d never actually met and had no right to be checking out.

She nodded gratefully at him as she stepped in front of his cart, pushing her full one ahead of his that only held a handful of items. Again, his niceness got the better of him, but he owed her. When she was in the store he was borderline rude.

It might not be much but it was all he could offer her. All he was willing to offer her.

“Would you be interested in dinner sometime?” She asked, dragging his thoughts to her.

Except he had no idea how to answer her question.

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Green Beer and Red Wine (Mar 6)

Christine trudged down the aisle of the grocery store a week later feeling guilty for leaving Angela in day care so she could shop in peace. She wished her life was more glamorous than that, but she wouldn’t trade her daughter for anything. 

She just wished she was doing something more entertaining than picking which box of cereal Angela would eat. Like maybe having sex. 

Christine was starting to wonder if you could be medically considered a virgin after you’d given birth. She hadn’t seen any action since her one night stand resulted in a kid. Thankfully most men didn’t want to sleep with someone who was pregnant with another man’s child. 

Not that it helped Christine. 

She was ready and willing but couldn’t find someone like her. Someone who wanted kids, even if they weren’t his. Someone who wouldn’t run from her no-longer-perfect body. Someone who might want her for more than one night. 

Then again, one night could be all Christine could take. 

She absently drove up and down aisles until she collected every item on her list. On her way to the cash register she paused to look at a magazine. When she pushed again she ran straight into a man darting into line in front of her. 

“What are you doing?’ 

“Going to check out. I didn’t see you.” 

“It’s fine. I get that all the time.” 

He looked familiar but she couldn’t imagine she knew him.  

Then it hit her! The rude, but sweet, guy from the party store. 

And Christine wasn’t about to let him away without getting his number.  

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Green Beer and Red Wine (Mar 5)

Mac cursed his kindness when he hung up the phone. His relief wasn’t coming. Nate should have been there already, but he was sick. Which meant Mac had to stay on for a little longer until someone else came in.

Mornings were usually pretty quiet, but Mac still hated working the retail store. He preferred his night shift stocking shelves, even when the shelves made him want to vomit. When he unlocked the front door of the store, he saw a woman rushing toward him in heels and a long coat, carrying a baby carrier over his forearm.

Nothing like an over-anxious mom needing to make her child’s life perfect to ruin his morning.

“Do you have St. Patrick’s Day decorations out yet?” she asked. She barely even looked at Mac, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t in the mood for being social, even though her voice made his heart rate kick up and her eyes looked like they held the secrets of the universe.

“Last aisle on the wall,” Mac said absently, wondering how long he would have to be there.

She rushed off, leaving Mac by the register. When she didn’t come back right away he started to wonder just how green she wanted her house to be. Mac was considering going to check on her when she rushed back around the corner with her arms loaded with enough green to make a leprechaun queasy.

“Phew,” she breathed as she dumped her collection on the counter. A few things spilled off the edge and she reached down to grab them while Mac scanned the items and loaded them into a bag. “I’m glad you guys were open. It would not have gone over well if I didn’t get these.”

Mac nodded, wondering why she needed so many decorations. He didn’t have to wonder long.

“My mom runs a day care and she asked me to pick up some decorations on the way into work. I’m too old to take orders from my mom, but I’m smarter than to piss her off without a good reason.”

Mac smiled at her attempt to engage him in conversation. He was running on fumes and barely able to stay standing. Managing his side of a conversation was beyond his abilities at that point. He focused on ringing up her purchases, feeling slightly guilty for assuming she was an overbearing mother. When he finished he told her the total and accepted her payment. She smiled when she slung the bags over one arm, the baby carrier over the other.

“Have a good day,” she sang as she walked out the door. Mac just kicked himself for not being more friendly. Or getting her number.

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Green Beer and Red Wine

Mac cursed his kindness when he hung up the phone. His relief wasn’t coming. Nate should have been there already, but he was sick. Which meant Mac had to stay on for a little longer until someone else came in.

Mornings were usually pretty quiet, but Mac still hated working the retail store. He preferred his night shift stocking shelves, even when the shelves made him want to vomit. When he unlocked the front door of the store, he saw a woman rushing toward him in heels and a long coat, carrying a baby carrier over his forearm.

Nothing like an over-anxious mom needing to make her child’s life perfect to ruin his morning.

“Do you have St. Patrick’s Day decorations out yet?” she asked. She barely even looked at Mac, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t in the mood for being social, even though her voice made his heart rate kick up and her eyes looked like they held the secrets of the universe.

“Last aisle on the wall,” Mac said absently, wondering how long he would have to be there.

She rushed off, leaving Mac by the register. When she didn’t come back right away he started to wonder just how green she wanted her house to be. Mac was considering going to check on her when she rushed back around the corner with her arms loaded with enough green to make a leprechaun queasy.

“Phew,” she breathed as she dumped her collection on the counter. A few things spilled off the edge and she reached down to grab them while Mac scanned the items and loaded them into a bag. “I’m glad you guys were open. It would not have gone over well if I didn’t get these.”

Mac nodded, wondering why she needed so many decorations. He didn’t have to wonder long.

“My mom runs a day care and she asked me to pick up some decorations on the way into work. I’m too old to take orders from my mom, but I’m smarter than to piss her off without a good reason.”

Mac smiled at her attempt to engage him in conversation. He was running on fumes and barely able to stay standing. Managing his side of a conversation was beyond his abilities at that point. He focused on ringing up her purchases, feeling slightly guilty for assuming she was an overbearing mother. When he finished he told her the total and accepted her payment. She smiled when she slung the bags over one arm, the baby carrier over the other.

“Have a good day,” she sang as she walked out the door. Mac just kicked himself for not being more friendly. Or getting her number.

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#EggcerptExchange Deadly Alliance by Kathleen Rowland

Please welcome Kathleen Rowland here today to tell us about her book, Deadly Alliance!
Deadly Alliance

Kathleen Rowland

Finbar Donahue, former Army Ranger, walked on the wild side in Iraq, but now he lives in the shadows. After his evasive partner, Les, was shot in a random drive-by, Finn discovers cash is siphoned monthly. He fights to keep his investment company afloat. When the late partner’s girlfriend, Amy Kintyre, applies for his bookkeeping job, Finn suspects she knows about his company drain and hires her.

Amy needs a nine-to-five with free evenings and weekends to get her fashion design business back on track. She unearths Les’s secret bank account and alerts Finn. Freezing of the money laundering account sets off havoc within an Irish gang. Amy witnesses a gang fight between a brutal ISIS fundraising organization and the Irish. Desperate to escape a stalker’s crosshairs, she seeks refuge with Finn. As danger heats up, sparks fly hotter.

Excerpt from Deadly Alliance

Hours later, Finn straightened his spine as he listened to his new bookkeeper order Rosenberg around with the authority of an Army lieutenant. She spoke with confidence from her chair and waited for answers with intensity. Somehow she came across larger than her delicate self.

“Brad,” his pretty war buddy said, “I’ll need your password to access activity-to-date.” Her attitude wasn’t for show. Her curiosity propelled her to the depths of the drain. Heaven help those who lurked there.

“Sure thing.” Brad blew out a breath and scribbled his password on a sticky note. Handing it to her, he bent to her level.

She said, “I apologize for causing chaos.”

“No apology necessary.” Brad asked, “What are you working on?”

Jumping in, Finn said, “Comparisons, Rosenberg, that’s what she’s working on.” Unholy as she’d undoubtedly turn out to be, at the moment they were forged in combat. “Give her your full support.”

“Absolutely. Consider me your scaffold,” Rosenberg said, accepting his fate. “Excuse me, won’t you? I’m running payroll.”

Finn liked his head accountant. He was solid. Dependable. Not creative, but his easy-going manner was soothing. “Payroll. You’re a masochist.”

Amy smiled, and her crystal-green gaze sought his. She found his comment amusing. Her professional attire included a gray satin blouse tucked into a herringbone skirt. When she moved, her layered, dark-blonde hair settled into a sleek flip over her shoulders.

Amy’s bending and reaching, as she took control of her four-by-four cubicle, was damn compelling. She found a rhythm with a handy notepad beside her computer. Using Brad’s password, she turned sideways to open files. Attractive summed up her symmetrical profile and creamy complexion.

For a long while, getting hot and heavy had not been on his mind. Her envelope gave him concrete evidence to bring to the sheriff and eased his tension. As she brushed tresses off her face, he wanted to nibble on her ear.

Amy packed her lithe frame with succulent curves. He enjoyed observing her ample bust which required high-performance support. He’d like to see those globes running free. He’d never considered her as dating material. Timing was off. When she started dating Les, he was hooking up with Miss California. Now it was too late. She worked for him. Hands off. Finn liked women—lots of women, all women, in all shapes and sizes and ethnicities as long as they met the enthusiasm requirement. He hadn’t tested this, but she was off-limits for another reason. He didn’t intend to put her through another relationship leading to nowhere.

Finn kept things loose. A woman in his bed but not in his life was what he often said. There hadn’t been that either.  Why was he picturing her naked in his bed?

Buy Now from Amazon!
About Kathleen

Book Buyers Best finalist Kathleen Rowland is devoted to giving her readers fast-paced, high-stakes suspense with a sizzling love story sure to melt their hearts.  Kathleen used to write computer programs but now writes novels.   She grew up in Iowa where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and raced her sailboat on Lake Okoboji.  Now she wears flip-flops and sails with her husband, Gerry, on Newport Harbor but wishes there were lightning bugs in California.

Kathleen exists happily with her witty CPA husband, Gerry, in their 70’s poolside retreat in Southern California where she adores time spent with visiting grandchildren, dogs, one bunny, and noisy neighbors.  While proud of their five children who’ve flown the coop, she appreciates the luxury of time to write while listening to demanding character voices in her head.

Connect with Kathleen on her website, blog, Facebook, or Twitter!

To get to know the other authors involved in the Eggcerpt Exchange, search social media for #EggcerptExchange. You just might find your next favorite author!

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Green Beer and Red Wine (Mar 3)

Christine slapped the alarm clock that screeched next to her bed. She rolled over and stretched, then froze. 

The house was quiet. Too quiet. Quiet was something she hadn’t heard in over a year. And it terrified her. 

She leapt out of bed and rushed across the hall. She threw the door open and half ran across the room. 

Then froze again. 

Angela, Christine’s 13 month old daughter, was sound asleep. 

Christine stood and watched her daughter’s chest rise and fall slowly. She backed out of the room and smiled. She’d almost given up on ever needing to set her alarm again. Angela was definitely an early bird, something that made Christine cringe. 

Christine grabbed the monitor and closed the bathroom door, praying she could enjoy her shower, but working fast just in case. 

Christine was rinsing herself off when she heard the first whimpers through the monitor. She wrapped her hair in a towel and her body in a bathrobe and went to start her day. 

Christine talked to Angela through their morning routine and was actually running a little early when he phone beeped with an incoming text. 

Please grab some decorations for the nursery. We took down the Valentine’s Day stuff yesterday and it’s bare in here. 

Christine groaned and thumbed back that she would. The CEO shouldn’t be running errands, but when her mother ran the day care, she didn’t have much of a choice. 

“So much for being early,” Christine told Angela with a grimace. 

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Green Beer and Red Wine (Mar 2)

Mac sighed as he pulled the last red heart from the display on the wall. He knew his work was only half done, but he needed a break. Valentine’s Day was hard enough for a single guy to get through, but St. Patrick’s Day was his personal worst. With green eyes, red hair, and a last name like O’Neill, everyone knew he was Irish, and wanted to be friends with him.

Usually that was a good thing, but when the world expected you to be someone you weren’t, and tried to be just like you, it could really grate on your nerves. Everyone thought he would love St. Patrick’s Day, but it just didn’t do anything for him.

Except remind him of everything he’d lost.

Mac pushed the dark thoughts away and chugged his bottle of water. He’d rather have a hot cup of coffee, but there wasn’t a 24 hour coffee shop around so he settled for water when he worked at 3 am. Maybe someone would bring him a cup.

When his bottle was drained, Mac tossed it aside and resumed his task, filling the previously pink wall with more green than he thought his stomach could handle. He stepped back and admired his work. Even though he hated it, Mac knew the wall looked good. The decorations and novelties would be flying off the wall in no time, filling the town with green for the next four weeks.

Mac dumped the pink and red paraphernalia into the clearance bin at the front of the store for those shoppers who liked to pick up the good deal, then headed back to the break room. He was starting to fade, but he had a few more things to do before he could leave. It’d been a long night, like it always was when he worked the bar then headed into the store, but Mac liked to stay busy. Busy meant he didn’t have time to worry about the past, or the future. He knew he didn’t have much of a life, but he was okay with that. He didn’t like people relying on him. He always disappointed them when they counted on him. It was just easier to not let them start.

Then no one could get hurt.

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