Michelle M. Pillow's Blog, page 64
January 11, 2014
Someone feed me…
As much as I adore the idea of fresh veggies from the garden, I’m afraid it’s the farmer’s market for me from now on. … that or I really need to find the best garden in town (you know the one who always has extras they’re trying to give away) and make a new friend.
Can you tell I’m ready for the snow to go away? LOL
Author Life
Working very long hours isn’t as bad when you LOVE your job…now tell that to my typing fingers.
January 9, 2014
January 8, 2014
Michelle M. Pillow: Fighting Lady Jayne (Divinity Warriors)
Fighting Lady Jayne (Divinity Warriors) By Michelle M. Pillow
Narrated by Rebecca Cook
Now in eBook, Print & Audio
Alternate Reality Romance
Divinity Warriors Book Two
Jayne Hart has earned her independence by becoming Divinity Corporation’s inter-dimensional boxing champion. Life is great, until a dirty fighter knocks her unconscious. Now, abandoned by the corporation in a parallel world, Jayne will use every weapon she has to be free once more. Even if it means running from her sexy new “husband” and spending the rest of her life in a primitive forest.
Ronen of Firewall longs for a woman to warm his bed and his home, but he had no intention of choosing a bride. In an unprecedented move, one chooses him. Never in the history of the breeding ceremony has a woman dared to lay claim. How can he resist the alluring Lady Jayne? She’s confident and sure in her decision to be with him–until their wedding night when she’s nowhere to be found. But, Ronen is not one to shy from a battle. He will find Jayne and, when he does, he has one particular “weapon” in mind for taming his seductive, wayward wife.
All videos listing: http://www.michellepillow.com/vlog
About Michelle:
Michelle M. Pillow, Author of All Things Romance™, is a multi-published (over 70 published books!) , award-winning author writing in many romance fiction genres including futuristic, paranormal, historical, contemporary, fantasy and dark paranormal. Ever since she can remember, she has had a strange fascination with anything supernatural–ghosts, magical powers, and oh… vampires. What could be more alluring than being immortal, all-powerful, and eternally beautiful? After discovering historical romance novels, it was only natural that the supernatural and love/romance elements should someday meet in her wonderland of a brain. She’s glad they did for their children have been pouring onto the computer screen ever since.
She has been on the Amazon bestseller list multiple times, nominated for the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award 2011, the winner of the 2006 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, nominated for the 2007 RT Award, a Brava Novella Contest Finalist and a PAN member of RWA.
Publishers include everything from Indie to small press to big NY pubs: Random House, Virgin Books, Rouge (Ebury), Pocket Books, The Raven Books, Adams Media, Ellora’s Cave, Samhain, Running Press, Robinson, etc
Michelle is a journalist for Paranormal Underground Magazine. She has a BGS in History/Business with an English Minor, and a Photography degree. In 2009 she and fellow author Mandy M. Roth started their own highly successful self-publishing endeavor named The Raven Books.
Readers can contact her through her author website http://www.MichellePillow.com
For photography, visit http://www.PrettyPoisonPhotography.com
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The Raven Books
January 2, 2014
Want to be uber cool?
Want to be uber cool? Go to my website and +1 things, and share them, and like them, and tweet them, and use those fancy buttons I put on the right side and on the book pages…
please.
I’ll beg. It won’t be pretty, but I’ll do it for your personal amusement.
You know you want to.
December 31, 2013
Looking forward to 2014 (Another New Years Post)
Happy New Year!
It’s that time again, the looking forward to the new year, reevaluating, staring at the end of the year number charts for work and shuffling through notes to figure out what 2014 will bring me.
I know New Year’s Resolutions can be lame, but for some reason, I still really like them. I love that sense of moving forward, especially after a hard year. I like that feeling of possibility and hope that can come with the clock ticking closer to midnight.
There is also a big personal rushing around happening on New Year’s Eve as I try to finish all the stuff that I didn’t get done. Today, that was sending The Jaded Hunter’s print edition to press so I can examine the proofs, updating The Reluctant Lord’s release on the author website, as well as King of the Unblessed audio editions that when live sometime last night.
But this is supposed to be about 2014…
I will not put my new diet changes on this list, lol. That equals doom and it’s more of a life change rather than a one year goal thing. I miss you already, bacon.
This year marks some very personal milestones for me, things a long time coming. *knock on wood* A lot of those I haven’t/won’t share online but they have been huge stressor weights. I suppose I mention it as a reminder that everyone has those things we don’t know about and to be understanding and tolerant to others (and not trolls).
One milestone I will share: I’ve been a published author for 10 years!!! I’ve been with New York/London “big” publishers (Random House, Virgin, Pocket, Adam’s Media, Running Press, Robinson, etc), e-first pubs (like Samhain and Ellora’s Cave), and indie with my company The Raven Books (co-owned with Mandy M. Roth). It’s been wild, and fun, and hard, and fun…thank you readers for allowing me to do what I was born to do.
I have a ton of book projects set for this year. I’m really going to try to focus more on writing time, which has been hard with everything going on. There will be more Dragon Lords and Dragon Lords spin-offs. Plus, *squee* this is Dragon Lord’s tenth anniversary. So I’ll do something special for that!
The last written Realm Immortal series and Tribes of the Vampire series books will re-release (and I think I will finally be caught up with re-releasing the backlist for readers).
I also hope to release my first YA novels under the name Naomi Kalling—something I’ve been talking about for years, but life kept getting in the way.
I’m starting with a new-to-me publisher, Entangled Publishing’s Covet line with a new magickal series. Yes, magickal.
There are more audio books planned. The first one this year will be Emerald Knight. I hope to do Dragon Lords audio—but finding that right voice is hard. I could really use some help with this one, readers. Please. OMG I’m begging…please?!
There are more print editions coming. The Jaded Hunter (if everything looks right) will start if off in January.
There are some Super-Secret projects in the works. Of course this means I can’t talk about them, but I’m so excited about the possibilities for myself, The Raven Books, and for my Raven partner Mandy Roth.
A lot of you who follow know that Mandy is my hetero-lifemate (no worries, the men in our lives were sent a memo informing them of it). I’m actually more excited about some of her super-secret things than my own, because I know how hard she works and how much she deserves it. This is also her 10 year anniversary. We’ve been through a lot together—personally and in the publishing industry. We’ve hit milestones together, to the point that when something good happens to her, I feel like it’s happening to me, too. Sorry, Mandy, gooshy moment over. But looking forward to 2014, you know you had to make a spot on my list.
READERS: What are your resolutions?
Thank you my wonderful readers for your support of my work. I hope you have a brilliant 2014!
December 18, 2013
Life of the Author… (Michelle M. Pillow)
Life of the Author…
A few years back I was contacted by a giant financial company who will remain nameless to speak at their spa retreat. They set up phone meetings (missed those phone meetings), reset meetings, emailed continually, and then finally when the higher up finally called when she was supposed to she dominates the conversation for about five minutes before saying, “We all love your book Fierce Competition. We give it to all the new employees and make the read it for training purposes. It’s my favorite book.”
I calmly respond, “You do know Fierce Competition is a romance novel and I’m a romance writer.”
She instantly hung up.
Fierce Competition released from Virgin Books (Random House) in mass market and print several years ago. You can now find it in ebook. It’s light contemporary erotic romance.
If it wasn’t funny, I’d be mad they wasted my time before doing a quick google of my name.
It would have been a interesting talk though… lmao
Michelle M. Pillow
www.MichellePillow.com
December 10, 2013
Raven Author: Excerpt: Bella Mia by Mandy M Roth
Bella Mia by Mandy M Roth
Daughter of Darkness 3
Paranormal Dark Fantasy Vampire Romance
The sins of our past are never far behind…
On the run from two men who want her, Gwyneth Stevens finds herself at the door of a third-Giovanni Baldassare, master vampire and former henchman of her father, the King of the Dark Realm. When Pallo and Caleb resurface, all
hell breaks loose and old habits die hard. Out of time and places to hide, Gwen must face her destiny head on if she ever hopes to find happiness. Can the triangle of lovers make welcome a newcomer, or will the group succumb
to old enemies resurfacing and centuries-old grudges, allowing history to repeat itself?
Rating: Carnal. This story contains mega hot alpha heroes who aren’t about to take no for an answer, a gutsy heroine, a woman torn between multiple men, chilling villains, sizzling sex, and violence. It is not intended for the faint of heart. Author recommends reading the series in order of release.
EXCERPT
Chapter One
“Check mate,” Giovanni said, his voice smooth.
I stared across the chessboard at him and rolled my eyes. “There’s a shocker!”
He’d beaten me three times in a row, somehow perfecting the art of annihilating his opponents in the shortest amount of moves possible. No surprise, he’d had almost five hundred years to master the game of chess. I’d had less than thirty. Guess who was better.
Twirling the end of his long, black hair, he gave me a wicked little smile. It was entirely too sexy, as I’m sure he already suspected. “I could let you win next time.”
I had a sneaky suspicion he had tried to let me win the last one, which had ended in much the same fashion as the rest—me as the loser.
“Oh, yeah, I want a pity win, thanks … but, no.”
He laughed and stood with the same grace he had in all his actions. He put his hand out to me, his gaze darting over my body as he pulled me up to him. My long burgundy, belled slacks gave the look of a skirt and the flow of a gown. My overly exaggerated breasts were pushed up towards him in the matching corset top. I looked like I could be starring in a late night soap opera.
For the supernatural and super horny.
Giovanni glanced down at the mounds of white flesh and bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment of my beauty. No, I wasn’t being cocky. He’d done it so many times over the past four months that I was used to it. Trust me when I say getting used to being treated like a queen is friggin’ awesome.
The first time he’d acted like that, I’d stopped and made a point to question his behavior. He simply explained he was paying his respects for being allowed to be near me. I laughed him off, thinking he was joking. I mean, come on, who would buy that response as the right answer?
Giovanni was one I was never able to read well. I knew all about him being a big-bad-vampire and I knew all about his role in killing me my first time on this earth. That was over two-hundred years ago. Wait, it gets even more confusing. He also played a key role in saving my life on two different occasions this time around.
Warning: Concentrating too hard on my own life could lead to an aneurysm.
Being reincarnated was hard enough to live with. Try adding the fact that ninety percent of the people I knew in my past life were immortal and still around. Apparently, I had a history, sometimes sordid, with each of them. Yeah, I was beginning to think I’d make a great movie of the week. If I was lucky, someone famous would play me. Doubtful though.
“Dance with me, Bella.” He made no attempt to hide his accent like so many vampires I know did. Giovanni had lived most of his life in Italy and made no bones about it. He was what he was and that was that. I admired him for it.
“Who is this?” I was curious as to what composer I was listening to now.
“Busoni,” Giovanni said, as if this one name declaration would sum it all up for me. I smiled and gave up trying to figure it all out. I decided to enjoy the moment. “Busoni, had a tremendous range of expression, would you agree? Not to the extent of many of the masters, but I enjoy him all the same. Pity he had to die. Such a mortal thing to do.”
I nodded, unsure what, exactly, I was agreeing to and smiled again. I wouldn’t know range of expression if it bit me in the ass. I also found little shocking about his comment on mortals dying. It was a sad truth. Giovanni was full of many of those.
For the first time in a long time, my smiles weren’t forced. Giovanni made me happy. Italy made me happy. It felt like home.
I let him put his hand on my waist and take my other in his. He led us across the marble floor in such a perfect, fluid motion that it felt as though we’d been doing it for centuries. Perhaps we had. My memories of my past life were sporadic at best. Whatever was happening between us seemed right.
My heels clicked along as I let myself be swept up in the moment. Giovanni had a way about him. He was sophisticated, yet full of humor and charm. He was so very different from the men I’d left behind four months earlier. He was also a great deal more dangerous. Maybe that was part of the lure.
He spun me around and around. Lifting me off my feet, he continued around once more before setting me back down gently. When he was finished, I was left dizzy, breathless, and clinging to him. I knew he enjoyed being this close to me. I enjoyed it, too. More than I should but it was hard not to appreciate the feel of his toned body pressed to mine. We’d been staying together for the last fourteen weeks and in that time he and I had never had sex or even shared a kiss. Horny didn’t even begin to cover my body at present.
There’s only so much Italian stallion a gal can take before she’s biting her lip and thinking of easing her own sexual frustration.
Giovanni was turning out to be someone I enjoyed spending time with. He’d been gracious enough to take me away from the chaos of my father’s–King Kerrigan, Leader of the Dark Realm–home. My father had been well meaning in his attempts at throwing an extravagant engagement party for me, but he hadn’t been aware that circumstances had changed. Caleb, the man I had agreed to marry, and I had had a falling out. My father especially liked Caleb, because he, like me, is a faerie. Being intimate with a faerie is a feeling that cannot be duplicated even with the most loving of partners. As much as Caleb and I seemed perfect for each other, the engagement went sour fast. He’d been running around town with other women and I’d been sleeping with other men. One man in particular that I’d chosen to share myself with had upset him—Pallo D’Alessandro.
Pallo happened to be a master vampire and longtime on and off again boyfriend of mine. Did I forget to mention that Giovanni sired him? You know what they say about the webs we weave.
“What would you like to do today, Bella?”
Giovanni had made sure to set it up so that I didn’t have to do anything on my own if I didn’t want to. It sounded very glamorous in the beginning, until two women showed up in my bathroom trying to clean me. I had had to draw the line and set limits then. After a two hour limit setting session Giovanni seemed to understand I didn’t mind living my own life or bathing myself.
“I don’t care. You decide.”
“My dear, Bella, everyday it is the same. I ask what you want and you volley it back to me.”
“Volley? My, aren’t we the hip vamp? Are you taking notes on how to sound like you come from this century?” I batted my lashes. “Oh, I want to see them.”
His smile widened. “Shall we try horseback riding again?”
I let out a long, exasperated breath. “The horses are scared to death of you. Why don’t you get some sort of demon-breed? Maybe they’d be less skittish.” The last time we’d attempted to go for a ride Giovanni had sent the horses into a dither. They were beside themselves with fear. They could sense he was a vampire and they were not cool with that. Hell, I wasn’t always cool with it either. Couldn’t really blame the things. Our planned night out ended up with me coaxing an upset horse back to its stable while trying to convince Giovanni that, no, I really didn’t need his help.
“How about tennis… would you like to play?”
This was going nowhere fast. “I don’t know how to play. Maybe, if you did you could teach me.”
Laughing, he threw his hands up. “Arrèndere—I surrender. It is up to you, Bella.”
“Can I ask you something?” I hedged, unsure how much I wanted to push him because I was positive his answer wouldn’t be to my liking.
“Of course.”
“Why is it you have a pool, a tennis court, horses and all this other stuff if you can’t, or don’t want to use them?”
A slight smile appeared on his handsome face. “I told the people who took care of this property that I wanted it kept up to date. They followed my orders.”
“That part I get. It explains some of the stuff, but not the horses.”
Coming close to me, he touched my cheek and his soft hands ran over my skin lightly. “Bella, it is you who liked horses. I simply continued to keep them around after you were gone. They reminded me of you. I used to watch you care for them and go for morning rides to see the sun come up. Though, I was not able to accompany you due to obvious reasons, I did so enjoy knowing you were happy.”
I didn’t know what to say. He’d kept a stable full of horses around for over two-hundred years because I’d liked them? It was too much even for me. I shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d kept a room of the house stocked full of my old clothes. Over the years he’d picked up things here and there that reminded him of me, even though I had been long dead. It wasn’t very endearing. It was weird.
“Giovanni, you’re creeping me out again.”
“I do have a tendency to do that.”
A nervous laugh escaped me as I glanced around the large sitting room. It was beautiful. In fact, it was the most beautiful room I’d ever been in. It wasn’t just that he had decorated it in antiques that seemed very touchable, it was how much time he’d put into every piece of furniture and artwork that went into his home. He seemed to have a thing for deep, rich colors in the main living area and more subtle ones throughout the rest of his home.
My gaze wandered to the fresco of Jesus tending his sheep. The irony of the devil having Jesus hanging on his wall was not lost on me. A vampire with the desire to have a holy figure depicted in his home—just another example of Giovanni’s quirks. Part of what made me like being around him so very much. It was also something I’d miss.
I looked back at him with a heavy heart. “I’m going to have to go home soon.”
There. I had said it out loud.
He moved his long black hair over one shoulder and began to take his jacket off. The man wore designer suits almost every day. I wondered if he wore designer underwear, too. Shocked to find myself thinking about him sexually again, I couldn’t pull my eyes away as his long, pale fingers unbuttoned one of the three buttons of the single-breasted black jacket. He casually tossed the jacket onto the sage-colored chair behind him. My cheeks flared red because only yesterday I had been picturing him nude in that very chair. The soft feel of the velvet and the ornate features matched him, so well. Having him waiting naked in it for me seemed like the perfect fantasy.
Giovanni was doing the most casual of things, yet I couldn’t seem to tear my gaze from him. His matching black button up dress shirt was open, down to his mid-chest. My toes curled at the thought of touching him. I was shaken. I’d gotten used to looking at men bare their chests to me since I’d known Caleb and Pallo. Caleb was a fan of the no-shirt look and Pallo liked to show his chest off through the wonders of designer clothing. Giovanni was a lot like Pallo in that respect, but he seemed to think more was better. I had seen him once in a mesh black shirt. It showed off his tanned and toned upper body, but I’d never seen him in anything quite that revealing again.
Moving onto my tiptoes, I tried to sneak a peek into his shirt. He caught me doing it and smiled.
“You have only but to ask me and…”
I put my hand up to stop him from going any further. I’d been the one to insist sex stay out of our relationship, but being next to an Italian stud twenty-four hours a day could make a nun second guess herself.
I’m certainly no nun.
“No. Really, I’m good. I was just wondering about something.”
He walked over to the side table and poured two glasses of wine, keeping his back to me. I knew it was on purpose. His tall, toned frame and long hair made him slightly androgynous from the backside. Thankfully, his shoulders were wide and his face masculine or people would begin to wonder.
Giovanni turned and handed me a glass of red wine. As I took it, my body reacted to his touch, heating, tightening, aching for more. Yanking my hand away, I gave him a nasty look. “I thought I told you not to use your vamp-mojo on me.”
His black eyes softened and the corner of his mouth dropped into a frown. “Bella, I am not using any mojo on you. I promise you that.”
If he was telling the truth, then I was in deep shit. Having feelings for him could be deadly. I knew that for a fact. I set my glass of wine down and walked towards the stairs. “I need some time to myself.”
What I really should have said was that I needed to put distance between us.
He put his glass in the air and nodded to me. “Of course.”
December 9, 2013
Naughty and Nice Blog Hop
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* * *
I love food holidays.
1. I don’t have to cook.
2. I have really good cooks in the family.
3. I don’t have to cook.
I often joke that the best way to get out of cooking for the holidays is to mess up a few key dish assignments. Trust me, if you make the stuffing really dry or the pies too sugary, people will stop asking you to cook. My extended family has pretty much given up on my cooking for the potluck and have assigned me to permanent potato chip and ice cube bag duty. I wish I could say I did it on purpose, but I’m not that sneaky.
The funny thing is, my skills have since improved and I make a Thanksgiving dinner at my own house and my guests seem to enjoy it. Don’t tell the family though, or they might up my responsibilities LOL.
I’m very thankful for my family, friends and readers. You make life wonderful!
Michelle M. Pillow
www.MichellePillow.com
Christmas Curse by Michelle M. Pillow
Megan Sinclair believes she’s cursed. After all, every year she celebrates Christmas something bad happens—broken bones, chicken pox, house burning down. So after agreeing to finally go home for the holidays, she’s not surprised when her all-too-sexy boyfriend breaks up with her—and by note, no less!
Sean Morgan doesn’t believe in curses, but his girlfriend does. It’s her one fault. In all other ways Megan’s perfect for him, from her interesting mind to her gorgeous body. And the sex? HOT. But, because she’s convinced something bad will happen, he’s not too surprised when she leaves for the holiday without him. Convincing Megan that she’s not cursed may take some creative maneuvering, but Sean plans to make sure he turns her holiday luck around.
About Michelle
Michelle M. Pillow, Author of All Things Romance™, is a multi-published, award winning author writing in many romance fiction genres including futuristic, paranormal, historical, contemporary, fantasy and dark paranormal. Ever since she can remember, she has had a strange fascination with anything supernatural–ghosts, magical powers, and oh… vampires. What could be more alluring than being immortal, all-powerful, and eternally beautiful? After discovering historical romance novels, it was only natural that the supernatural and love/romance elements should someday meet in her wonderland of a brain. She’s glad they did for their children have been pouring onto the computer screen ever since.
She loves to hear from readers and can be found playing online.
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November 20, 2013
Raven Author: Excerpt: Crazy for You by Kennedy Kovit
M/F Contemporary Romance
Meredith is home again, ready to settle down in her small town and open the antique shop she’s always dreamed of owning. She’s had enough of powerful men trying to use her and wants to simply fade away from the dating scene and enjoy life. When she runs into the diner’s new owner, she quickly realizes her master plan might have been premature.
Landry left life in the fast lane for life on Main Street. He’s sworn off women for a while. They’re nothing but trouble. Meredith is no exception. In fact, he’s pretty sure she’s not quite right in the head, but for some reason he gets her offbeat, whimsical behavior and craves being around it, not to mention she’s smokin’ hot and oozes sex appeal. It’s hard to fight nature’s pull even while chanting, “I’ve sworn off women.”
Rating: This full-length contemporary novel contains explicit sex scenes told with frank, graphic language. The book has a quirky heroine who is not above bedazzling her way through life, even though she can’t seem to pretty-up her past and an ex-uptight hero who learns to laugh all while breaking his number one rule—no more women.
EXCERPT
Must be 18 years and older to read. If not, please leave the site.
Chapter One
“Hey, Meredith.”
I glanced to the side to find my brother, Samson, grinning like a fool as he waited outside the door of the new town diner. He was entirely too chipper for my liking.
“Miss me that much?” I asked, pulling my sunglasses down to the end of my nose. I tapped the edge of them.
He took one look at my attire and grunted. “Those heels are too high for you and your skirt is too short.” He held the door to the diner open for me. “And your blouse is cut too low. It’s really thin.” He made a motion to take his outer shirt off and I groaned.
He’d get naked just to keep anyone from daring to see I had any shape to me.
“Samson, enough.” I rolled my eyes, laughing at him. “My heels are the same as I wear almost daily. The skirt goes past my knees and the blouse isn’t showing anything it shouldn’t. Stop overreacting.”
He didn’t look pleased with me as he ushered me past the diner patrons to a cozy corner near the counter. He practically pushed me into the seat in the back, going again for his shirt. I wouldn’t be the least bit shocked if he demanded I put a potato sack on.
I stood and put my hands on my hips, unconcerned if I made a scene. I’d known most of the people in the diner all my life. They were used to my theatrics by now. It was doubtful anything I said or did would sway their opinion of me much. “Samson, do not make me drag you by your ear out to the street before I kick you plum in your backside. I’ll do it.”
“You’ve done it before,” someone said, making me smile.
Samson reached for me. “Mer, you should cover up. I can see your…umm…” He glanced at my chest and paled. It was comical seeing how unable he was to say the word breasts when referring to mine. Apparently, in his world, anyone related to him did not possess them. “Please.”
“I’m a woman.” I shook my chest slightly and he grew green around the edges. “They come with the territory.”
“Don’t remind me,” he said, putting his head down.
I glanced past him at a table full of women I didn’t know. They were watching my brother as if he were fresh meat. Annoyed, I shot them a diva stare and cleared my throat, catching their attention. “He’s about to eat lunch with me. I’d appreciate it if you weren’t mentally undressing him the entire time. I won’t be able to digest my food.”
Samson’s eyes widened a second before he tipped his head, laughing hard. “Oh, Mer. I missed you.” The women glanced away and I was thankful. The last thing I wanted to think of my brother as was a sex symbol. In my mind, Samson was anything but one.
Peggy and Marsha, two town locals and mother hens, grinned as they spotted Samson and me. He groaned. “Sorry ahead of time,” he said. “I thought we could enjoy a meal out together without anyone pouncing on you.”
I snorted. With a town the size of Paxton Falls, everyone knew your business and made it theirs in no time flat. “Fat chance of that.”
They approached. Peggy winked. “Samson never mentioned you were coming in for a visit.” Her swagger was almost as legendary as her deep, southern drawl.
My brother stiffened.
Taking a deep breath, I prepared to face the firing squad. “I’m not visiting. I’m moving back to the area.”
Peggy touched her chest lightly, and Marsha gasped loud enough to draw everyone’s attention. “You’re moving home?”
Hushed murmurs filled the diner. I waited for them to die down before staring around at everyone. “Yes,” I said. “I’m moving home.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Peggy asked, swatting Samson in the back of the head. “We could have had a welcome home party for her. We could have had cake.”
“And cookies,” Marsha added, giving Samson the evil eye.
I snorted and decided to come to his rescue. “Actually, he only found out this morning when I called him on my way in from the city.”
Peggy and Marsha circled us like sharks. “What brought this on?” Marsha asked.
Samson straightened in the chair. “I’d like an answer to that myself.”
More than one reason had caused me to pack several bags, load up my car and drive straight through the night to come home. None of which I wanted to get into with the town gossip gals, even if I did love them like family.
“It was just time for me to make a change,” I offered, hoping it would be enough.
Marsha seemed to catch on to the fact that I didn’t want to get into it all now. She pointed at the specials on the board above the counter. “Looks like he has quite the selection.”
“He who?” I asked. As smiles formed on both women’s faces, I knew I’d just been baited.
“Landry,” Peggy said, smiling innocently. “He owns the diner now. Bought it after Old Man Henry passed.”
Marsha gestured to the specials again. “He’s handsome too. Wonder if he’s married.”
I was quite sure she already knew the answer to that question. From the look on her face, she was up to something and so was her buddy.
Samson chuckled. “No. Landry isn’t married.”
Peggy and Marsha perked, appearing way too interested in the diner owner. Knowing they’d be badgering Samson for juicy details, I excused myself and went in search of a restroom, or anything that would prevent them from turning their attention back to me.
I was headed to what I assumed was the way to the restrooms when my childhood friend Jeremiah entered the diner. He spotted me and smiled wide. “Mer, what are you doing home?”
“She’s moving back,” Peggy supplied.
Jeremiah’s jaw dropped. “No way.”
“Way,” I said. “And I have got to pee.”
He grunted. “Still as sweet as ever. I need to talk to Samson a sec. You staying so I can catch up with you?”
“Yep.”
He headed past me and I turned, walking right into a muscular man in a red t-shirt. His chocolate brown gaze fell on me just as the plate he had in his hand wobbled. I reached up fast, steadying it, unable to look away. He was simply breathtaking.
Tall, dark and bearing food. What more could a girl want?
I took a step to the side and he moved the same way. Clearing my throat, I attempted to move again and found him mirroring me. He let out a nervous chuckle and I smiled.
“Sorry,” he said, his voice deep, making my insides tingle.
We attempted to go around one another again only to once more walk into each other. Unable to help myself, I burst into laughter. I took hold of his steely waist and gasped at the feel of him.
His dark gaze heated as he stared down at me from his six-four perch. I wasn’t exactly short at five-nine and enjoyed being next to men who were taller than me.
I licked my lower lip, suddenly thirsty for more than water. “Uh, you stay. I’ll go.”
“Meredith?” Marsha asked, her voice piercing the diner. “My, my, what have you bumped into?”
Peggy clapped her hands. “A hunk!”
I wasn’t known for being shy. I did what felt natural. I touched the man’s hips and began to move toward him and then away again, all the while singing a song from a group I loved. It was about mating and the games played to achieve it. It had a very James Bond style to it, a vibe I loved. I assumed he’d be like anyone else meeting me for the first time, confused. When he held the plate up and moved his hips, I lost it, laughing and clinging to him.
He followed, doing the same, holding me with one arm and balancing a plate in the other. “Mmm, is that a devil in my pocket?”
I tipped my head, staring up at him, shocked he’d clearly heard of the song. It wasn’t exactly well-known. “Willing to be a contestant? If so, I’ll arm wrestle Peggy for you.”
“Sit,” Samson said, his voice low and warning.
“Can’t,” I answered.
“And why is that?”
Shaking my head in a dramatic fashion, I glanced over my shoulder at Samson. “Hello, did you miss that I’m in the middle of an impromptu game of chance? You cannot just walk away from that. It would be—”
“Sacrilegious,” the man supplied.
I laughed.
Samson grunted. “Do not encourage her. She’s crazy enough on her own.”
I winked. “No doubt exists that all women are crazy; it’s only a question of degree.”
The hunk near me chuckled. “W.C. Fields. Nice.”
Impressed, I faced him, my hands returning to his hips. “Alas, my love, our time has to come to an end.” I licked my lower lip. “Nature calls.”
“Pity. I was enjoying our time together, my love.” He moved at the same time, brushing the entire length of his body against me as he moved past. From the look in his eyes, he knew exactly what he was doing—making my body teeter on the edge of igniting. Though he seemed to be equally affected. At least I assumed he was, since he walked right into an empty chair while he was still watching me.
Samson was up in a heartbeat, coming for me, giving the man a hard look. “Meredith, did you decide what you wanted?”
“Oh, pick him!” Peggy said, pointing to the stud in the red t-shirt.
Grinning, I glanced around for a restroom, wanting to not only hide, but splash water on my face as well.
My cell phone rang and I sighed, reaching into the pocket of my skirt to retrieve it. I made a move to take it outside and backed right into the hunk in the red t-shirt. He wagged his brows. “How about I stand still?”
I blushed and knew my entire face was now red, something that didn’t happen often. “Sounds like a plan.”
I opened my phone and did the strangest thing. I put my palm on the man’s chest as I greeted the caller. As soon as I heard the voice on the other end, I cringed, annoyed that I’d bothered to answer it at all. “Brice, what do you want? I quit, remember. I used small words in my resignation letter to keep it simple for you. Should I have pasted pictures instead? Ooo, maybe I should have penned it across my chest. You know, where you always seemed to be looking.”
“I want you back, Meredith,” he said, sounding desperate. “I can’t do this without you.”
“Oh, I know you can’t. I tried to tell you as much, but you were too busy talking down to me like I was one of your little followers. You know, the ones who can’t wait to snag a rich husband.”
“I said I was sorry. Please, don’t—”
I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t aware apologies came in the form of you showing up for work drunk off your ass, all the while trying to grab mine. Just because your daddy owns the company doesn’t mean you’re fit to take over running it. Grow up, Brice.”
“Meredith, I know. More than you. I need you. You keep me on track. You’re my right hand. I don’t know how I did it without you.”
I snorted. “Oh, I know exactly how you did it before me. You walked out to that secretary pool and picked the doe-eyed ones, the ones you knew would spend more time under your desk than at their own.”
He exhaled loudly. “See. This is a prime example of why I need you back. You don’t shy away from keeping me in my place.”
“You don’t need me,” I said. “You need the number to a high-priced whorehouse. Wait, isn’t that on your speed dial?”
“Cut me some slack, Meredith. I’m eating crow here.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Cut you some slack? Uh, no. I walked in, almost straight out of college, and you saw a young girl from a small town, one you thought you could bully and order around because in your mind, small town equals simple. Little brains and lots of legs and tits. Isn’t that what I heard you telling Materson?”
“Well, no, I didn’t…umm…”
“Don’t bother denying it, Brice. Did you ever read my resume or did you hire me based on looks? You know what, don’t bother answering that either. I think we both know which you did.”
He whimpered. “I’m begging here, Meredith. I need you back. I can prove how much I’m committed to making this right with you.”
“How can you prove it? Did you take vows to be a monk? Start going to sex addicts meetings? Pull your head out of your ass? I’m all ears, Mr. Jonston. How can you prove that you’re committed to making anything work?”
“First, tell me where you are.” He swallowed hard. “Are you at your father’s house?”
I wrinkled my brow. “Why do you want to know if I’m at my dad’s place?”
“Just do me this favor,” he pleaded. “Where are you?”
“I’m at the diner in the center of town, why?”
“I’ll call you right back.” He hung up, leaving me standing there, staring at my phone.
It took me a moment to realize I was still caressing the hunk’s chest. I jerked my hand away and blushed. Damn, the man certainly had an effect on me. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he countered. “I found that conversation highly entertaining.”
“I didn’t,” Samson said, appearing behind the hunk with his arms crossed over his chest. “That jerkwad grabbed your ass?”
The hunk motioned to Samson. “Looks like your boyfriend isn’t too happy.”
My jaw dropped. “Oh, eww. Yuck.”
Samson rubbed his brow. “I’m not her boyfriend. I’m her brother, Landry. You knew that already.”
I grinned. “You’re Landry?”
“Guilty,” he said, his brown gaze locked on me.
