Saturday Snippet

This week’s topic is description. I’m thinking the seeing-you-again-after-all-this-time meet up in LEAN ON ME might be a good excerpt.

She drummed her fingers against the wooden table and wondered for the hundredth time why she thought returning home was such a great idea. True, she didn’t have a place to stay or money or a climbing career anymore. If she gave herself a second, she could probably work up a pretty good pity party, maybe even crawl under the table and hide. That would give the residents the kind of show they craved. But the whole how-dare-she-show-her-face thing was going to wear thin fast.

“Cassidy?”

She turned, ready to bat away any flying tomatoes that might come flying her way, and stared into a dark gray T-shirt straining against a firm, broad chest. Her gaze wandered up and over an open plaid shirt and a set of impressive shoulders underneath. Then she got to the face and the smile with the sexy cheek dimple.

Sweet Lord.

This guy could throw anything at her and she’d be fine so long as she got to stare at him for a few more seconds. Maybe run her fingers over the dark stubble on his chin and cheeks. He had a five-o’clock shadow at two in the afternoon, and, boy, wasn’t that the sexiest thing ever.



Nice to know her girl parts still worked fine even on an unwanted limited-calorie diet. “Yes, may I help you with something?”

“When did you get back into town?”

Figured he’d have one of those deep, husky voices that vibrated right down to her…yeah, she wasn’t letting her mind wander there. “Yesterday.”

He put his hands on his lean hips. “Are you staying at the house?”

Something thunked in her brain.

His eyebrow lifted. “Cassidy?”

“I’m sorry.” Boy, was she sorry. “But do we know each other?”

“We dated in high school.”

This time her brain clicked off. When it flickered back to life an error message flashed. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, we would have if you had shown up as promised.”

She could see every person in the room lean in closer. Even the soft music pumping through the speakers faded into the background. “Uh…”

His smile grew wider. “You don’t remember?”

Because it never happened. “No.”

“I’m heartbroken.”

“But, I…wait. When…?” She closed her mouth to stop the string of silliness.

His eyebrow lifted as he put a finger behind his ear. “I didn’t catch all of that.”

No way would she have left this guy stranded at a movie or anywhere else. Brown hair, sky-blue eyes and a flirty charm that started her knees shaking. Yeah, he fell into the unforgettable category. Even a woman facing the wrong side of luck could see that.

She glanced behind him at the semicircle of onlookers standing a few feet away. A quick look to her right and left showed the same pattern. Women gathered around, scowling, and some going as far as to point. A few faces seemed familiar. One woman actually frowned and made a tsk-tsking sound as she shook her head like some sort of disappointed elementary school teacher.

Cassidy thought that was overkill, but she’d take it because, well, she didn’t have much choice.

She inhaled the fragrant mix of greenery and flowers and turned back to the guy who had her stomach bouncing to her knees. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“No.” That dimple of his got sexier as he held out his hand.

She stared down. Long and lean, even his fingers were attractive. She’d never noticed a guy’s hands before, but that didn’t mean she was going to walk right into a joke and become its big ‘ole butt. “I don’t think—”

“I’m Mitch Anders.”

She knew the name. Heck, everyone knew the name. He’d been the star high school quarterback who took the team to the State Championship all those years ago. He’d left town on a scholarship the year after she did, with talk of a professional football career waiting in his future. She lost track of him after that.

Admittedly, she didn’t pay much attention to anything in school, boys and classes included. She remembered him being cute, but she knew he certainly didn’t look like he did now. Wowsa.

And they never dated. Nope. Never.

“I’m Cassidy.”

He leaned in and gave her a little wink. “Yeah, I know. I already said your name, remember?”

“What happened to your neck?” She closed her eyes the minute the babble left her mouth. Her breath also caught in her throat. She blamed the fumble of words rather than the feel of his hand folded over hers. “I mean, you, ah, look slimmer. Not that you were ever fat.”

One of the bystanders laughed.

Cassidy rushed to cover her most recent verbal disaster, though she feared there would be more. “You were more muscular then. Like, thicker in the shoulder to jaw area. You had a neck, of course. It was just…big.”

She swore she heard a gurgling sound. Probably had something to do with her drowning in stupidity.

He held up his free hand as his eyes sparkled with mischief. “That compliment, if that’s what it was supposed to be, was kind of painful.”

“It didn’t sound too great in my head either.” The same head that was now pounding.

LEAN ON ME

Copyright 2012, HelenKay Dimon

All Rights Reserved, Carina Press

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Don’t forget to check out the other snippets:

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Rhian Cahill

Eliza Gayle

Leah Braemel

Myla Jackson

Caris Roane

Jody Wallace

McKenna Jeffries

Taige Crenshaw

Shiloh Walker

Delilah Devlin

Lauren Dane

TJ Michaels