Peggy Jaeger, Author

So, I’m still hyping my newest NYC Romance INFLUENCE, and decided for today’s Teaser tuesday, to give you another little look between the pages!

Somewhere between waiting for her to arrive and when I spotted her walking into the restaurant, I realized how excited I was to see her again and not simply because I had a story to write. I hadn’t felt this level of anticipation about a woman in a long, long time.

Kissing her like that, without asking permission, or even wondering if she felt the same way I did should have felt like a mistake.

Should have…but didn’t.

And also wasn’t a mystery.

Mackenzie Craymore was, without a doubt, the most intriguing woman I’d ever met. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d been wanting to kiss her since we’d danced.

“I love walking in the park,” she said as we ambled along. We’d joined midday runners, joggers, moms and nannies with baby carriages, rollerbladers, as we walked, hand in hand.

“When we first moved here,” I said, skirting around an elderly woman walking her Schnauzer,  “I spent most of my free time here. Biking, or with my skate board tucked in my backpack. I hung out here every afternoon after school.”

“Alone or with friends?”

“Mostly alone. Later on, when we’d been back awhile I started making friends. It was hard, at first, because by the time I arrived on scene the social cliques had already formed. Life long friends who all go to the same schools, same camps, same music lessons, tend to congregate. When you’re an outsider,” I said, “It’s hard to worm your way in.”

She sighed. “Kids can be mean.”

I shook my head. “Not so much mean as insulating. And I didn’t mind being on my own.”

Anything was preferable to the silence that met me at home every day and night.

“Is that when you began writing? During those alone times?”

Surprised, I turned to find her staring up at me with the question on her beautiful face.

“That’s an astute question.”

With a careless shrug she said, “Doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. A lonely kid, living in new place. No friends. There aren’t many scenarios that fit. I don’t picture you as the kid who sat at home and played video games all day long.”

I laughed. “Nope. Not even close.”

She nodded. “So, that leaves potential mayhem and rabblerousing, or something worthwhile to occupy your time. And again, I can’t see you being the kid who stole from the local bodega or did a little pharmacology dealing on the side.”

I speared her with a speaking glance. “I’ll have you know I can cause mayhem and mischief with the best of them.”

Her laugh was so free and easy I couldn’t help the feeling of contentment it bolstered in me. I really wanted to kiss her again, but from the dark recesses of my brain I remembered I had a job to do and no matter who alluring I found this beautiful woman, I needed to do it.

“Enough about me. I want to ask you something, something about your new career.”

Her sigh floated on the gentle breeze around us. “Go ahead.”

“Why do you do it? I mean, no offense, but I don’t think you have to work, do you? Your family wealth is solid.”

It was subtle, and if I hadn’t been looking down at her when I asked, I might have missed it, but the corners of her mouth tightened a bit, her smile loosing some of its luster.

“What’s that old saying?” she asked. “You can never be too thin or too rich?”

I wasn’t buying it. Not for a second. But I knew I had to tread lightly. Otherwise, she’d shut down even more.

“Is that why you do it, then? For the money? Because I don’t see you as the type of person who courts fame and loves the attention.”

She stopped walking and looked up at me through her sunglasses. I wished I could see her eyes, try to discern what was going on behind them.

“Let’s sit.” She tugged me toward an empty bench. The earthy scent of fresh grass invaded my senses and somewhere behind us I heard a power mower working.

Mackenzie dropped my hand, placed hers in her lap as she faced me. Shaded from the tree canopy above us, she finally removed her sunglasses by shoving them up on her head.

She looked about sixteen years old as she pulled a corner of her mouth between her teeth.

“You’re right about my family’s wealth. My great-grandfather set the next five generations up for life, and my father and grandfather have only added to the family coffers.”

I nodded.

She sighed again. “If you Googled me then you probably spotted an article or two about me from…before. From when I was younger.”

Another nod. “Lots of them, in fact.” My lips lifted.  “The gossip pages were filled with mentions of your escapades.”

She rolled her eyes. “I did a lot of stupid things when I was a teenager, and then in my twenties, to garner attention. Some I’m not proud of, some I couldn’t care less about. Once something is on the Internet, though, it’s never lost. Or forgotten.”

“Truth.”

“When you’re young you don’t care what people think about you, what they write about you. You feel invincible and that it’s no one’s business but yours what you do, or say. How you conduct your life. It’s when you get more mature that you begin to realize your actions and the opinions of others do make a difference.”

“Again, that’s true. Reputations are lost and gained on one simple act.”

She nodded. “You must know I was engaged.”

“Lucky Blumenthal. Hotel heir and ridiculously wealthy in his own right.”

“His parents built that empire. When he lost them, he personally made it his mission to keep the business growing.”

“He was a bit of a reckless wild child, though.”

“He was, but his brain for business was unparalleled.” She bit down on her cheek again.  “You know what…happened?”

I unwound her hands and pulled one into my lap, cocooning it with both of mine.  For once I didn’t think words were necessary.