TEMPTED and TANTALIZING is a great name for a romance conference/group, isn’t it?? LOL
I’ll be attending the TNTNYC event this year as an attending author and I’m stoked because it takes place in my old stomping ground of Staten Island, NY. I grew up in SI. From the time I was 8 until I got married at 27 I lived in the borough, went to the local middle and high schools and worked at Staten Island University Hospital as a nurse. Although, back in the day it was just called SI Hospital.
I can’t wait to see the old burg again!!
I’ll be signing books at the official book signing on Saturday, October 15 and attending the cocktail reception afterward. Tickets to the event for readers are still available here: TNTNYC
Look at this fabulous list of attending authors, many of them friends of mine!!!
Hope I see you there – and if you are attending, I’ve got a book preorder sale going on right now. YOu can preorder any of the books you want on the list for just $10.00. Preorders also get a special gift from me!
Just remembering this beautiful day in May up at the Omni, Mount Washington….I wish I could remember what Larry was telling me, but I was so worried about my broken zipper, I can’t!!! LOL
Today’s little something extra comes from my upcoming addition to the Dickens Universe, SASHA’S SECRET SANTA, which releases into the Dickens-loving universe on 11.7.2022.
After a terrifying incident derails Sasha Charles’ career and confidence, she moves back to her hometown of Dickens to heal, reorganize, and start over.
The only problem? The paralyzing panic attacks that plague her whenever she thinks about going back to nursing. Sasha is mentally, and emotionally stuck, and has no idea how to move forward.
Steve Caldwell is the new Director of Services at Dickens Memorial Hospital. After witnessing her save the life of a local resident in Dorrit’s Diner, he knows Sasha would be perfect for the new trauma center he’s planning. When she refuses his job offer outright, he sets out to change her mind.
But Sasha has thick, protective walls erected around her so Steve must first break through them. With patience and kindness, he does. As the two grow closer, each begin to have second thoughts on what their futures should look like, until idle, small town gossip threatens to derail their budding relationship.
With the imminent arrival of Christmas, will Steve be able to convince Sasha he has her best interests at heart?
TEASER:
Sasha.
Thinking of her compelled him back to the diner. It was lunchtime after all, and a man had to eat. Especially one who’d skipped breakfast so he could get in a fast run at the gym before starting his work day.
The moment he came through the doors he spotted her. The lunch crowd was brisk, every stool at the counter in use and not one booth empty. Luckily, he was the only one waiting, so when he spotted a couple leaving one of the back booths and Sasha quickly moving to bus it, he shot to it.
“Almost done,” she said without lifting her attention from the task of wiping down the table.
Steve slid out of his coat, tossed it carelessly on the seat, and then settled himself in. When Sasha finished her task she pulled her order book from her back jeans pocket, popped it open and finally made eye contact with him as she said, “What can I get—you.”
It took all of his willpower to stifle the wince from her greeting.
“Hey,” he said, inserting as much warmth into the word as he could.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. It didn’t take a body language expert to read the suspicion and caution galloping across her lovely face. Shoulders squared and locked, back straight as a plank, her entire body looked poised to bolt. Chin raised, eyes squinting, she was the polar opposite of happy to see him.
“Hopefully, getting some lunch,” he said. “I’m starving. I missed breakfast and it’s been a heck of a morning.”
Some of the distrust eased from her shoulders. Some, not all, proven when she asked, “And you just happened to pick my station to sit at?”
He smiled and picked up the menu she’d dropped on the table. “I won’t lie. I hoped I’d be at one of your tables. And as luck would have it…” He lifted his hand in a what-can-you-do gesture. “Here we are.”
Pursing her lips, she shook her head, then glanced down at her order book with a sigh. Pencil poised she asked, “So. What’ll it be?”
After he rattled off his order she left him with the promise to bring his coffee right out.
He watched her move to the counter, place his order, then grab the coffee carafe from the back counter, a cup and saucer with it. She tossed a few creamers onto the saucer and brought everything back to him.
As she filled the cup she avoided any kind of eye contact. Steve figured she was embarrassed about how she’d bolted from him in the store. Should he say something about it? Ask her if she was okay?
Feeling indecisive wasn’t an emotion he usually experienced. In his normal dealings with people, his natural confidence and self-assurance proved beneficial. Not with Sasha, though. He worried anything he might say would have her running away again.
After she’d finished pouring, she placed his cup back down and without looking at him, said, “I’ll bring your order out as soon as it’s ready.”
She moved to another table before he could thank her.
With her other customers she was decidedly different than with him. She smiled; established eye contact; joked. He’d give anything if he could figure out a way to get her to act that way with him.
Hope that whet your holiday book reading interest!! You can preorder the book now, here: AMAZON
just in time to read it or gift it for the holiday season!!
Nell Newbery has trust issues. It’s hard to trust when you’re the daughter of a fallen financial scion who bilked people out of billions. Nell’s done everything in her power to keep away from men who see her as their ticket to fortune and fame. All she wants to do is run her ultra-successful business, HELPFUL HUNKS, in peace.
But it wouldn’t hurt to find a guy who doesn’t know a thing about her father’s felonious past; one she can give her heart to and trust it won’t come back to her battered, bruised, and broken.
Is Charlie Churchill that guy? On the surface he seems perfect, all polished manners and quiet mirth. Nell’s convinced he knows nothing about her, other than she likes superhero movies and views junk food as a food group.
Can she trust him to be what he appears to be? Or is he just pretending?
For Nell, trust is everything in life…and in love.
ANd since it’s pumpkin spice time here in the US….enjoy….
“Let’s take dessert outside and sit. It’s not full-on dark yet,” he suggested while filling a tray with dessert plates, cups, and utensils.
A girl could get used to being waited on like this. Charlie was a much better host than I’d ever been, and that was the simple truth.
A few minutes later we were each in one of the lounge chaises I’d spotted earlier. Twilight was darkening the sky and the horizon danced with stripes of bright orange and red. The avenues outlining Central Park were lit and bright, the streetlights sparkling around the trees.
“If you’re cold I’ve got throw blankets in the storage cabinet,” Charlie said as he handed me a teacup.
“This’ll keep me warm.” I took a sip and sighed. “I love a cup of tea in the evening.”
“Even though you drink coffee? Most people choose one or the other.”
“I seem to remember you with a coffee mug in your hand in the diner, Professor, so…” I waved my free hand.
He laughed and settled back, his long legs spread out before him on the chaise, crossed at the ankles.
I’d slipped off my flats and tucked my feet under my legs.
“It’s nice out here,” I said, glancing at the city beyond the railing. “We’re high enough up the traffic sounds aren’t annoying; it’s private, without nosy neighbors right on top of you; and you’re buffered from the wind. If I open a window at my place, the wind shear off the Hudson River can be like a cyclone on some days.”
Charlie sipped his tea as his gaze followed mine, and nodded. “The difference between a park view and a water one. I love looking out over the tree line, especially in spring and fall.”
“Two opposite seasons. Kinda like foliage birth and death.”
He turned his attention to me. “I never thought of it that way, but you’re right. I enjoy watching the trees come into bloom, and I like watching them turn color.”
“I like that, too. Fall is my favorite time of year. The air is crisp, with a tiny bite to it; you can start wearing sweaters and boots. Plus,” I grinned at him, “pumpkin spice.”
A theatrical grown blew from him. “Oh, good Lord, are you one of those who loves pumpkin spice flavored everything? Coffee? Donuts? Tea? I even saw a pumpkin spice-flavored marshmallow cereal in the market last fall. People were buying it by the case. That was a bit much.” He shook his head, a ghost of a grin on his lips.
“Never underestimate the influential power familiar branding has on advertising to the consumer,” I said.
Charlie’s chuckle floated in the air next to me.
“That should be the topic of your next lecture.”
“What? Pumpkin spice?” I asked, cocking my head at him with what I hoped was a serious expression on my face.
Laughter danced in his eyes. “The class would most likely all be able to relate to that topic, but, no. Has Dean Dietrichson asked you to speak again?”
“I got an email yesterday asking me if I could sub again this Wednesday. Seems Dr. Chang’s mom still isn’t doing well. I haven’t replied to him yet.”
As I sipped my tea he silently regarded me. “What?”
“Would you like a little unsolicited advice?”
“If I said no would you give it anyway?”
“No. I’d respect your request,” he answered.
And right there was the reason he was different from every other man I’d ever known.
“You think I should do it, don’t you?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “I’ve told you how much chatter there was about your lecture from those who sat in on it. How enlightening the class viewed your insights. Several times I heard what a wonderfully natural speaker you are. That’s a gift, Nell, that ability to connect to a group of strangers and have them not only be comfortable with, and open to, what you’re teaching, but engaged as well. A true gift.”
I can’t explain why his words meant so much to me, but they did. Validation as a savvy business owner is something I’ve strived for. I’ve struggled to be respected and successful on my own, through my own deeds and actions, and not simply because someone’s DNA coursed through my system. I’d had two bank managers deny my start-up business loan because they worried my father’s behavior had been passed down to me.
How ridiculous is that? The sins of the father aside, how truly ridiculous?
I took another sip of my tea and considered Charlie’s words.
“I have to admit, it was…fun, speaking to them. Not nearly as stressful as I’d imagined it would be.”
He nodded.
“And it was kinda cool that they all”—I flipped my free hand in the air again—“valued the points I was trying to make.”
“I’d say you made those points, not tried.”
I bit down on the corner of my mouth and stared back out at the quickly darkening horizon. “I’ll email him back when I get home,” I said. “But I need to come up with a better topic than the benefits of pumpkin spice branding.”
His rich, deep laughter sent a rivulet of pleasure down my spine.
And catch up on all the NY Socialites before Book 4 – INFLUENCE – drops in 2023
Final b’day pic. These were the goodie bags – one of the lion’s arms fell off in the car on the way home!! One of my favorite things in the bag was a bottle of bubbles! I love bubbles!! Who doesn’t???
Peggy Jaeger, Author 