Thanks for appearing again, Denise... Over to you! ♥
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Hello VJ! I am so happy to be
stopping by your blog once again to discuss my latest release with you and your
readers. My contemporary romance novel “When It’s All Said & Done” is now available,
courtesy of Red Sage Publishing, and I’ve got a sneak peek as well as an exclusive
excerpt to share!
When
It’s All Said & Done:
Book Blurb:
Single until further notice! (Heart
currently under construction…)
Savvy, fun-loving
aspiring writer Leslie James is the assistant to the Editor-In-Chief of Limelight magazine. She dreams of one
day joining their phenomenal writing staff, and in the meantime keeps her
journalistic skills sharp by launching Blissful
Beauties, a sensational beauty blog that celebrates all women.
While writing is
Leslie’s passion, it also helps take her mind off her last breakup and current
relationship status: Single. Just
when she begins feeling resistant to love, she meets Michael—a handsome,
sexy single father and sports journalist with seemingly good intentions.
At the urging of her supportive, sassy best friend Crystal, Leslie befriends
Michael but insists that they remain strictly platonic. He’s determined,
however, to win her over. As their undeniable chemistry becomes impossible to
resist, the pair’s friendship eventually turns into romance.
Things only get
better when Leslie’s boss tasks her with writing a feature story for Limelight. She delivers the article with
flying colors in hopes of finally landing a seat at the writer’s table.
But when Michael’s
ex-wife suddenly resurfaces and Leslie’s promotion stalls, both her
relationship and career are left
hanging in the balance. Will the love that she has for both ever be enough to sustain
them?
Click here to order your copy of “When It’s
All Said & Done” now!
Book Excerpt:
Once Michael finished cooking breakfast, he and
Leslie headed into the living room to watch college basketball. The twosome
chatted about a little bit of everything as they ate. And then, just when they
sat their plates down on the coffee table, Michael turned to Leslie.
“I love you,” he said softly.
She stared blankly at him, thinking she must’ve
misheard him.
“You…what?”
“I love you.”
Leslie’s chest began to tingle, and her eyes
teared up a bit. The sweet, sincere look on Michael’s face was beyond words.
She was positive that she’d never felt this way about anyone before in her
life.
“I love you, too.”
Michael wrapped his arms around her. He leaned
in, and she closed her eyes, waiting to feel the soft, warm touch of his lips.
And then, just when the tip of his nose gently brushed against hers, she heard
the sound of keys rattling outside of the door.
Michael stopped abruptly. “Did you hear that?”
“I did. It sounds like somebody’s coming in.”
Michael jumped up and walked over to the door.
Before he could turn the knob, it flew open, and Tyler came running inside.
“Daddy! Daddy!” he yelled.
“Hey, what’s up little man!” Michael said,
picking him up.
Leslie stood up, smiling and waving at Tyler.
Then she walked around the couch and waited nervously for Michael’s mother to
walk in. She hadn’t expected to meet his mom this soon, especially under
these circumstances.
“Hello Michael,” a sexy-sounding female voice
said. It sounded nothing like his mother.
Leslie watched as a beautiful woman carrying a
designer suitcase appeared in the doorway. It was, in fact, not
Michael’s mother. It was his ex-wife, Mia.
Leslie’s entire body went numb. She eyed Mia,
noticing how tall and curvaceously thin she was. Her jet black wavy hair
cascaded down her back. Her deep bronze complexion was flawless. Her hazel eyes
were dazzling. And she acted as though Leslie was invisible considering she had
yet to acknowledge her.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense and
awkward. Leslie didn’t know what to do, so she looked over at Michael. He
seemed to be just as shocked to see Mia as she was. When Mia reached out and
tried to embrace him, he took a step back.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Your mother called and told me the wonderful
news about your sports casting job! Instead of calling to congratulate you, I
decided to come home and give you my well-wishes in person!”
“Home?” Michael asked cynically.
“Yes,” Mia replied confidently. “Home.”
Leslie’s eyes widened. She could not believe
what she was seeing or hearing. She struggled to keep her cool. Waited to be
noticed. To be spoken to. Introduced. Something. But since that didn’t
seem like it was going to happen, she cleared her throat, forcing Mia to
acknowledge her presence.
“Oh. Hello. I didn’t see you standing there.”
Yeah right.
“Hello, I’m—” Leslie began. But before she could
continue, Mia interrupted her and turned back to Michael.
“I didn’t realize you had company. Your mother
told me you were here alone.”
Michael looked at her in disbelief. “How did you
get the keys?”
“Your mother gave them to me,” Mia smiled. “I
stopped by there first to see her and pick up Tyler, and told her not to
mention that I was coming home so I could surprise you.”
“I’m sorry,” Leslie interrupted, feeling as
though a bomb might go off inside of her. “As Michael said, I’m Leslie.”
“Hello. I’m Mia. Tyler’s mother.”
The smirk on Mia’s face said it all. She
obviously felt as though she had the upper hand here.
Leslie looked down and saw a wedding ring set
sitting boldly on Mia’s finger. She hoped that it was from a new husband and
wasn’t the set that Michael had given her.
“Come on mommy! Come see my room!” Tyler
insisted, clutching Mia’s leg.
“Okay, here I come!” Mia then turned to Michael.
“Your daddy has some things to take care of out here anyway.”
Before following Tyler to his room, Mia turned
to Leslie with a beauty pageant smile on her face and waved.
“Nice meeting you…Lindsay was it? Take care,”
she said dismissively before walking off in her fancy designer stilettos.
Leslie didn’t bother to respond. She was too
irritated to even open her mouth. Instead she turned to Michael, struggling to
maintain her composure as she stared at him silently and waited for him to
handle the situation.
“Sweetheart,” he began, holding his hands up, “I
swear I didn’t know she was coming here.”
“Oh, I get that. I’m just wondering why you
haven’t asked her to leave.”
“Well, Tyler’s here…so…”
“Sooo...you’re not going to ask her to
leave?”
“Well…I just don’t want to make a scene in front
of our son.”
Leslie’s heart plummeted to the pit of her
stomach. “Michael, you do know what’s going on here, don’t you? How ironic that
the minute you don’t get an NBA contract, she leaves. Then the minute you get a
sports casting job on a major network, she reappears.”
“I know…But Mia is Tyler’s mother, and he’s so
happy to see her. I don’t feel comfortable asking her to leave right now. It
would break his heart.”
Leslie felt a lump forming in her throat. She
looked into Michael’s eyes, wondering what all this meant for the two of them.
She was afraid that if he let Mia stay, then somehow that could drastically
change things between the two of them.
“So you’re going to let her stay?” Leslie asked
quietly.
“I don’t have a choice. Please understand that,
Leslie, Please…”
Loud laughter between Mia and Tyler came booming
from his bedroom. Leslie felt completely defeated. She got it now. Mia was
back. So it was time for her to leave.
“Why’d I do this?” she asked herself out loud.
“Why? I knew better…”
“Leslie, please don’t say that,” Michael
insisted.
* * * *
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more? Click here to purchase “When It’s All Said & Done”!
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