Nora Lindberg doesn’t let life get her down. Disowned by her family and left by the man who was supposed to love her for the rest of their lives, she packs up her kids and goes in search of a second chance.
The small town she lands in was supposed to be her fresh start, her chance at a better life. But instead, she’s a broke single mom who spends her nights looking for the chocolate she hid from her kids.
When her ex lands on the local Motorcycle club’s most wanted list and leads them straight to her door, her life is once again turned upside down.
But maybe a broody hot guy on a motorcycle is just the thing she never asked for but got anyway.
Now the only question is: Will he be her savior or her downfall?
“Don’t we all,” I muttered under my breath, then looked around the crowded supermarket, hoping nobody had heard her. “Not today, Sötnos. We still have some at home.”
“But I want—”
I clamped my hand over her mouth and speed-walked my way to the checkout, hoping Luca wouldn’t join her out of sympathy. He was two years older, but hadn’t outgrown the tantrums yet.
She didn’t like having her shriek interrupted and her little face went red with anger. But I’d rather deal with my daughter’s wrath than once again be the talk of the town. We made it outside in record time, Lena wailing the whole way, Luca holding his hands over his ears.
I was running late, my shift starting in less than twenty minutes, and I still had to drop my kids home and drive to work. After wrestling them into their seats and dumping my bags in the trunk I hightailed it back to the house.
Lena made sure we knew her displeasure at not getting any popcorn for the duration of the drive. My friend Stella was sitting on the front steps waiting when we pulled up.
“Sorry we’re late,” I greeted her, unbuckling the little hellions. She watched my kids for me on the nights I had to work.
I couldn’t really afford a babysitter, so when she offered, I had to put my pride aside and let her help. She was my friend—one of the few I had—and I just couldn’t do it on my own anymore. I worked two jobs, barely keeping my head above water, and needed any break I could get.
My day job was a virtual assistant, something I could do from home while watching the kids. Luca had recently started preschool, so I only had Lena most of the time. My second job was waitressing at Pepper’s, a strip club. It paid well, but the hours sucked. I never thought I’d end up where I was.
“Don’t worry, I only just got here. Mason dropped me off,” Stella said, cuddling Lena to her and holding Luca’s hand. “But aren’t you going to be late for work?” I checked the time on my phone and sprinted up the steps. Definitely going to be late if I wasn’t ready in the next three minutes.
Supporter of all things written, defender of the e-book revolution and master of the take out order – I’m not afraid to say I can’t cook, go a week without breaking something, read labels correctly or park cars in a straight line.
I love the written word in all forms and shapes and if I’m not glued to a book I’m attempting to write one. I’m a frequent blonde moment sufferer and still trying to figure out how to adult. I live in Melbourne, Australia, with my two little humans, the holder of my heart and two furry demons. I love to hear from readers so feel free to get in touch.
Fashion exec RJ Gold hasn’t seen Grace Hopkins since she turned down his marriage proposal and walked out of his life. While he’s in Saint Lucia for his sister’s wedding, a run-in with his journalist ex is unexpected…as is the story she’s writing on the decades-long feud between his family’s fashion empire and a rival Manhattan house. Grace’s body is as delicious as RJ remembers…but he remembers too much to trust her again.
Grace knew seeing RJ would be awkward. It’s also intense…and red-hot! But she can’t afford distractions from her big break. This story will launch her journalism career to new heights, a dream she chose over RJ years ago. Still, she would rather work with him than against him… Except working together in paradise makes it impossible to ignore the tropical temptation at play!
As their explosive chemistry and rekindling feelings reach a fever pitch, RJ and Grace must decide—can second chances last, or is their desire on a deadline?
He tried blinking repeatedly, hoping that when he focused his gaze again, he’d be mistaken, but that hadn’t worked. Now the air froze in his lungs, causing his chest to constrict, and one strangled word tumbled from his lips. “Grace?”
She took a step back, her mouth opening slightly, then closing without a word. That’s how they stood for the next…he didn’t even know how many seconds had passed, and he didn’t dare speak again. As if she’d figured that out, she cleared her throat and finally spoke. “Hello, RJ.”
No, this couldn’t be. Was he sleepwalking? Hadn’t he just thought about his past relationship? Yes, and he’d pushed that memory way back to the place he’d buried it for the last ten years. Only now, it was right here, just a couple feet away from him.
Grace Hopkins. His Grace.
The first and only woman he’d ever loved, the woman he’d wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Dragging a hand down his face, RJ shook his head as if that were going to clear all this away. She was still standing there wearing very short shorts that showed off the rich mocha complexion of her long, gorgeous legs. A white T-shirt fit perfectly against the curve of her breasts and a gold heart pendant dangling from a choker necklace brushed over the hollow of her throat.
“It’s good to see you again,” she said when it seemed she might be the only one capable of speaking at this time.
Memories tangled and fought inside his mind. Grace had been his everything. She was the first and only woman to claim his heart. A heart she’d held so tightly in the palm of her hand that she’d been able to crush it with one, simple word—no. Muted pain rested in the center of his chest.
He hadn’t seen her since that awful night years ago, but now she was here. It was Grace’s voice he heard, her smile he saw as her lips tilted slowly. She eased an arm from behind her back to wave her hand at him as if they were long-lost friends. He didn’t know what to say or do, which was uncharacteristically strange for him. Trying to get his mind right and act like he had some semblance of brain function, he gripped his phone tightly in one hand and nodded.
“What are you doing wandering around out here in the dark?” It wasn’t the most pressing question at the moment, but he was still working up the nerve to ask the other one.
She shrugged, shifting her weight from one foot to the next, and dropped her arms to her side. “Going for a walk, which actually seems like the same thing you were doing.” He should’ve expected the quick and snappy response. It was her signature and matched her ambitious and flirtatious personality perfectly. She loved to talk. Where some women might like cuddling after sex, Grace had been a talker. Those were the nights he’d learned so much about her. Unfortunately, the one time he’d needed her to be chatty, she’d clammed up and walked away from him for what he thought was going to be forever.
He had to ask her. It made the most sense that this next question come, he just didn’t know how he was going to feel about her answer. “It’s been a long time.” He dodged the bullet again.
“Yeah. It has.”
“You look…um…you look—” He noticed something else that made this entire scenario stranger. “Is that a vibrator?”
For all the latest news on A.C. Arthur books, giveaways, appearances and discussions Like A.C. Arthur’s Book Lounge on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/pages/AC-Arthurs-Book-Lounge or follow her on Twitter @AcArthur
A.C. Arthur was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland where she currently resides with her husband and three children. An active imagination and a love for reading encouraged her to begin writing in high school and she hasn’t stopped since.
Working in the legal field she’s seen lots of horrific things and longs for the safe haven reading a romance novel brings. Her debut novel Object of His Desire was written when a picture of an Italian villa sparked the idea of an African-American/Italian hero. Determined to bring a new edge to romance, she continues to develop intriguing plots, sensual love scenes, racy characters and fresh dialogue–thus keeping the readers on their toes!
A.C. also writes small town contemporary romance as Lacey Baker. Visit her Amazon Author Page for details about her upcoming Hallmark Channel novelization, A Gingerbread Romance. amazon.com/author/bakerlacey
In the young adult arena, A.C. also writes under the name Artist Arthur. Visit her Amazon Author Page for details about available YA books. amazon.com/author/artistarthurbooks
A spill in the rapids hauls two strangers into a harrowing and romantic adventure.
Chuck Borgas is ready to get back in the jungle. A lost city and a team of archeological students are waiting for him in Guatemala. He is waylaid at the airport by a bizarre woman who latches onto him like she’s his long-lost buddy. Smoking hot women don’t usually throw themselves at him. Ever. Finally ditching the stranger, he realizes she has left a bag behind. One glimpse into that sack and Chuck knows he’s stepped into a heap of trouble.
Faith Sanders is part of a small task force returning smuggled artifacts to the Guatemalan government. Her team is ambushed by members of a drug cartel, but she manages to escape. Alone and determined to get the artifacts to their destination, she is forced to improvise as the cartel closes in on her. That improvisation lands her in the arms of a handsome stranger.
Realizing that she has jeopardized the man at the airport, Faith has to decide which is more important…saving his life, or completing her mission.
If they were after the bag—thanks to her, they knew where it was heading. There was no need to keep her.
Faith swallowed. What were the alternatives? Leave her on the side of the highway? She didn’t think men like this left loose strings. They left declarations. She had done her research on some of the most unsavory Central American cartels. They didn’t leave loose strings. They left bodies. Statements.
Twenty-six. She was twenty-six years old. A trainee. Was that an excuse for stupidity? For mistakes?
Her knowledge of the language was passable, but she couldn’t decipher the low timbres of the exchange in the front seat. The man in the passenger seat turned his head to leer at her. Perspiration or hair gel plastered his black hair back from a high forehead.
“When we get the skulls back, we chop you head off so it can join them.”
Lovely.
Faith crossed her arms to try and conceal the tremors racing through her limbs. They had not handcuffed her. She searched the back seat and grimy car mats for something she could attack them with. Reading her thoughts, the man hefted the barrel of his gun over the seatback, aiming it at her.
“No, no, señorita.” He wagged the gun back and forth. The motion drew her attention to a tattoo poking out from beneath his shirt sleeve. The snout of a pig was exposed.
Faith sucked in a quick breath. The Cerdo Loco cartel.
“I threw the bag in the garbage at the airport,” she vowed futilely.
Gel-head sneered, revealing the tip of a badly yellowed tooth.
“We saw you get on the bus with it,” he claimed. “We saw da man you got on with. We go to Tikal where the bus goes. We find the man. We find the bag. We chop your head off.”
USA TODAY bestselling author, Maureen A. Miller worked in the software industry for fifteen years. She crawled around plant floors in a hard hat and safety glasses hooking up computers to behemoth manufacturing machines. The job required extensive travel. The best form of escapism during those lengthy airport layovers became writing.
Maureen’s first novel, WIDOW’S TALE, earned her a Golden Heart nomination in Romantic Suspense. After that she became hooked to the genre. In fact, she was so hooked she is the founder of the JUST ROMANTIC SUSPENSE website.
Recently, Maureen branched out into the Young Adult Science Fiction market with the popular BEYOND Series. To her it was still Romantic Suspense…just on another planet!
