As we begin November you can’t help but think of the holidays and
author Debbie Mason has a new release, SUGARPLUM WAY, to get us in the
spirit.
To help celebrate the release, you could win one of 10 finished copies
of SUGARPLUM
WAY.
◊ SUGARPLUM WAY
◊ by Debbie Mason
◊ Harmony Harbor series
◊ October 31, 2017 by Forever
◊ Mass Market: $7.99
◊ eBook: $5.99
◊ ISBN: 9781538744154
Add SUGARPLUM WAY to your bookshelf on Goodreads.
"Heartfelt and delightful!"
-RaeAnne Thayne, New York Times bestselling author
Romance
writer Julia Landon knows how to write a happily-ever-after. Creating one for
herself is a whole different story. But after a surprising--and surprisingly
passionate--kiss under the mistletoe at Harmony Harbor's holiday party last
year, Julia thought she might have finally found her very own chance at true
love. Until she learns her Mr. Tall, Dark, and Broodingly Handsome has sworn
off relationships. Well, if she can't have him in real life, Julia knows just
how to get the next best thing....
Aidan's
only priority is to be the best single dad ever. And this year, he plans to
make the holidays magical for his little girl, Ella Rose. But visions of stolen
kisses under the mistletoe keep dancing in his head, and when he finds out
Julia has written him into her latest novel, he can't help imagining the
possibilities of a future together. Little does he know, though, Julia has been
keeping a secret that threatens all their dreams. Luckily, 'tis the season for
a little Christmas magic.
Here
is an excerpt from this delightful story for your reading pleasure.
Aidan
smiled that slow, sexy smile of his just before he lifted his gun and fired. The glass shattered, and the. . .
A
shrill beeping sound pulled Julia out of the story. Startled, she jumped. Her
initial thought was that she’d put on the teapot and had forgotten to turn off
the burner. She blinked and opened her eyes. She’d been trying to get deeper
into her character’s point of view by typing with her eyes closed. It hadn’t
worked as well as she’d hoped. But it had ensured that she didn’t see the smoke
. . . Smoke! There was smoke filling
her living room. Again.
Duckety,
duck, duck, duck.
The
annoying voice on the smoke detector bleated fire, fire.
“Julia,
open the damn door!”
Frantically searching under the papers
littering her desk for her cell phone, she ignored the voice. Though she was
impressed. It was amazing how real Adrian sounded. Like he was right outside .
. . Wait a minute. He was calling her name, not Gillian’s. Crap, it was
Aidan. Double crap, she knew why he was here. She’d thought she’d have until
morning to face him.
“Hang on! I—” She heard a loud bang at
the same time she found her phone. “I’m coming!” she called, running to the
outside entry door as she punched in the assigned number for the alarm company.
At
the same time she realized there was no dial tone, Aidan kicked in her door. It
bounced off the wall and the hulking shadow of a man filled the open doorway.
If she hadn’t recognized his voice, she’d be terrified. Given the intimidating
expression on his face, she wondered if maybe she should still be afraid.
Fire,
the smoke detector bleated again. Right, fire, smoke.
“Hurry, I need your phone!” She made grabby motions with her fingers.
He looked at her like she’d lost it
and strode into the room. “Your alarm is connected to the station. They’ll be
on their way. Where’s the fire? Do you have an extinguisher?”
“No, no, I don’t need the fire
department. I need your phone.” She rushed forward. He didn’t seem to
understand the urgency of the situation, and she began patting him down.
He reached in his pocket, punching in
a code before handing her his phone. Of course his would be password protected.
“Thanks,” she said to his back as he
prowled around her apartment, no doubt looking for the source of the smoke.
“Um, I think my nachos are on fire.”
She
made a face at his muttered, “You have got to be shitting me.” And then went to
look up the alarm company’s number on her phone, only to realize she couldn’t
access it because her cell was dead. “Duck.”
She
raced to her desk searching for the alarm company’s business card while
muttering to herself, “I need the number. Where would I put the number for the
alarm company? Laptop. Of course.” Laptop,
no! It was on and open for him to see. She slammed the lid shut at the same
time the oven door bang closed.
Aidan
strode from the kitchen wearing her burned oven mitt and carrying a charbroiled
tray of smoking ash. “It’s usually on the unit,” he said dryly before heading
out the door.
Which
went to prove that the man didn’t miss a thing, even her half-whispered
conversation with herself.
At
the return of his heavy footsteps, she turned her back to her desk, attempting
to use her body as a shield. Widening her stance and her arms, she wrapped her
fingers around the edge of the desk and leaned back in hopes of concealing any
evidence of her book from his all-seeing cop’s eyes.
He glanced at her and then did a
double take. She thought she heard a muttered, “Jesus,” before he retrieved his
phone from her hand and continued across the living room, dodging a basket of
laundry, a box of decorations she’d yet to put up on the tree, and a half-eaten
bowl of cereal.
Wondering
what was with the double take, she looked around. She didn’t see anything out
of the ordinary. Sure her place was a little messy, but he was a guy. He
probably wouldn’t even notice. She thought of something he might notice and
looked down.
Yep,
that was probably the reason for the look. It was obvious she was cold, and her
body-hugging black T-shirt read “Santa’s Favorite Ho” with the jolly old elf
ho, ho, hoing, paired with black-and-white plaid flannel sleep pants.
When
Aidan reached the other side of the living room, he placed the cell phone
between his shoulder and ear and raised the window. “Yeah, it’s Aidan
Gallagher. The call from 232 Main Street is a false alarm. That’s her. Five
times, is that so? I’ll tell her, thanks.”
“It wasn’t five false alarms. It was
four.” She faced her desk to quickly bury a paperback copy of Warrior’s Kiss and her contract for Warrior’s Touch under some paper and
turn her notepad upside down while doing a visual search for any other
incriminating evidence.
“Doesn’t
matter. You still broke the record for false alarms in a six-week timeframe.
Dispatch says Mrs. Rosenbloom had three.”
“Are
they charging me?”
“No”
He answered his ringing phone and then bowed his head. “Hello, Dad. Yes, she’s
fine. Is that right? Nachos. No, smoke’s not too bad. Okay, I’ll do that. Don’t
remind me,” he grumbled and then disconnected.
Whatever
his dad said to Aidan didn’t improve his already not-so-happy mood. She really
didn’t feel like talking about the suggestion she’d made to Harper and why.
Fending off his probing questions would be difficult, and she wasn’t exactly
equipped to handle him tonight. She was tired, and her throat had passed sore
an hour before.
“I really appreciate you dropping by, but it’s
late, and I have an early day.” She forced a smile and moved to see him . . .
out her broken door. She barely managed to stifle an anguished moan. She
couldn’t face the thought of dealing with repairing the door tonight.
He
lifted his chin to the left of the kitchen. “Is that your bedroom?”
She
ignored her inner hussy who yelled who
needs a bed and suggested Julia throw herself on the floor at his feet. Her
inner hussy was way more optimistic about their chances of getting lucky
tonight.
“Yes,
but I don’t see . . . What do you think you’re doing?” she said as he walked
over and opened her bedroom door. Umm, more like shoved it open. The clothes
that had been hanging over her door this morning had fallen off when she closed
it, and she’d been running late.
“I’m
not going anywhere until you tell me what you said to Harper and why. You’re
tired? Fine, you can talk to me from your bed while I fix your door.” He looked
around her bedroom. “If we can find your bed.”
She
grabbed a pink lacy bra off the doorknob and held it behind her back. “I’ve
been busy. I haven’t had time to tidy up.”
“What,
like in a year?”
“Very
funny. I’m sure your room isn’t any better.”
“Sugarplum,
my bedroom didn’t look this bad when I was a kid.”
She
kind of liked that he called her sugarplum but could do without the sarcasm.
She scooted past him to scoop up her bras and panties and any other
embarrassing items that were lying on the floor . . . and on the bed . . . and
on her dresser. And half sticking out of her nightstand drawer! As breezily as
she could, she moved to the front of the nightstand in hopes of blocking his
view. “It’s a little smoky in here. Maybe you should open that window too?”
She
smiled. He sighed.
As
soon as his back was turned, she thigh-checked the nightstand drawer closed.
Only it didn’t close. Instead it acted like a rocket launcher, and her
fluorescent pink vibrator sailed through the air to land with a splash in the
goldfish bowl sitting on the bench at the end of her bed. Her mouth fell open,
and then she covered it, releasing a muffled, “I’ve killed Eric and Ariel!”
Aidan
looked from the fish bowl to her and started to laugh, a deep rumbly sound that
she would have enjoyed if it wasn’t at her expense and if . . . “It’s not
funny! My fish are drowning. Save them!”
That
made him laugh harder, and his shoulders started to shake. “Death by vibrator.
Not a bad way to go.”
“That’s a horrible thing to say, Aidan
Gallagher.” She cautiously removed the vibrator from the water, her shoulders
sagging in relief when Erik and Ariel swam to the surface. “And FYI, this is
not a vibrator. It’s a personal massager.” She rubbed it against the back of
her neck. “See, you should try it.”
 |
| Author Debbie Mason CREDIT Debbie Mazzura |
Debbie
Mason is the USA Today bestselling
author of the Christmas, Colorado and Harmony Harbor series. Her books have
been praised for their "likable characters, clever dialogue and juicy
plots" (RT Book Reviews).
When
she isn't writing or reading, Debbie enjoys spending time with her very own
real-life hero, three wonderful children, two adorable grandbabies, and a yappy
Yorkie named Bella in Ontario, Canada.
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GIVEAWAY INFO
The tour-wide giveaway is for one of 10
finished copies of SUGARPLUM WAY. To enter CLICK HERE.
Thanks for stopping by today. Are you getting into the holiday spirit yet?
◊ JALAPENO
CUPCAKE WENCH by Carol Kilgore
