Who
wouldn’t love a romance that ends on the best holiday of the year?
Check out Book of Love, by Constance Bretes
A librarian, a mechanic, and a
psychotic ex. What could go wrong?
When her marriage came to a devastating
end, Janice Meyers moved to Montana to try to escape her past and get
a fresh start. She's sworn off men, but she didn't anticipate meeting
Chris.
After the death of his wife, Chris
Jamisen focused all his time and energy on running his auto repair
shop and raising his children. He's not looking for love, and when he
first meets Janice, the town's new librarian, he never imagines they
might embark on a relationship. Sure, he'll admit he finds the smart,
sexy blonde attractive, but the frustrating woman expects miracles
from him. Her vehicle is practically beyond repair, but she insists
he has to keep it running.
As Chris gets to know Janice, he begins
to develop feelings for her, but he's reluctant to pursue a
relationship. He's Native American, and he worries about the
complications of a biracial relationship. He's experienced prejudice
first hand, so he knows how difficult it can be.
When Janice's ex-husband shows up seeking
revenge, things could reach a horrible end. Will Chris save Janice in
time? And will he and Janice be able to set aside their painful pasts
and give their relationship a chance?
Content Warning: contains some sexual
content
EXCERPT:
Janice had butterflies in her stomach as
five o'clock came and Chris arrived at the library.
"Hi, Chris," Janice said.
"Hello. What's this all about?"
he asked pensively.
"I wanted to take you downstairs to
the basement and show you something," she said.
They walked down the stairs, Chris
following Janice. When she turned on the light a rat slithered across
the floor, and she let out a shriek. Chris looked around the room.
"We have all these books here,"
Janice said. She lifted one of the old books and opened it to the
pages and within where some were eaten away. "The vermin and
bugs have been attacking these, and in some cases, the books have
disintegrated. See here? This is a book about Colstrip back in the
1800s and we can't even open the book to read it because it has
totally disintegrated inside. Some of these books are real gems. This
is one of a first edition, Samuel Clemens, do you know of him?"
"No."
"His pen name is Mark Twain. He
wrote Huckleberry Finn
and Tom Sawyer."
"Oh," Chris replied.
"Look at his book. It's totally
destroyed, and it would have been worth a lot of money now, if it had
survived."
Janice went over to the ladder and
stepped up on it to show Chris the books on the top shelf. The ladder
gave way, and she came crashing down. Chris caught her before she
fell to the floor.
"Are you okay?" he asked,
concern in his tone.
"Um, yeah, I think so." She put
her feet on the floor and turned, facing Chris, her breasts against
his chest. His arms were around her waist, holding her tightly. His
breath mingled with hers, and he was looking down at her lips.
Oh, she wanted him to kiss her. Please,
please kiss me. The sweet,
intoxicating musk of his body overwhelmed her. He bent slightly
toward her, and his lips touched hers softly. She kissed him back,
lingering, savoring every moment. She felt the kiss all the way
through her body as she put her arms around him. A loud rustling
noise broke their kiss with a start.
Chris looked around and saw that there
were rats in the corner rattling paper. He turned back to her. "Are
we finished here?"
"Yes, I think we are." Janice
hoped she had convinced him that there was work to be done in the
basement.
When they went upstairs, he turned around
and asked her huskily, "What was the purpose of our little
meeting, Janice?"
Janice thought about how she should
answer the question then said, "I submitted the request to the
mayor's office for several things, and I heard that you would
probably be the one person that would oppose spending any money for
the project I'm suggesting, so I wanted to show you the benefit of my
proposal and the problems we are faced with currently."
Chris had a gentle smile on his face as
he looked at her. "Good persuasion, Janice. Does that include
the kiss too?"
Janice looked down at her feet,
embarrassed. "No, the kiss was not part of the persuasion. At
least, not on my part."
Buy:
Constance
Bretes is an author of contemporary romance and suspense. Her romance
books are often set in different parts of the country, but her
favorite site is Montana. She's married to her best friend and
resides in Michigan with him and a houseful of cats. When she's not
at her regular 8-to-5 job, she can be found writing, researching, and
spending time with her husband.
