Giveaway, Guest Author, Showcase, The Cadence Group, The Cadence Group

Guest Author DEANNA BRANN showcase & giveaway ENDED

CMash June 4, 2013 7 Comments

We have all heard stories about the mother-in-law, daughter-in-law dynamics. Not all are favorable. And as some of you know, my youngest son is getting married in November, which means, I officially will add that title to my name. So when Rebecca, from The Cadence Group emailed me about today’s guest, I responded immediately. I do have to say that my husband and I are blessed, our future daughter-in-law, Jess, is beautiful both inside and out. We already consider her our “own” daughter. Please help me in welcoming Dr. Deanna Brann.

DR. DEANNA BRANN

Deanna Brann, Ph.D., is a leading expert in the field of mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships. She has more than 25 years experience as a clinical psychotherapist and ran her own private practice for more than 18 years. Based in Knoxville, TN, Dr. Brann is a sought after speaker, author and seminar leader. She is the two-time author of Reluctantly Related: Secrets To Getting Along With Your Mother-in-Law or Daughter-in-Law and Mothers-in-Law and Daughters-in-Law Say the Darndest Things.

Connect with Dr.. Brann at these sites:

GUEST POST

Five Reasons Why You Struggle with Your In-Laws

Put a group of women together, bring up the subject of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, and you can almost hear the electricity start to crackle in the air. Whether they can’t stand one another, don’t “get” one another, or just feel at a loss about how to deal with one another, one thing is certain—women who struggle with this relationship have a story to tell:

“She did it again! No matter what I say, she completely ignores me and does whatever she wants, whenever she wants.”

“My son and I used to be so close until he married her. Now he barely speaks to me!”

“Why does she have to be so intrusive, so controlling?”

“She won’t let me see my grandchildren!”

The mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship is surely one of the most confusing and difficult relationships one can experience—no matter what side of it you’re on. You don’t yet feel like family, and you aren’t really friends, but you’re definitely more than casual acquaintances. To get a handle on how to approach this tricky relationship, it helps to understand these five reasons why it’s such a struggle in the first place:

The artificial element: Let’s face it, you didn’t choose to be in each other’s lives. You and your in-law are thrown together because you both love this one man—your husband or your son. Even though you don’t really know each other as individuals, you have to create a relationship (rather quickly, I might add) because you are now “family.”
Different stages, different emotional places: You and your in-law are at different stages in your lives. The mother-in-law has already made a home and life of her own. And the daughter-in-law is just getting started on these aspects of her life (and understandably wants to do it her way). The two of you are also in different emotional places. So much of what a mother-in-law focuses on is based on what she’s learned in her past experiences, while a daughter-in-law is focusing more on the future that she wants to create.

Personal history and carry-on baggage: Each of you came into this relationship with your own history and emotional baggage, so each of you has different personal issues. Those issues greatly impact how you perceive and react to what the other says and does.

Perception is reality (or is it?): Because of these different issues, each of you also has her own perception of reality. So what one sees as a helpful, positive suggestion or offer, the other may well see as clear evidence of meddling and controlling (or vice versa). It’s the same situation seen through differently tinted glasses.

There’s reacting, and then there’s reacting! Just as your perception can be skewed, so can your reaction to what you see. When your in-law reacts to something you said or did, that reaction is based on her perception, which is likely to be very different from yours. If her perception is off, you can easily think her reaction is coming out of left field, even if it makes perfect sense to her.

Given all these challenges, you may well feel that your in-law relationship is certainly doomed, but trust me—there is hope! As you understand these factors and their impact on the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship, you will gain a greater understanding of the situation. And then you’ll be much better equipped to sidestep the land mines along the way.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Change your struggling in-law relationship today! Through humor, compassion and focus, I’ll show you how, step-by-step. In my book, Reluctantly Related I give you the understanding and the tools to make positive, lasting changes in your mother-in-law or daughter-in-law relationship. You don’t have to feel powerless or hopeless in your relationship!
· Learn the secrets to making change possible.
· Learn practical yet effective tools and skills that build your confidence and empower you with both your in-law and others.
· Learn how to transform your relationship without having to confront your in-law.

There has never been such an entertaining yet helpful resource on the specific problems between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. Reluctantly Related provides unique, straightforward help to any “MIL/DIL challenged” family, and should be required reading for newlyweds and their mothers!

BOOK DETAILS:

ISBN-13: 9780988810006
Publisher: New Shelves Publishing Services
Publication date: 2/25/2013
Pages: 186

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO REBECCA AT THE CADENCE GROUP,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO U.S. RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS JUNE 18th AT 6PM EST

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

DISCLAIMER

I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.

ADDENDUM

I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Giveaway, Winners

And the winner is….

CMash June 2, 2013 2 Comments

**…..of Ladd Springs by Dianne Venetta**

2 Carolyn Valdez Be a Public Follower of ‘CMASH Loves to Read

An email has been sent and the winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Thank you to all that entered.

Author, Giveaway, Guest Author, Partners In Crime Tours, Partners In Crime Tours, Showcase

Guest Author HELGA ZEINER showcase and giveaway ENDED

CMash June 1, 2013 4 Comments

It is with great humility, and also excitement, to welcome back a special and talented author, who I can also call friend, as she kicks off her 2nd tour with Partners In Crime Tours. Welcome back Helga Zeiner!!

HELGA ZEINER

Born and educated in Germany, Helga left her home country when she was 18 to travel the world and experience the magic of life she was passionately reading about.

She spent the next 15 years in exotic places like India, Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong, where she worked her way up into excellent managerial positions in large international companies. To achieve this she had to further her education and enrolled at night classes at the ‘Chinese University of Hong Kong’ for her Diploma in Management Studies.
Love eluded her for many years. She was nearly 40 when she finally met her dream man and settled in Canada, where she now lives, neatly tucked away in the wilderness. She has previously written several suspense novels which have been published in Germany.
Her first novel written and published in English is called. ‘Section 132”. A thrilling fact-based page-turner about a young girl forced into a polygamous marriage that has received countless 5-star reviews.
Birthdays of a Princess’ is her second novel and will be published in June 2013.
Connect with Helga at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

To be famous and be admired by total strangers can be very dangerous.

Her little girl has always been her princess. In fact, she was so lovely, Melissa entered her toddler into child beauty pageants, making her a star from an early age. But her dreams and hopes are shattered one October morning, when Melissa watches a breaking news story on television. A young girl has been filmed by bystanders, committing a brutal assault in broad daylight in a downtown Vancouver Starbucks…and it looks like the girl is her daughter.

From this moment on, a story unfolds, so shocking, that it will hold you captive and you will find yourself reading faster and faster into the night.

Read my review here.

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Psychological Thriller
Published by: POW WOW Books
Publication Date: May/June 2013
Number of Pages: 290
ISBN: 978-0-9868798-7-6

PURCHASE LINKS:

Read an excerpt:

Prologue
She wakes up earlier than usual. It’s not even eight yet. The apartment feels empty, but that doesn’t surprise her, because it is empty most mornings. To make sure, she gets out of bed, opens the curtains, waddles down the narrow hallway, stops at the second bedroom and listens briefly. Not a sound. Of course not. She would have heard the flat door open, no matter how late. She is a light sleeper.The kitchen greets her with familiar comfort. Welcome, my lonely friend. Make yourself a cup of tea. Sit down by the window. Look out, check the weather, think about what to wear for work. Stop listening. Nobody is home but you.Just another day in the big city.Vancouver is still sleepy. Yawning and slowly stretching like a lazy lion, rubbing its exhausted eyes, waiting for the helpers to brush the filthy remains of last night’s excitement from the concrete floor of its den.The water kettle switches itself off and she pours the boiling water over the tea bag and waits one minute, standing in front of the kitchen counter. It has to be exactly one minute, no point in doing anything else but stare at the twirling surface inside her cup. Sixty seconds later–the second dial on her kitchen clock is within her periphery—she discards the bag, heaps three generous spoonfuls of sugar into the cup, followed by so much cream that the tea instantly cools to drinking temperature, and sits down at the kitchen table.Still thinking it’s just another day.A gentle traffic hum outside, no sound inside her kitchen. Correction: no sound inside her flat, this two bedroom, one bathroom borderline apartment. Borderline because its location touches a good neighborhood and the Eastside. The street she lives on stops the filthy guts of downtown spilling over into suburbia. Her kitchen window points toward the high-rise monuments of downtown Vancouver. Very pretty at night, not so attractive at daytime when the not-so-high and not-so-modern buildings that envelope the skyscrapers become visible. She doesn’t want to look at the decaying grey buildings any longer that provide a battle ground between city planners who want to sell it to developers and Eastsiders who have occupied them.Just another day. And it is so quiet.Melissa turns on the TV, not realizing that it is exactly eight o’clock now. The channel is set on CTV and there is a ‘Breaking News’ banner flashing in bright orange below the female morning anchor. She increases the volume. The excited voice of the lady anchor fills her kitchen. She takes a sip of her sweet, sweet tea and leans back a little.“We have a developing story of a brutal attack on a customer at Starbucks coffee shop on Robson Street. Apparently a young woman has stabbed another woman inside Starbucks. Our reporter Emily Jackson is on location. Emily, what can you tell us…?”The upper body of a reporter, holding a microphone in one hand and fighting her wind-swept hair with the other, comes into the picture. Melissa hadn’t noticed that it is quite windy outside. Well, it’s October, at least it’s not raining. Behind the reporter a yellow band is restricting access to the crime scene. She sounds overly excited. “From what we have learned, a young woman has suddenly attacked a woman inside the coffee shop you see right behind me. We don’t know yet if the customer was already seated or still standing in line to place her order. We also don’t know the identity of the attacker or of the victim yet or have any information about the motive. Apparently the attacker suddenly produced a knife and threw herself at the woman, yelling obscenities on top of her voice. As you can see behind me, police have cordoned off the area and are processing the scene.”The anchor interrupts her. “Do we have any information about the condition of the victim? Is she badly hurt? Or…”An autumn gust blows hair over the reporter’s face. She nearly loses her microphone, trying to control the strands with both hands, but fumbles it back into position when she realizes that the camera is focused on her again. One side of her pretty face is completely covered with hair. It looks ridiculous and Melissa catches herself thinking the reporter would look a lot prettier if she had a different hairstyle.“The ambulance has transported the victim to the emergency ward of St Paul’s…”The reporter’s voice travels along Melissa’s attention span and loses its grip. Background noise quality. She likes that. And God, her tea is good.

Another developing story news-flash banner demands her attention again. The anchor sounds triumphant: “We have just received a video-clip from one of our viewers. We would like to warn you that some viewers may find the content of this video-clip offensive in nature…”

The clip starts. The picture is shaky, the filmmaker hassling for a good position between other coffee-shop customers who have jumped up to look what is going on in the middle of the room. The back of shoulders and heads pop in and out, screams of horror and confusion can be heard. Their unedited sound quality provides an unnerving authenticity to the unfolding drama.

An arm rises up in the air and down again, in kind of a wood chopping motion. Up and down, in one swift move, no hesitation whatsoever. In fact, the chopping goes on. Up and down, up and down—accompanied by ‘Oh my God’s’ and ‘Oh no, oh no’s’. The filmmaker edges closer, seems to get up on a chair, because he is above the scene now, holding his iPhone or whatever device he’s got, high above the center of the customer-circle that inched away from the dangerous situation. The victim of the attack is on the floor now, mercifully blurred by the rapid movements of the inexperienced cameraman, or maybe by CTV’s editing. The attacker, the young woman, wearing a black hoodie, is over her and chops into her with such vengeance that Melissa can feel the force of her hatred, furious and powerful. The victim is trying to protect her face and chest with crossed hands. The mad attacker continues to stab her wherever she can—face, arms, torso, it is impossible to make out exactly in the shaky clip where her knife slices into.

Bodies pop in and out of the picture and mercifully block most of what is going on. Several of them finally muster enough courage to intervene. The picture goes even more shaky and blurry. Then the anchor speaks again.

“We have word from the police that the victim you have just seen being attacked inside Starbucks on Robson about an hour ago is in critical condition. The young woman has been overpowered by three heroic young men…”

and now it happens, it’s not ‘just another day’ any longer

“they were performing a citizen’s arrest and held her captive until the police arrived…”

the anchor’s voice fades, just like the reporter’s before, because all of Melissa’s focus concentrates on what she sees on the screen. Meanwhile the filmmaker has managed to muscle himself closer to the group of guys who have pulled the young women off her victim and have now pinned her to the ground. Her face appears. The filmmaker zooms in. She smiles victoriously straight into his camera, as if she has achieved a very special feat.

Melissa is standing now, holding on to her cup of tea, frowning with the exhausting task of connecting what she sees on the screen with the reality of her life. It can not be. It can not be. But it is.

The tea cup slips from her weak hands, falls to the floor, spills its content on the cheap vinyl kitchen floor before rolling under the table.

It is. It is.

It is…her daughter.

Review and endorsement:

In Birthdays of a Princess, Helga Zeiner has captured the inner thoughts of an abused teen with amazing sensitivity. From my own experiences in 25 years of Forensic Psychiatry both in private practice and at Youth Forensic Services the psychopathology of the characters is accurate and realistic.
Dr. Paul Janke
Forensic Psychiatrist, M.D., F.R.C.P., Vancouver, BC

THANKS TO AUTHOR, HELGA ZEINER,
I HAVE ONE (1) EBOOK TO GIVE AWAY.
EBOOK—OPEN TO ALL

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS JUNE 15th AT 6PM EST

If you’d like to join in on an upcoming tour just stop by our sites and sign up today!

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

Follow Helga’s Tour:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

DISCLAIMER

I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.

ADDENDUM

I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

ADDENDUM

I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Giveaway, Winners

And the winner is…….

CMash June 1, 2013 1 Comment

……of Bella Andre Summer of Love Beach Bag

9 Anita Yancey Follow @CherylMash on Twitter

An email has been sent to the winner and she has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Thank you to all that entered.

Giveaway, Winners

And the winner is…….

CMash May 31, 2013 1 Comment

**..of When Can You Start by Paul Freiberger**

9 Maureen Carol Be a Public Follower of ‘CMASH Loves to Read’

An email has been sent to the winner and she has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Thank you to all that entered.

Forever (Hachette Book Group), GCP/Forever, Giveaway, Guest Author, Showcase

Guest Author ROCHELLE ALERS showcase & giveaway ENDED

CMash May 30, 2013 2 Comments

I am soooo excited!! I just love it when authors come back and visit. And you know what that means…..a new book! So without further ado, and I ask for your help, to give Ms. Rochelle Alers a warm welcome back!

ROCHELLE ALERS

Rochelle Alers has been hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of today’s most prolific and popular African American authors of romance and women’s fiction.

With more than fifty titles and nearly two million copies of her novels in print, Ms. Alers is a regular on the Waldenbooks, Borders and Essence bestseller lists, regularly chosen by Black Expressions Book Club, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Gold Pen Award, the Emma Award, Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award.

She is a member of the Iota Theta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and her interests include gourmet cooking and traveling. She has traveled to Europe, and countries in North, South and Central America. Her future travel plans include visits to Hong Kong and New Zealand. Ms. Alers is also in accomplished in knitting, crocheting and needlepoint. She is currently taking instruction in the art of hand quilting.

Oliver, a toy Yorkshire terrier has become the newest addition to her family. When she’s not barking at passing school buses, the tiny dog can be found sleeping on her lap while she spends hours in front of the computer.

A full-time writer, Ms. Alers lives in a charming hamlet on Long Island.

Connect with Ms. Alers at these sites:

Q&A with Rochelle Alers

Thank you so very much for inviting me back.

Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?

I draw from both. I enjoy traveling, so many of the places I’ve visited will eventually end up in a novel. Current events will occasionally come into play if I need a plot that complements a character’s occupation. The storyline for Hidden Agenda came from a “60 Minutes” segment where a woman hired a mercenary to rescue her son who’d been abducted by her foreign-born husband. I decided to write Pleasure Seekers after reading an article in New York magazine about an upscale escort service. All-news television channels are akin to the reference section of the library for plotlines.

Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the storyline brings you?

I have to start from the beginning. I know the ending, but it is the middle that has to be fleshed out.

Your routine when writing? Any idiosyncrasies?

I write from Monday to Friday 8-4 with mid-morning and afternoon breaks. But on the other hand, if I’m really in the zone I’ll write until midnight. Weekends are set aside for family time and socializing.

I always write to music. I pop in my MP3, lose myself in the music and the words flow like melodic harmonies.

Is writing your full time job? If not, may I ask what you do by day?

Fortunately for me I’ve been writing full time since 2002. It can have drawbacks, only because if I decide to slack-off I feel I can always make up the time. Not!

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Bernice McFadden, Debbie Macomber, Nicholas Sparks, Walter Mosley, James Patterson, John Grisham, Jane Austen and Alex Haley.

What are you reading now?

Wait for You by Jennifer L. Armentrout writing as J. Lynn

Are you working on your next novel? Can you tell us a little about it?

I’m currently finishing up Magnolia Drive – Book #4 in the Cavanaugh Island series. Readers will return to the small town of Sanctuary Cove to find out more about Francine Tanner. Her ability to foretell the future is a well-kept secret on an island where gossip travels faster than the speed of light. However, her visions don’t warn of the newcomer to the island who knows who she is even though she’s unfamiliar with him. Their lives become entwined with his request that she reopen a door to a celebrated past she has no wish to relive. Francine represents all that is Gullah and she will teach Keaton Grace about the centuries-old culture that continues to thrive on the Sea Islands and also how to love again. Readers will reunite characters from previous titles and meet new ones that will leave them shaking their heads whether in shock or in laughter.

Fun questions:

Your novel will be a movie. Who would you cast?

Sanctuary Cove: Angela Basset and Roger Guenveur Smith

Angels Landing: Jada Pinkett Smith and Michael Jai White

Haven Creek: Sanaa Lathan and Michael Ealy

Would you rather read or watch TV/movie? – Read

Favorite food? – Any steak from Ruth Chris

Favorite beverage? – Green Tea

I appreciate and always enjoy spending time with CMash Reads. Thank you again for the invite.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Home is where the heart is.

Architect Morgan Dane has always lived according to a plan, crossing off her achievements one by one. But when she’s offered her dream job-the restoration of historic Angels Landing Plantation on beautiful Cavanaugh Island-Morgan’s life takes an unexpected turn. Carpenter Nathaniel Shaw once took lost. Needing the healing comforts of home, he returns to Haven Creek to join the family business.

Nothing in the small town has changed-except for Morgan Dane. The wallflower he knew in high school has grown into a beautiful woman . . . and stirs feelings Nate isn’t sure he’s ready for.

Together Nate and Morgan find a happiness neither could have predicted. But when secrets from the past come to light, their budding relationship is threatened.

Will they play it safe, or risk their hearts to build a life together?

BOOK DETAILS:

Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Forever (May 28, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1455501395
ISBN-13: 978-1455501397

PURCHASE LINKS:

THANKS TO TANISHA AT GCP/FOREVER,
I HAVE TWO (2) COPIES TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO U.S. and CANADA RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

GIVEAWAY ENDS JUNE 13th AT 6PM EST

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

DISCLAIMER

I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.

ADDENDUM

I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Giveaway, Winners

And the winners are……

CMash May 28, 2013 2 Comments

**……of Changing Lanes by Kathleen Long**

17 Anita Yancey Be a Public Follower of ‘CMASH Loves to Read’

1 Tina M Kohrman Leave a Blog Post Comment

An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Thank you to all that entered.

Forever (Hachette Book Group), GCP/Forever, Giveaway, Guest Author, Showcase

Guest Author JILL SHALVIS showcase & giveaway ENDED

CMash May 28, 2013 3 Comments

Hi everyone! Did you have a fun filled Memorial Day weekend? Now that the summer has officially started, I have the perfect book to add to your summer reading. Jill Shalvis is stopping by today to tell us about her newest book. So please help me in welcoming Ms. Jill Shalvis!!

JILL SHALVIS

New York Times and USA Today bestseller Jill Shalvis is the award winning author of over four dozen romance novels, including her sexy contemporary and award winning Lucky Harbor series (FOREVER AND A DAY was one of Amazon’s Top Romances for 2012). She won a Rita for SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE and is a 3-time National Readers Choice winner as well. Make sure to click on the blog button above for her daily blog where she recounts her Misplaced City Girl adventures.

Connect with Jill at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ali Winters is accused of being a thief and is about to be kicked out of her home. Her only shot at keeping a roof over her head and clearing her name is to beg for help from a police detective who’s as sexy as he is stern. As Luke Hanover helps Ali put her world back together, his own life finally seems to fall into place. Is this the start of a sizzling fling—or are Luke and Ali on the brink of something big in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

BOOK DETAILS:

Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (May 28, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1455521124
ISBN-13: 978-1455521128

PURCHASE LINKS:

Read an excerpt

Ali appeared. She’d showered and changed faster than any woman Luke had ever known. She was in sweats and makeup-free, wet hair piled up on top of her head, with wavy tendrils framing her face. She headed straight to the kitchen and headed back with a carton of ice cream from[1] Lance’s shop.Luke felt a small smile play around his mouth as she ate right out of the container with a wooden spoon. Ali Winters might be down, but she wasn’t out for the count.
She scooped another big bite, and her expression finally relaxed. Until she saw the mess of the house. That wiped the smile right off her face. “Oh no. Oh Luke, I’m so sorry.”“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “It’s seen worse.”“This is true.” Jack rose off the couch. “Way worse. We were what you might call wayward teenagers.”Jack had the same height as Luke, but more bulk to his muscle tone. Of the two of them, Jack also possessed the charm, which had gotten him out of more trouble than Luke had ever managed to get into. Jack flashed all one thousand watts of that charm at Ali now.“Jack Harper. I’ve seen you around, but we’ve never been introduced,” he said, holding out his hand to Ali, smiling his “reassuring” smile. It was number three in his arsenal, behind his “you can’t resist me” and “I want you” smiles. “I’m the best friend, by the way. The better-looking, far more fascinating one, I should add.”“Ali Winters,” she said, looking a little dazzled, which made Luke roll his eyes. “Nice to meet you.” She glanced at the mess again, but Luke stepped in her way.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Jack said.

“I’m sorry,” she said, glancing at Luke. “I can’t say the same.”

“Not surprised,” Jack said. “Luke’s not exactly a big talker.”

“No,” Ali said faintly, a slight blush coming to her cheeks. “He’s not.”

There was nothing in Ali’s tone to suggest that they’d spent some time in Luke’s truck kissing like their lives had depended on it, but Jack knew him better than anyone else on the planet. Proving it, his gaze shifted from Ali to Luke. “Also, he can never find his keys and he snores,” Jack said.

“Thanks, man,” Luke said.

Jack smiled at Ali. “Hope you’re hungry; I brought Chinese. Ben, my cousin and the third musketeer, would’ve brought a loaded pizza. He’s on government assignment right now, and I’m just superstitious enough that I won’t eat a pizza until he’s home. You need anything else?”

Clearly surprised to be asked, Ali blinked. “No, thank you.” Her voice sounded funny and gave Luke a very bad feeling.
Jack didn’t miss it either. Jack didn’t miss much. “All right, I’ll get plates,” he said very gently, waiting until he was behind her and out of her peripheral vision to send Luke a steely look.

One thing the two of them had always shared was a hatred of seeing anyone mistreated or taken advantage of. Jack loved Luke, but the message was clear—don’t hurt her more than she’s already been hurt.

When Jack vanished into the kitchen, Ali moved to the couch, head averted. There might even have been a muffled sniffle.

Oh, Christ. Luke had faced down countless gangbangers, armed felons, and drugged-up perps. He’d faced the worst humanity had to offer, but he’d never gotten the hang of dealing with a woman’s tears. Sucking it up, he sat next to her.

She stiffened.

Ignoring that, he reached for her ice cream, thinking to set it down for her, but she surprised him with an elbow to the gut.

“What the hell?”

She hugged the ice cream to her chest. “I told you not to be nice to me right now!”

“I’m not nice. I’m never nice. And Jesus, remind me to never try to separate you from your ice cream again.”

Jack reappeared, paper plates and napkins in hand as he took in the scene. “Bad time?”

“Yes,” Luke said.

“No,” Ali said, and glared at Luke.

Jack nodded in approval. “Keeping him in line. That’s good. He needs that.”

Luke shot Jack a look, which Jack ignored as he plopped down on the couch right between them. The big oaf actually bounced Ali nearly to the floor and half sat on Luke as he settled in. He took the ice cream from Ali—and didn’t get elbowed, Luke couldn’t help but notice—and then handed out plates. They divided up the food, with Jack taking the last eggroll.

“Hey,” Luke said.

“It’d go straight to your ass,” Jack said, and popped the eggroll into his mouth. “No one wants to see that.”

THANKS TO JESSICA AT GCP/FOREVER,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY TO GIVE AWAY.
OPEN TO U.S. RESIDENTS

FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW

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