It’s the holiday
season, time for family get-togethers and mingling. Time to paste on that smile
and act like you’re happy to see the long-lost, three times removed cousins.
Unless that’s just me?
I’m not a fan of the holidays
except the food, but with a child you tend to go with the flow. This
Thanksgiving, I find myself counting the many blessings I’ve been granted and
appreciating the rough patches. They are the ones that make you realize just
how much you have. What you don’t have doesn’t matter so much in the larger
scheme.
It shouldn’t be, but
why is it that we pay more attention to our families around the Holidays than every
other day year-round? Why is Thanksgiving the only way we gather around a table
and give thanks? Why only exchange gifts on Christmas?
Like I said, it
shouldn’t be, but so it is.
----
Thirteen years ago, Lyric Benson's
boyfriend accused her of sleeping with his older brother then disappeared. She
never stopped caring, never stopped hoping. Now, all these years later, Lyric
is stunned to discover the new owner of her company is one Grayson St Clair,
who never forgot or forgave her transgression.
Grayson wants nothing to do with
someone he thinks hurt him so deeply. He can't let go of the past and he can't
trust Lyric. It doesn't help matters that while on her watch, the Masonry
company she oversaw was hacked into and the company's top secret client list
accessed. Reluctantly, Lyric and Grayson team up to find the culprit, with
Grayson denying their blossoming feelings at every turn. But when his brother
appears, secrets in tow, Grayson will have to choose: live in the past or move
on with Lyric.
Links: Secret Cravings (ebook and Print) | Amazon (ebook and Print) | All Romance | B&N | Bookstrand
EXCERPT
They faced each other as if on a
battlefield, even though they weren’t more than a couple feet apart.
“Explain yourself.” Grayson raked his
gaze over her.
“I already have.” She scowled.
“No, you haven’t. You haven’t explained
why you allowed me to walk into this situation completely blindfolded.”
“Aren’t you being a bit overdramatic?”
she asked.
Is
she for real? He stared at her. “Someone hacked the
company’s system, accessed our exclusive client list, and is using said list to
seduce our clients over to their side.” He breathed. “And the person who should’ve
been protecting my company thinks I’m being overdramatic. Am I right?”
“Look, Gray, I’m really sorry.” She touched
his arm. Grayson flinched away and she dropped her hand. “I’m sorry, but we can
fix it.”
He brushed a hand over his face and paced.
“Yeah? How do you propose we do this?”
She took a seat on the conference table
and tucked a strand of hair behind her right ear. A move so familiar, memories
threatened to overwhelm him. Another time, another place. He shook his head in
an attempt to clear it and focused on what she had to say.
“The culprit has to be one of Ilsha’s
competitors. There are only three in the New
York
He stared at her, at the familiar curve
of her neck and inviting glow of her skin.
“Did you hear what I said?” she asked.
He blinked. “Yeah, something about
looking at the competitors.”
She nodded.
“All right, I’ll have Richard look into
it.”
“Why him?” She wrinkled her brow. “I was
hoping we could do it.”
“We who?”
“Me and you–us,” she said. “I’m the
manager and this happened on my watch.”
“You’re right, of course.” He shifted to
the front of her, a move calculated to force her to look up at him. “I can’t
fire you because of the sales agreement, so you’ll have to fix this mess,” he
said coolly.
“What?” Surprise pitched her voice higher.
“What does the sales agreement say?”
“Do you want to leave? Because you can,
nothing’s stopping you.” He granted her a mocking smile.
“Like I’d give you the satisfaction. I’m
staying put, so answer the question. What did you mean?”
Grayson sighed. “There’s a clause in the
sales agreement by the previous owner. He wants me to keep on the current staff
for at least six months. Anyone can leave if they want, but I can’t fire
anybody.”
Lyric pursed her lips. “If you had your
way, I’d be long gone. Wouldn’t I?” She spoke the words quietly, head tilted to
look up at him.
“Well, yes. Especially since you
practically gave our clients away.”
“Bastard,” she spat. “This has nothing to
do with Ilsha.” Her fists clenched in her lap.
Grayson kept his face blank and met her
gaze head-on.
“You still hate me.” Her chest heaved. “You
still hate me after all these years.”
“What do you expect, Lyric?” Thirteen
years of pain and anguish clung to every word he spoke. “You slept with my
brother!”
About the Author
l always wanted to have a sexy bio, one
to reflect who I am, but after drawing a blank, l could only come up with: I eat cake and I read books…ooh, and
I write ‘em too. No one liked it and
after massive peer-pressure and pouting, I managed something more…suitable?
A Caribbean
transplant, Avril now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y with a tolerant Spousal
Equivalent. Together they raise an eccentric daughter who loves reading and
school (not so much school anymore). Avril’s earliest memories of reading
revolve around discussing plot points of The Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys with
an equally book-minded mother
Always in
love with the written word, Avril finally decided to do the writing in August
of ’09 and never looked back. Spicy love scenes, delicious heroes, and wicked
women burn up the pages of Avril’s stories, but there’ll always be a happy
ending; Av remains a believer of love in all its forms.
Authorgraph: http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/AvrilAsh
The Romance Studio: http://www.theromancestudio.com/fm/aashton.htm
Sony
eReader: http://ebookstore.sony.com/author/avril-ashton_235888
Posts
2 comments:
This stuff is down t earth, hats off buds out there.vin dicarlo pandoras box
http://louisvuittonbelt.citationguide.net 78357 501115louis vuitton outlet northern california louis vuitton speedy 25 purse genuine hermes bags for sale hermes belts for women replica
Post a Comment