Here's an excerpt from the first chapter. A little bit of Dane's POV and Talia's first sight of him. If I was Talia, I'd be salivating over him, too.
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Excerpt:
“Are
you going somewhere, Dane?”
Shit.
Annabelle
walked out of the bedroom, buttoning a cream silk blouse tight enough to
showcase her full breasts. She’d tucked the shirt into a slim plaid skirt that
delineated every beautiful curve of her ass and hips.
Her
auburn hair bounced and curled around her shoulders and her full mouth curved
in a happy smile.
She’d used that mouth on his body many times and he’d enjoyed
the hell out of it. Just like he enjoyed the hell out of Annabelle.
But she
wasn’t his.
Yes, he
loved her. But he wasn’t in love with her. Not like Jed. Jed adored her.
Dane
did, too. It just wasn’t the same.
Annabelle
moved to Jed and bent for a kiss, which Jed returned with a smile and a hand on
her ass. Annabelle lingered, her hand lifting to caress Jed’s jaw.
In the
next second, Jed caught her around the waist and tumbled her onto his lap,
kissing her, long and deep.
When
Jared finally let her up for air, Annabelle laughed.
Dane found
himself grinning and, when Annabelle turned toward him again, she wrinkled her
nose at him.
“So I
have a favor to ask,” she said. “I know you’re a busy guy but are you going to
be around today? Kate just called and said something came up so she won’t be
here and I need some male input when I meet with Talia.
“Talia?”
The name sounded familiar but he wasn’t coming up with a face and, for him, that
was a total lapse in his skills.
“The
wedding planner,” Belle prompted.
“Ah, the
one who wants Jed to buy groomsmen gifts.” Dane mock shuddered. “Yeah, I think
I’ll pass.”
“Hey!”
Annabelle tried for outrage but she was too damn happy to make it work. “Don’t
diss Talia. She’s been amazing. I couldn’t do this without her.”
“Then
I’m glad she’s working out for you. But I’ve got—”
“She’s
going to be here in a few minutes.” Annabelle batted big green eyes at him. “Please?
Jared has a meeting he says he can’t miss and I’d really like a guy’s opinion.”
Her
smile turned pleading. Dane’s gaze narrowed at Jed. “Wait, why doesn’t he have
to go?”
“Because
he has a meeting with the mayor about…something.” She waved a hand in front of
her. “I have no idea what. But Jared said he absolutely couldn’t be there. I
don’t want this wedding to be over-the-top girly and you know Jared better than
anyone. You’ll be able to tell me if he won’t like something.”
When
she stared at him like that, he knew exactly why Jed had bent over backward to
find her and keep her. And when she smiled at Jed, Dane understood why Jed
never worried about losing her to Dane, even though Dane occasionally shared
Annabelle.
And
when he said share, he meant have sex with. Sex he enjoyed very much.
Which
was why spending time with her alone was dangerous.
“Uh…I’m
not sure…”
“Please.”
Annabelle
turned her smile on him now. Shit.
He bit
back a sigh. “I’ve got a few hours this morning. What time’s the meeting?”
“In…”
she glanced at the clock, “ten minutes.”
Well,
at least he wouldn’t have long to sit and think about it.
“Fine.
Let’s go see a woman about a wedding.”
* * *
Talia
checked her hair one last time in the mirror in the restroom in Haven Hotel’s
restaurant.
Not a blonde
strand out of place in the chignon it’d taken nearly an hour to create. She
smoothed a hand down the skirt of her winter-white suit, making sure she hadn’t
spilled anything on herself and failed to notice.
Which
was ridiculous. She hadn’t even taken a sip of water since getting dressed.
She
made a face at her reflection and huffed. “You’re being ridiculous.”
Which
she totally was.
Annabelle
was a friend. A good friend. She shouldn’t be this nervous.
Then
again, she’d never planned a wedding for someone of Jared’s social standing.
Which
was also ridiculous. She gave every event she planned one-hundred percent of
her attention. It didn’t matter if the groom was a multimillionaire
entrepreneur or the bride worked at the local supermarket.
They
all deserved her best. And she had every faith in herself to make it happen. It
was just…
What?
For one
thing, if everything went as planned, she’d make one hell of a name for herself
and her business. Expand and grow.
Of
course, if that happened… Well, she’d deal with that if and when the time came.
Right
now, she didn’t have time to spend mulling over problems that hadn’t happened. She
had last-minute details to go over with Annabelle and Jared, important pieces
of the overall puzzle that would create the perfect event.
Annabelle
trusted Talia to deliver the wedding of her dreams. And that’s exactly what she
was going to do.
Straightening
her back, Talia took a deep breath and headed for the lobby, where she was
supposed to meet Annabelle in a few minutes.
Talia
always showed up at least five minutes early for any meeting, whether she sat
in her car or headed for a bathroom to make sure she looked the part.
Successful,
perfectly put together and totally confident.
A woman
who had the ability to give the bride the wedding of her dreams.
No
matter what.
With
her Coach tote hanging from one arm, Talia smiled at the woman behind the desk
when she looked up from her computer screen. “Hey, Sabrina. How are you?”
“Talia!”
With a
huge grin, Sabrina Rodriguez scurried around the counter to wrap her arms
around Talia for a bear hug. Talia returned the embrace just as tightly.
“Damn,
girl, you look amazing.” Sabrina gave Talia a thumbs up before heading back
behind the reception desk. “Are you here to meet Annabelle?”
“Yes,
we’ve got some last minute details to figure out. How are you? I haven’t seen
you for ages.”
Sabrina’s
sunny smile got even brighter. “Busy, busy, busy. Seems like there’s never a
dull moment.”
“How’s
Greg?”
Sabrina’s
mouth curved in an adorable smile. “He has more battery power than the
Energizer Bunny. He survives on three hours of sleep a night, I swear. If he’s
not editing his movie, he’s taking meetings with contractors and politicians
and government people and I swear, I have no idea what the hell he’s up to most
of the time.”
Talia
caught a hint of nervous apprehension in Sabrina’s voice and took a closer look
at her friend.
Sabrina
was twenty-three and one of the sweetest people Talia knew. Which made Talia
suspicious of Sabrina’s forced-looking smile.
She wondered
if her friend had finally realized that having a relationship with Greg Hicks,
one of the most powerful producer-directors in Hollywood, was more work than
she’d realized it would be.
And she
hoped like hell that Greg, who’d forsaken the rat race of the left coast film
industry to start a new production company based in Philadelphia, treated
Sabrina the way she deserved.
Talia
had met Greg a few times and been nearly blown away by his personality. He was
like a steamroller, with a smile that could make women’s panties drop at a
hundred paces.
Sure,
he seemed completely in love with Sabrina but the man was used to getting what
he wanted and, right now, he wanted Sabrina.
“This
meeting with Annabelle shouldn’t be more than an hour. Can you take a break
around ten or so? Maybe we can grab coffee before I have to drive back to
Wyomissing?”
Talia
had recently moved her office to a shiny new space in a beautifully renovated
building in a small suburb of Reading and out of her former apartment in her
hometown of Adamstown, which is where she’d met Annabelle and Sabrina and Kate
Song, Annabelle’s best friend and maid of honor. Kate was supposed to be here
for this meeting as well but had called off at the last minute due to an
unexpected situation with her dad.
“Ooh,
that sounds great.” Sabrina’s true smile was back and Talia was determined to
make sure Sabrina was okay before she left. “Stop back when you’re done. It’ll
be nice to talk girl stuff, even if it’s only for a few minutes.”
Yes,
there was definitely something up with Sabrina. Guilt tweaked at Talia’s
conscience and made her more determined than before to spend a little time with
Sabrina before she left.
It’d
been a while since the four of them had gotten together for dinner and drinks
because they’d all been so busy. Annabelle with her antiques business and the
wedding. Kate with her new lingerie business and the boutique here in Haven.
Talia with her burgeoning wedding planning business.
Sabrina
seemed to have gotten a little lost in the shuffle.
Not
today.
“Hey,
you’re early. I knew you would be. You’re too damn efficient for your own
good.”
Talia
turned at the sound of Annabelle’s voice and felt her friend’s smile infect
her. Annabelle had that glow a woman got when she was happy with the world.
And who
wouldn’t be in her position? She was marrying one of Philadelphia’s most
eligible bachelors who treated her like a queen and gave her anything she
wanted, usually before she wanted it.
According
to Annabelle, Jared was perfect.
Too
damn perfect, if you asked Talia. But no one had and she’d been told more than
once that she had a skewed outlook on men.
Considering
her history, who could blame her? Then again, not many people knew her history,
so most men wrote her off as a cold bitch. Usually she was okay with that.
Annabelle
gave her a huge hug, threw a smile and a wave at Sabrina then started pulling
Talia toward the atrium.
“I had
Tyler set up a table for us in the atrium. It’s beautiful out there right now
and since we’re having the wedding in there, you won’t have to visualize what we’re
talking about.”
“I just
have a few details we need to finalize and—”
“Hold
that thought,” Annabelle said as she waved toward the elevator. “Dane, come
meet Talia.”
Talia
turned in the direction Annabelle was looking and saw a man walking toward them.
She blinked as her brain tried to process how utterly, distractingly handsome
he was.
She
noticed his hair first. A black so dark, hints of blue flashed under the bright
lights of the lobby. He wore it longer than convention dictated, so perfectly
straight, she wondered if he actually used a flat iron and long enough that he
had it tucked behind one ear to keep it out of his face.
And
damn, what a face. Sharp, dark eyes above cheekbones so straight she wanted to
run her finger along them. Then there was his mouth… Full lips that could
probably kiss a woman into a coma.
Damn, the man is too freaking
pretty for his own good.
Of
course, pretty probably wasn’t a word he’d appreciate. Then again, he was probably
used to woman wanting to pet him.
“Talia,
this is Dane Connelly, Jared’s best man. I can’t believe you two haven’t met
yet.”
Dane
met her eyes, gave her a brief once-over, then nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
He held
out his hand, and Talia took it out of habit. She told herself the shiver that
ran through her had nothing to do with his touch and everything to do with a
breeze blowing through the lobby from the opening of the front door.
Total
bullshit, but still.
Of
course, while she’d been knocked off balance, he seemed to be completely immune
to her.
Which
was a little disconcerting. She was tall and blonde and men typically took a
second look. She’d gotten good at deflecting attention and had had loads of
practice from the time she was a teenager.
“Nice
to meet you, Talia.”
And
wow, the voice fit that face. Low and a little husky. And totally disinterested
in her.
Well, that’ll teach you. She laughed silently to herself
and released his hand. “Nice to meet you, too.”
Turning
her attention back to Annabelle, Talia caught a glimpse of something in
Annabelle’s expression. As if she’d expecting a response she hadn’t gotten.
Then it
passed and Annabelle was leading her and Dane toward the atrium.
For the
next hour, she and Annabelle went over the checklist Talia had compiled. There
were quite a few items on the list but not because Talia had forgotten anything
in the weeks leading up to the big event.
No, she’d
simply learned that there were things that only needed to be discussed at
certain times and, through a great deal of trial and error, Talia had learned
how and when to approach them.
However
she usually dealt with the bride and groom for this meeting so Dane’s presence
was throwing her off her game a little.
One of
the things she typically discussed with the groom’s at this meeting was the
groomsman’s gifts. But since this was
the groomsman…
“Uh oh,
you have that look on your face, Tal.” Annabelle frowned at her. “What’s up?”
They’d
gone over every other item on her list and she really hated not to cross off
everything.
“It’s
just…,” she glanced at Dane, who’d been silent throughout much of the meeting.
Oh,
he’d spoken when Annabelle had asked for his opinion, which she’d done several
times. And he’d given remarkably thoughtful answers, including one about
whether or not they should include the formerly estranged mother of Annabelle’s
deceased second father in the family pictures.
Talia
could honestly say she’d never come up against this problem in all the years
she’d been planning weddings but Dane had had the perfect response.
“Does
she seem like family to you, Belle?” he’d asked.
Annabelle
had turned to Dane with a wryly amused laugh then reached out to poke him in
the side with her finger. As if she knew exactly where he was ticklish.
“How do
you always know the right question to ask?”
He
shrugged and raised his eyebrows at her, his expression slightly haughty but
even Talia could see the affection beneath.
“Because I’m just that good. You should know that by now.”
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