This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. L. Simpson will be awarding an e-copy of Beyond Today + $10 Boroughs Bucks to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
WRONG BEFORE IT'S RIGHT
Annie Clarke knew fairy tales were only in books, and love was a disaster. Nothing could convince her to go down that road again. But local football hero, Erik Strathmore, wore her down. Too cocky by half, and too damn good-looking for his own good, when he suggested they give friends with benefits a try, she relented. At first, it worked. Erik was a great friend, and a fantastic lover. But then their hearts entered the field of play, and Erik betrayed her. Annie cursed herself for allowing it to happen again, she'd loved and lost for the last time. After realizing his mistake, Erik couldn't have agreed more. Annie would never love anyone else again. She was his, and he intended to keep her by his side forever.
Enjoy an Excerpt:
I told myself I was keeping my door open because I was trying to be friendly. But that was a lie. I left it open so I’d know when he arrived. He was due any minute. I was emotionally unprepared despite anticipating the appointment for days. He unnerved me. Too cocky by half, and too damn good-looking for his own good. Been there, done that. Gave the t-shirt to the charity shop.
Professionally, though, I was ready. No problem. I had reviewed my notes, restocked my tape draw, warmed the oil, changed the pillowcase, and had cleaned the bed. Twice. I’d even folded the towels. Colour-coded origami swans now sat on the shelf. I’d adjusted my computer, then I fiddled with my pens, making sure the blue ones were on the left, the red on the right, and the highlighters in the middle. I had repositioned the Oasis mug on my desk, taking a moment to marvel at how it had lasted twenty years after I’d purchased it at a concert. A small reminder of the home I’d fled.
My brain, acting like a cat in a bag, u-turned from thoughts of home to the rugged, chiselled, Thor-like, blond-haired, blue-eyed, fantasy Viking-lumberjack who was also the son of Satan. That I preferred to think about him and not my home in England was saying something.
Needing to move, I stood up, the nervous energy making my skin tingle and my limbs twitch. I rubbed my sweating palms on my jeans and walked to the back of my treatment room, quietly cursing a blue streak at my inability to get myself in order.
He was only a damned man.
“You know, I could listen to you swear like a truck driver all day with that pretty accent of yours.”
My body froze, but my mouth didn’t. I wished it had, but my mouth never cooperated.
About the Author:
Returning from the States, her career took a different turn as she started working at the Red Cross and completed her Masters of Law in Human Rights. As one of the few non-lawyers in the class, her essays were far more floral than the rest, something that caused the discerning professors to shake their heads. Through working and studying, she realised there are other ways to win hearts and minds.
While she’s spent the last 14 years as an advocate against poverty and homelessness, the desire to change the world through storytelling has only got stronger. She now lives in the Alpine Valleys of North East Victoria, Australia with her husband, daughter, son, two dogs and seven chooks. When she’s not doing the whole mum thing, working at a homelessness agency, renovating her farmhouse, or trying to do laundry bleary-eyed at midnight, she is writing.
Buy the book at Amazon.
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