Howdy Hump Day!
I love watching movies or reading about a second chance romance! Maybe that’s why I wrote a book about a couple who met again after thirteen years of being apart. Did their love ever die? Was it meant to be? The townspeople in my small town of Canyon Junction think so, and everyone is rooting for Jake and Beth.
First, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty:
This week Whispers of Forever: Mending Christmas is over at StoryFinds for their Second Chance Romance Theme Week. Along with the book promotion, Whispers is also in a cover contest. I know, I know, I said I wouldn’t do these cover polls anymore when I had to ask for reader votes, and I haven’t for a few years. The pages are slow-loading, so be patient.
At StoryFinds, the site owner does a lot of promo for the cover poll. With a new release in this series, I wanted to do a bit of promo for the first book too. If you’re up to visiting the Theme Week Cover Poll, here is the link. 🙂 I’ve also included an excerpt from Whispers of Forever: Mending Christmas. There is also an excerpt to go with the promo on StoryFinds.
Moving On
Set-up:
The following excerpt comes from Chapter Five. Oh, boy, a lot has already happened since Jake and Beth ran into each other unexpectedly a few chapters ago. They’ve met for coffee, with his son along, on occasion, and Jake visited her home once. Now, weeks later, Jake Lawton and Beth Marconi are about to go on their first date in thirteen years. They aren’t teenagers anymore. ❤
What can get in their way this time?
She brought out a part of him no one else could. No matter what it was, or what bothered him, she had found ways to dig it out. She should’ve been a damn psychologist. Well, he was about to cave again. “The first night at the restaurant when you walked out the door, I told myself you wouldn’t get away this time. Now, you’re talking about leaving.”
A softness lingered on her face, and her lips slightly parted as she peered at him. “I’m home, Jake. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve wanted this since my divorce. San Antonio wasn’t for me if I had to be there alone. All I wanted was to have my own place here.”
“Well, darlin’, there are a lot of condos in Canyon Junction. If you think that’s the old Jake being pushy, I guess you’re right.” When the radio went off, he put his arm around her shoulder and strolled to his truck to turn it back on. “This song and you in my arms is like old times.”
Beth removed his arm from her shoulder and leaned against his truck. “A lot of things have changed. We’ve changed. But it didn’t take long to know a part of us hasn’t.” She smiled and his heart skipped a beat, for she said what he had been thinking.
“I’ve noticed.” Jake gave her a cocky grin.
Beth folded her arms over her chest and crossed her legs at the ankle while leaning against the truck. “Are you coming to my house? We can always get Italian to go. Tonight I’d like to kick back and relax.”
“Nah, I’m not in the mood for Italian anymore. You got a grill at your house?”
She shook her head. “My parents stopped grilling years ago. They turned into the frozen-dinners-at-3:00 p.m., crowd. Yes, it’s true, my Italian mother heated frozen dinners on occasion.”
“No way. Wasting all the good cooking she used to do? You still like steak, Macaroni? Because I got a grill.” So much for being unsure of spending time alone together, because now it was all he could think about. The magnetism began to sizzle in a heartbeat, or it had never left.
“Sometimes. Let’s do this.”
The way her gaze ran over him as she spoke, caused a shudder. What had she seen in him? Jake placed his palms against the truck bed, one on each side of her and leaned close. “Let’s drop your car off, and you ride to my ranch with me. I’ll take you back home later on the way to pick up Trace, or you can go with me to get him.”
Beth set her hands on his shoulders. Her eyes sparkled. “I made cheesecake last night.”
Jake licked his lips, moving in closer. He wanted to kiss her so damn badly. “All right. I’ll follow you to your house.” For a moment, their gazes held, and it took all he had to pull away. If he didn’t know himself better, he’d swear he was shaking. Being close to her, smelling her, caused a rousing he wanted to let loose.
On the way back to her car, she wrapped her arm around his waist. “Do you think we went through a time warp or worm hole? It almost seems like thirteen years hasn’t passed.”
Jake slipped his arm around her shoulder, and he had a hard time swallowing. He opened her car door. When she got in and glanced up at him with those shamrock green eyes, his heart ached. Not a heartache, but an ache in his heart because that quick, he wanted her in his future. Enough time had been wasted between them, when it should’ve been them, all along.
“Want to know a secret?” Beth held the door from closing.
Jake blinked a couple times. “Oh, yeah, baby, I like secrets.”
“If I’d had a son, his name would’ve been Trace, just like you and I had joked about. Named after the country singer you used to like. I loved the name, but not so much the music.”
“Our kids with the same name would’ve been fantastic in such a freaky way.” He nodded and went back to his truck. Jake drove behind her all the way, and as they drove down her road, that big old Superstition Mountain to his left reminded him of the many nights he drove that same road to pick her up for a date, and then the last time, to run away with her—to marry her. What would’ve happened if that night had taken place?
Y’all have a great week.
Heart Image: Pixabay
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel 
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