Here is an excerpt (aka a hint) for
The Romance Reviews Year-End Splash Party event, which runs from November 1-30, 2013.
Be sure to check it out for some great prizes! I'll be giving away a print copy of
Devin's Second Chance!
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Devin's Second Chance Excerpt
Devin stared at Claire and cursed. Why the hell was she here?
No, he could figure that out well enough. His mother and her schemes were going
to kill him. Tonight, the minute he got home, he’d be sitting down with his
darling meddling mother and they’d have a long chat about how she was going to
quit interfering.
Claire had cringed when she saw
him, then she glanced away. Her reaction was exactly what he would have
expected. She’d told him clearly enough he was an ass the last time they’d been
together. He’d had his hand in her pants, and she’d told him to get lost. That
was pretty damn clear.
When she looked at him a second
time, he motioned for her to come down. He probably should go up there and
explain things, but she was sitting in front of Hanna May, the busiest busybody
on the circuit. That woman didn’t miss many rodeos and she certainly never
missed any gossip. His mother had probably planned that, too.
Claire took a deep breath, then
nodded. When she stood, Devin had to drag his gaze away. She was wearing a snug
T-shirt and jeans, displaying her tight little body. Making him think about
things he really shouldn’t…couldn’t. He was not going to gawk at her breasts
pressing against the thin material.
He wasn’t.
Devin tapped his foot and turned
to watch the barrel racing while Claire climbed down through the spectators.
She was going to be as pissed as he was. Hell, the last time they’d spoken
she’d essentially said she never wanted to see him again.
When Claire arrived at his side,
he forced himself to look at her. He expected her to be tense but she had an
easy smile on her face.
“I’ve never been to a rodeo
before,” she said. “It is wonderful. You should see the pictures I’ve taken.”
Devin nodded and drummed his
fingers against the railing. “My mother called.”
Claire’s eyebrow lifted.
“She’s left the rodeo. She asked
if I could take you home.”
“You’re joking, aren’t you? She
was—” Claire squinted toward the seats they’d shared.
“No joke.” Devin rubbed his
neck. “Listen, I’m sorry.”
“Is she okay?”
Devin cleared his throat. “On
the phone, she started off by saying she thought she might have gotten a bit of
heatstroke, but—”
“We should find her, check on
her. She shouldn’t be driving. She should have come and got me.” Claire started
to press through the crowd beside the bleachers, then she stopped. “Are you
coming? I don’t know where you’re parked.”
“Stop for a minute.” Without
thinking, Devin put his hand on her arm to stay her. Her skin was warm from the
sun and smooth as silk. He jerked his hand away. “Mom doesn’t have heatstroke.
The truth is she—I don’t know how to say this—she’s got this idea that you and
I…” He glanced at the people beside them, but no one was paying much attention.
Claire stared at him.
“I’ll talk with her,” he said.
Claire fiddled with the strap on
her camera bag, like she had in the barn the other day. No, he would not think
about what had happened in the barn. He cleared his throat.
“You think she brought me here
and then left so that you’d have to take me home?”
Devin shrugged. “That about sums
it up.”
“Are you blushing?”
“God, no,” Devin said, adjusting
the angle of his hat. “She doesn’t know about…well, she doesn’t know you’d
prefer to stay away from me. I’ll find someone else to take you home, okay?
That way you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“You’re going to ask someone
else to take me home?” The way Claire’s eyebrows came together, she looked a
bit hurt. But damn it, she was the one who kept putting up roadblocks between
them.
“If you want.”
“No.” Claire straightened her
shoulders. “That is not what I want.”
It was Devin’s turn to raise his
eyebrows.
“I want to watch the bull riding
and any other event that is still to come. Then if you are ready, you can drive
me home. Don’t you dare pawn me off on someone else.” She stared up at him, as
if she was daring him to defy her.
“Bulls, hey?”
She lifted her chin. “Yes.”
Devin tapped the front of his
hat and nodded at her. She was taking this situation with more grace than he’d
expected. “Yes, ma’am.”
~~~~~
DEVIN'S SECOND CHANCE
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 84,000 words
Series: A Morning Lake Novel: Book 1
Digital Copies Available Here:
Amazon.com | Smashwords
All Romance eBooks | Kobo
Indigo-Chapters | Amazon.ca
Amazon.co.uk
Print Copies Available Here:
CreateSpace | Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble | Amazon.ca
Amazon.co.uk
Blurb: Cowboy Devin Trent can't believe his matchmaking mom is trying to set him up with Claire Best, the photographer at the local art gallery. She should know better than anyone why he doesn't deserve a second chance at love. What surprises him even more is that he is drawn to Claire and she seems interested in him, too. Their mutual attraction grows every time they see one another, but when he suspects Claire is keeping a secret he becomes wary. After all, his first marriage was ruined by secrets and lies. Can Devin earn Claire's trust? Or, will Claire's secret end their relationship before it begins?
Excerpt: Read Another Excerpt Here
Reviews of Devin's Second Chance can be found on:
Goodreads | Amazon.com | Smashwords | LibraryThing | Amazon.ca
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Don't you just love a matchmaker?
Happy Halloween! 
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