Excerpt from
For Money or Love by Margo Hoornstra
Lindsey
Carr's two best friends, Rita and Anne, discuss exactly why she and her
mega-millionaire boss, Daniel Montgomery, are no longer romantically involved.
Shooting Lindsey a quickly manufactured smile, she turned her full attention to
the eye candy. “No doubt about it. Those are bedroom eyes.” She trailed her
fingertips over Daniel’s forehead, down his cheek and onto the outline of his
lips.
Lindsey brought both hands
to her lap under the table, locked her fingers together and squeezed. It was a
four-page spread in Today’s Tech magazine. The picture of
Daniel’s forehead, cheek and lips.
An important distinction
to remember. If that had been her boss in the flesh he’d be blushing beet red
from all the fluttery female attention. Daniel Montgomery was different than
most other powerful millionaires. Those she’d heard about anyway. Certainly
drop dead gorgeous as had been established. With a mile wide shy streak not
many people knew about or even suspected. Hands still clasped, Lindsey leaned
away from the display.
Anne slid her glass aside
and moved up to fill the void, her critical gaze focused on Daniel’s picture.
“I’m never sure what the term ‘bedroom eyes’ means.”
“Not droopy or sleepy.”
Rita didn’t bother to look up. “Sexy. There’s no other word for it. Well, maybe
erotic would fit. I must say, Lindsey. It amazes me you can work side by side
with this man day in and day out and manage to keep your hands to yourself.”
“It’s easy.” She murmured
the blatant lie. Very easy. He does the same and then some.
“You and this marvelous
specimen.” Rita waited until Lindsey glanced up then met her eye to eye. “As a
couple, are old news, right? That’s what you’ve said.”
“Absolutely.” Purposely
lowering her voice, she mentally counted to five before she spoke again. “We
did the dating thing for a while.” She shrugged one shoulder for effect. “It
didn’t work for us.”
Lindsey took a small gulp
of wine to avoid having to share more, and was relieved when Rita and Anne went
back to hunk browsing. Trying her best to ignore the fact it was Daniel’s hunk
they browsed, she gave up to give into her own thoughts about the man.
Bowing to a mutual attraction that became evident soon after they met,
Lindsey and Daniel dated for a time. A very short time, consisting of a few casual
dinners, a couple of movies. That one night in….
“Why didn’t it work for
you exactly?”
Unsure who asked the
question, Lindsey looked up then blinked. “It just didn’t.” She slowly let out
a breath. “I don’t think of Daniel Montgomery in that way.” Much anymore.
“Then why are you
blushing?” Her sharp gaze unrelenting, Rita leaned considered her from across
the table. “Care to share?”
I’ll have no peace
around here until I do. Taking her
time to indulge in another sip, she completed a long, slow swallow then licked
her lips.
About Margo
Hoornstra
Becoming a coffee connoisseur wasn’t an instant
fall head over heels event for Margo Hoornstra. Initial cups were loaded with
milk and sugar. When the children arrived, two AM feedings coupled with six AM
risings for work necessitated more indispensable caffeine. Flavored, iced,
lattes and such, a true coffee aficionado, she covets them all.
* * *
Excerpt from Take A Chance On Me
by M.J. Schiller
After chasing leads at the
station, Cash returns to his home where his partner, Ian, is supposed to be
watching over the murder witness, Harper...
Cash slowly pulled his keys out of the door, examining
the pair. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Right, Ian?”
Ian nodded loosely. “Nothing. Like she said.”
Cash closed the door and set his keys on the end
table. “Uh-huh.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “What’s behind your back?”
Ian shot a glance at Harper. “You’re on your own.” He
ducked into the kitchen.
“Coward,” she mumbled out of the side of her mouth.
Cash moved forward, and she took a step back. He
lunged, catching her, and causing her to scream. He wrestled the bottle from
her hand and brought it out where he could see it. Ian ran in, his concerned gaze
darting to Harper. He stopped and put a hand over his heart, leaning against
the side of the archway between the two rooms.
“Hmm.” Cash took a step back, tilting the bottle. He
fought the smile tugging on his lips. “Is this my Jäger?”
Ian and Harper looked at each other with open mouths,
but neither spoke.
Cash ambled over to the coffee table and clinked the
bottle against the shot glasses as he set it down. “So—and correct me if I’m
wrong—it looks like, while I’ve been out working my ass off, the two of you
were busy getting snockered.”
“Oh, no.” Harper shook her head. “We were working
hard, right, Ian?”
Ian made an attempt to stand straight, but swayed
comically. “We were working hard.” He nodded, but turned to Harper. “What were
we working hard at again?”
“Looking at the mug shots.”
“Oh. Yeah. That’s right. We were looking at the mug
shots.” He faced Cash. “And doing shots.”
“Sh-sh-sh. It’s a secret.” Harper laughed.
Ian chuckled along with her. “Oh, yeah.”
Cash put his hands on his hips. “Well, I hate to tell
you, friends, but the cat’s out of the bag now.”
“Cat? What cat?” Harper laughed, seeming to be
slightly more sober than her partner in crime, his partner.
“He has a cat?” Ian seemed genuinely confused, looking
around for the feline. “You never told me you had a cat.”
Harper
sputtered and broke into laughter again.
Cash sat, hiding his chuckle. She was so damned cute.
He put his feet on the coffee table, spreading his arms out along the top of
the couch. “Whose idea was this anyhow?”
They pointed at each other.
“It was mine?” Harper asked. Ian nodded. “Oh. It was
mine.” She smiled and didn’t appear to try to hide her pride.
Cash shook his head, staring at them for a moment. He
stood and pulled out his phone. “Okay, Ian. I’m calling you an Uber.” He punched
some buttons. “Chrissy’s gonna kick your butt. And the next time she sees me,
she’s gonna kick my butt.” He looked at his screen. “Two minutes away.” He came
over and put his arm around Ian, steering him to the door.
“I’m leaving?”
Cash grabbed his jacket off a recliner. “Yes, you are.
Maybe the night air will sober you up some.”
“I doubt it.”
Cash laughed. “I doubt it, too. And you, little
missie—” he swung around to point to her.
She looked about, then put a finger on her chest and
mouthed “Me?”
“Yes, you. Don’t think you’re off the hook. I’ll deal
with you when I get back.”
About M.J. Schiller
One day--when M.J.'s
triplets were about two, and her eldest four--she was doing laundry and
matching up the socks, one of her least favorite chores. She lined them up all
along her arms as she hunted for their mates. After a bit of fruitless
searching, she glanced at the time and realized she needed to hustle to be on
time for a prayer service she was attending at her church.
She made it in time, her
four children in tow, and removed her coat before kneeling to say a prayer. An
half hour later, as she piously prayed along with the congregation, her eldest
asked, "Mommy, why do you have a sock on your shoulder?" She had
missed removing one of her husband's long, mateless gym socks!
