Tech week. Ack!
Week after Thanksgiving. Ack!
3 weeks til Christmas. Ack!
Book VERY late and patient editor wondering where it is. Ack!
Sick dog. Ack!
So…can I just offer you an excerpt of my February Blaze novella? The best part of this 3-in-1 Blaze collection is that Janelle and I have our first joint release in many years. Cool!
The collection is called NOT ANOTHER BLIND DATE and my story, “Hold On” is about an answering service operator. (Did you guys know I was an answering service operator? Had fun revisiting those days in this story!) Anyway, this woman has a mad crush on one of the doctors she answers for. And when a woman who was supposed to go on a blind date with the doctor calls and cancels at the last minute, the heroine takes her place.
There’s only one problem…well, read on. You’ll see what it is.
Enjoy!
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“You are Steve Wilshire, right?
He nodded, wondering what she wanted. Because, as much as he might like to walk into the banquet with this woman on his arm, he knew she wasn’t here for that. Obviously she recognized him from somewhere, and had approached him for another reason.
Please don’t be some surgeon’s trophy wife.
The thought made him shift his gaze to her left hand. No ring. Whew.
Before he could ask her what he could do for him, she shocked him completely. “I’m your blind date.”
He was momentarily struck dumb, all his expectations, his certainties, fleeing in a pleased rush. It didn’t make any sense, but for just a second, he didn’t really care. His pulse sped up a little, a pure adrenaline reaction to excitement.
Yeah. Excitement. Interest. Heat.
Intense curiosity.
She swallowed hard, lifted her chin, and stuck out a hand. Her plump bottom lip trembled the tiniest bit before she said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Uh, you too,” he murmured, taking her hand, still not quite understanding any of this.
She had just said she was his date, right? This petite, pretty-rather-than-in-your-face-sexy woman with thick, honey-brown hair that brushed soft-looking, bare shoulders, was his date? The woman with that voice was his date?
Wouldn’t that be nice…if it were really true.
“I’m sorry I’m a little late,” she said.
God, that voice. It brought forth every one of his boyhood Jessica Rabbit fantasies. It also sounded vaguely familiar…but probably because every guy dreamed of being set up with a woman who looked like sweetness and sounded like sin.
There was, of course, one problem.
“I didn’t mean to keep you waiting,” she said.
“It’s okay,” he mumbled, still holding onto her hand, which she made no attempt to pull from his grasp.
Her fingers were soft, small, like the rest of her. But she was no waif. She had curves where a woman should be curved, and perfectly indented valleys that invited a man’s hands. Those perfect curves and valleys were perfectly displayed in her strapless black dress.
He’d been expecting tall, stacked, leggy, vapid blonde bimbo and had gotten short, curvy, brunette, whiskey-voiced mystery woman.
Not knowing what to say, or even what to think, he simply continued to stare, reaffirming his first impressions.
Yes, petite. Yes, adorably sexy. Yes, honey-brown hair, beautiful gleaming eyes, creamy skin, bare shoulders, amazingly sexy voice. Yes, incredibly hot.
And, no. She most definitely was not his date.
He’d seen a picture of the woman Rick was setting him up with. Actually, he’d seen several. Bambi’s Facebook page had contained a bunch of images. Many of them, he suspected, had been taken by her, courtesy of one extended arm—the new standard portraiture of the social networking age.
This woman looked absolutely nothing like that collagen-lipped, platinum-blonde, who, according to her profile, liked kitty-cats and words that started with the letter S.
Right now, looking at this imposter, a few S words came to mind. Words like stroke. Slide. Squeeze. And they grew even more graphic from there.
Funny, he hadn’t had any of those wicked thoughts when he’d seen the pictures on his laptop screen. So no, he was not disappointed at this last-minute substitution. Not one bit.
But he couldn’t help wondering…if this wasn’t the woman Rick had set him up with, who was she?
And what the hell was she up to?
Leslie Kelly used to say she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up, but then she discovered Nancy Drew books. Being a flashlight-under-the-covers-nose-in-book reader throughout her childhood, she couldn’t think of anything else she’d rather do as an adult than continue to lose herself in fictional stories. Her real life marriage of 20 years to the man of her dreams is a constant reinforcement that happily-ever-afters really can happen…and that they’re worth writing about. Living in Maryland, Leslie spends her non-writing time laughing a lot with the above-mentioned romance hero and their three daughters. Though an author of more than thirty sexy, contemporary comedies, she has recently branched out to write dark romantic suspense under the pseudonym Leslie Parrish.
Destiny
Dirty Little Secrets
Once Upon A Valentine
Through The Night
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Hope things calm down, Leslie.
The excerpt sounds great. Can’t wait to read it :)
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Can’t wait to read it.
How’s the puppy feeling??? See I have my priorities.
I am also off to work. With coffee in hand.
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Oh My!!!! I really can’t wait to read it!! I hope everything calms down for you. How’s the Puppy/Dog doing? I hope better.
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February seems so far away right now. Can’t wait to read this one!
How is the puppy doing?
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Lots of hugs to you. I hope it calms down for you.
I can’t believe a joint Leslie/Janelle book…whoot!
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Dulcie is doing better on the meds. I took her to the vet yesterday and (great news) the kidney stones are definitely shrinking with this new medication & food regimen. So the doctor postponed the surgery that was set for today and we’re giving it another 3 weeks of this to see if we can get them down even further. If so (hopefully!) she won’t have to have surgery!
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Les, I’m very happy to hear that Dulcie’s stones are getting smaller.
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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It will get better! Take care of puppy, he’s just feeling sick.
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Oh my goodness, Leslie! Why does it always come in bunches?
No answer needed!
February will be here before we know it. I’m looking forward to Not Another Blind Date as it has three of my favorite authors, it can’t miss!
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Back from the snow filled drive across I-40. Wheew!
Love, Love, Love the excerpt. Why o why is February so far away?
Glad the puppy is feeling better.
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Hope things smooth out soon , Leslie. Love, love, love the excerpt! Can’t wait to read it. Hope Dulcie is well soon.
Take care all,
Cher :fallleaves:
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Girl, I am feeling the “Ack” with you. You know, I am not going to read the excerpt right? February is too far away for me to torture myself. Looking forward to reading what happens next though. Very interesting situation you have going there. Looking forward to reading a book with both you and Janelle in it again. I miss her. I hope things settle down a bit for you soon.
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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Hope the puppy gets much better soon and things calm down a bit!