What would you do if the person you secretly adored suddenly announced that he or she was moving across the country? Would you take it as a sign that you weren't meant to be together, or would you throw caution to the wind and reveal your true feelings? Raine Mason--the hero of Making the First Move opts for the latter. A passionate, whirlwind affair ensues, but it doesn't change that fact that Melanie Gordon--his love interest--is leaving.
Excerpt
Wednesday night, Raine and I sit on my couch, eating lamb madras, tandoori
chicken and some of the best naan I’ve ever eaten. He’s practically moved in
among the growing stacks of boxes I’ve managed to pack when I’m not working,
surfing real estate websites or fielding calls from my family.
Tonight we plan to watch a movie. But first I need to
tell him I’m leaving for the weekend. My real estate agent has lined up several
Westside condos and a few starter homes for us to tour. It’ll be a two-day
marathon to find the perfect space. It makes sense to go. So why can’t I bring
myself to tell him I’m leaving?
“You’re quiet tonight.” Raine pours more chai tea into
my cup. “Everything okay?”
I sip some tea then inhale deeply. “I’m going home
this weekend to do some house hunting. I have to have a definite timeline for
moving into my own place. If I don’t, I’ll be sucked in like a vortex. I’ll
never get out.” The words tumble from my lips like a bowling ball falling down
a flight of stairs.
Raine nods. He spoons more tandoori chicken onto his
plate then scoops it up with a piece of the naan and shoves it into his mouth.
He doesn’t respond. His eyes are locked onto the co-hosts of The Inside Sizzle as they chatter on
about the latest exploits of pseudo-celeb bad girl siblings, Autumn and Summer
Montgomery. Something he couldn’t possibly care about.
“So, what do you have planned for this weekend?” Not
my most original moment.
He stares ahead, nibbling on naan. “I planned to take
you out to dinner, maybe catch a show.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier that I’m leaving.
And you know I’d love to spend the weekend with you. But I have to find a place
of my own.”
“So why not do both?” He tears another piece of naan
and dips it in his lamb madras.
“What do you mean?” I hope he isn’t asking what I think he’s asking.
“I could come with you.” He watches for my reaction.
“It’s generous of you to offer.” I plaster a
superficial smile on my face. “But last-minute airline tickets would cost a
fortune. I’d never expect you to take on such an expense.”
Settling back into the couch, I take a long sip of
tea. I hope this explanation, a perfectly reasonable argument, is enough to
satisfy him. I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but we started this thing with
the unstated understanding that it had the longevity of a carton of milk.
Raine is the end-of-summer fling I should have had in
my early twenties. The one you always remember but knew would never be anything
more.
Introducing him to my family would turn our
relationship from a sweet memory to a nagging chorus sung by my mother and
sister. Taking him to Cleveland is out of the question.
Raine wipes his hands on a napkin and turns to me. “What
you’re saying is you don’t want me to go with you.”
So this is
the downside to being with a man who actually has feelings. I put my
cup down on the coffee table and turn to face him, folding my legs Indian-style
on the couch. “This is complicated enough without getting my family involved.”
He looks past me the way my mom does when she’s so
angry or disappointed she can’t bear to look at me. Then he returns to eating
his food in silence.
I rub his lower back. “My mother lies awake at night,
wondering if I’ll ever get married and round out the flock of grandchildren. If
she meets you—”
“It’s okay. I get it.” He chugs his tea then slumps
against the couch.
“I’m already under so much pressure with this new job.
I don’t need the added pressure from my family. You understand, don’t you?”
“I understand family can be a complicated thing.” He
squeezes my hand. “I knew what the outcome would likely be the first night I
kissed you,” he says. “But I couldn’t let you leave without at least trying.”
“Most guys would consider this the perfect
relationship.” I poke him with my elbow. “Three weeks, and you’re out. No
attachments. No baggage. No promises. Just three weeks of incredibly hot sex.”
“That’s what my brother keeps telling me,” he says.
“But I don’t agree. I want more.”
I clear our dishes from the table and take them to the
sink. “More?”
“More,” he says emphatically. Raine follows me to the kitchen
and puts his arms around me, erasing the distance I hoped to create. He kisses
me.
My heart threatens to thump out of my chest. I pull
back to catch my breath. My head must stay in control of this situation, not my
libido.
“What do you mean by ‘more’?” I look into his eyes.
He runs his hands over his hair. “Melanie, you’re all
I can think about. That has to mean something.”
“This has been great. But it’s only been two weeks.
We’ll get over it,” I say as gently as I can.
He holds my hand in his. “If this were only about the
past two weeks, I would agree, but it isn’t. I’ve felt this way for a while
now.”
My jaw tenses. I pull my hand away and lengthen my
spine. “And you’re telling me now? I’ll be on the other side of the country in
two weeks. Then what?”
“I don’t know. But I know there could be so much more
to this if we give it a chance.”
“So what, I’m supposed to bypass the opportunity of a
lifetime because this might be
something special?” My cheeks burn. My head is spinning and my voice is more
elevated than I intend.
“I’m not asking you to give up your promotion. You’ve
worked hard for this opportunity. You deserve it.”
“Then what is it you want from me?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know, but I know it isn’t
good-bye.”
To find out how Melanie and Raine's story ends, pre-order your copy of Making the First Move at one of these fine booksellers:
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Publication date: July 15, 2013 Kelly Maxwell has finally landed her dream job, publicist for the San Francisco Blaze. But the team’s newest member, handsome bad boy catcher Matt Scanlon, is refusing every interview. She’s got to get him to open up before the season ends, or she may not be back next year. And after everything she overcame to achieve her dream, Kelly’s not about to let that happen. Matt Scanlon just wants to be left alone to rebuild his life and his career. After a year of masking the pain of a recent loss with hard partying and fast women, he finally hit rock bottom and was traded to a team he’s loathed his entire life—a team with little or no chance at the post-season. Butting heads is getting Kelly and Matt nowhere but annoyed, and with the team’s schedule on the road, they can’t avoid close quarters—or their surprising attraction to one another. As the season winds down, Matt finds his growing feelings for Kelly have brought his numbed emotions back to life. But when betrayal shatters their fragile trust, winning it all seems more impossible than ever.
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Publication date: August 26, 2013 Book one of the Texas Nights series Sex therapist Allie Shelby has the professional credentials, but she could use a bit more practical experience. Finding the right man to bring out her inner bad girl is tough in a population-challenged Texas town. So when sinfully sexy Cameron Wright rolls back into Shelbyville, Allie wastes no time inviting him to join her in some hands-on research. Cameron has come home to fulfill his dream of restoring classic cars. Back in high school, he knew the town princess, Allie Shelby, was way out of his league. Today he has even less in common with Allie, so he's shocked as hell when she propositions him. Still, he's only human, so he accepts her offer—and with each encounter, she shows him another, wilder side. Before long, he's thinking about more than just sex. But while her personal life heats up, Allie's business is about to crash and burn. And she has to convince Cameron that she's one princess who's not looking for a prince to ride to her rescue.
Publication Date: August 26, 2013 Book Two of the Getting Physical Series Roller derby girl Gretchen “Honey Badger” Badgerton lives in the moment, no apologies. Like every woman in Pleasant Park with a pulse, she finds Dr. Jared Fine irresistible, but she’s taken by surprise when her unattainable new neighbor asks her out. On paper, Jared is the perfect man: gorgeous, wealthy and charitable. But his golden image is just that, and opening an upstate practice is a welcome chance to start a new life. When Gretchen stops to help him with a flat tire, he’s intrigued by her feisty attitude—and her sexy body art. There’s something refreshing about being with a take-charge woman who doesn’t expect him to be anything but himself. Though Gretchen is hesitant to shatter Jared’s “bad girl” illusion of her, she has to face facts: she’s fallen for the good doctor. She’s used to putting everyone else’s needs before hers, but as their relationship heats up, can she handle having someone take care of her for a change?
