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Heart on the Run
Hearts of Parkerburg #2
About the book
Charles Darwin Millsworth, Chaz to one and
all since infancy, has no wish to live up to the grandeur of his name.
Fortunately, his Southern belle mama isn’t at all inclined to push her son into
a career that won’t make him happy. She thinks he needs to loosen up and enjoy
life. After all, that’s the whole point of being independently wealthy, isn’t
it?
Chaz can see her point, but his father
died in his forties as did his father before him. As far as Chaz is concerned,
he has limited time on this earth to make his dreams come true. And he refuses
to leave anyone weeping over a wasted life.
Sprocket Moretti is a simple guy. He loves
his job, enjoys college, lives in his beloved childhood home—why worry about
the little things when the big stuff looks so good. Unfortunately, one of the
little things he tries not to stress over is a broken friendship with a very
hot and bewildering sous chef. They were pals, hung out and had fun. But one
night they stepped over that invisible line, and the next morning Chaz kicked
Sprocket out of his bed and his life.
Now, no matter how much Sprocket tries to
charm Chaz, the guy has no desire to return to their pre-sex playful bantering
ways. And if Sprocket stays true to his motto, this little thing—Chaz—should be
written off and never worried about again.
If Sprocket had known one night of
reality-altering orgasms would endanger their easygoing friendship… How do you
finish that sentence when all your mind wants is its friend back and all your
body wants is another taste?
The
Hearts of Parkerburg stories can be read as standalones, each with a HEA...but
trust me, you'll want to read about all the sweet happenings in this quaint
little town.
An excerpt from the book
Shoring up his defenses, Chaz dragged in a
deep, calming breath, counted to ten, like his mama taught him, and threw
himself out into the fray.
The jangling bell attracted both Xander’s
and Sprocket’s attention. Xander’s smile widened, his mouth parted to utter a
greeting. Before any words came, though, Sprocket whirled with an excited
squeal.
Chaz saw it coming. He held up a hand, as
though that would do any good.
Xander saw it too. He stepped back and
raised his Chinese takeout boxes.
Even Sprocket saw it coming. The squeal
died. His cute little bow of a mouth turned into a startled “o” that triggered
filthy memories Chaz had been suppressing for months.
The breeze caught one plastic lid, swirled
it in a delicate dance of passion and denial, then swept it off down the
street. A pumpkin and spice scented arc of coffee, thick and creamy and scalding
hot, whirled up from the cup like a genie from a brass lamp, seemed to hover in
midair, choosing its target, before darting forward and tagging Chaz squarely
in the chest.
He dropped his hand, squeezed his eyes
shut, and counted again. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,
ten. He opened his eyes and reassessed the situation. “Hello, Sprocket,
Xander.”
“Hi there, Chaz.” Xander’s eyes danced
merrily, and his lips twitched.
“I’m so sorry!” Sprocket reached, coffee
cup in hand to help. “Let me—”
“No. I’m fine.” Instinct kicked in,
self-preservation…whatever. Chaz backed away from that reaching hand, ignoring
the hurt in Sprocket’s gaze. “Got to get the boss’s coffee.” He bolted around
the two, aware of their voices as the distance between them increased.
***
Sprocket tapped his tongue against the
double studs in the left side of his bottom lip as he stared at the quickly
disappearing figure. He was ready to throw in the towel—which would’ve come in
seriously handy a few moments ago—with trying to patch things up with Chaz.
Anybody else he probably would’ve. If someone wanted nothing to do with him
fine, so be it.
Except, losing an associate didn’t bug him
as much as this chasm between him and the sous chef. Who knew their light
friendship meant so much to him?
He stared at the entrance to Prudence’s
coffee shop where Chaz had disappeared.
Yeah, Sprocket missed the easy
conversations they used to share, the jokes and laughs. He didn’t understand
why everything had suddenly screeched to a halt.
Okay, technically he did understand it.
Some people couldn’t differentiate between sex for pleasure and sex for
forever…and maybe Chaz was one of those people. But if Sprocket had known that
their one time almost a year ago would fuck up their friendship…hell, he didn’t
know. Would he have stopped Chaz from talking him into going over for a
homemade dinner on the house? Would he have stopped Chaz when the lean,
handsome auburn-haired man started undressing him? Would he have stopped Chaz
when the man dropped to his knees and stared up with those intense sky blue
eyes?
The
Reviews are coming in!
4.5 Stars! From Claire at
Divine Magazine
"Fabulous! That is all."
"This novel is angsty and
frustrating, romantic and sexy, with MCs that really reach out and grab you.
It's a fabulous book!"
If
you enjoyed this visit to Parkerburg, check out Christmas in His Heart!
Available at
Christmastime
brings joy to hearts everywhere. Between snow angels, festive clothing, holiday
decorations, and of course, all the beautiful lights, it’s hard not to partake
in the season.
Unless
you no longer have Christmas in your heart.
Dermot
Alasdair has never shared the horrific memories that keep him from celebrating
the happiest time of the year, nor does he ever plan to. He’s fine being alone
and shut off from everyone; he has his restaurant and that’s all he needs. He
believes that, too…until the craft store next door from his eatery hires a
perpetually smiling annoyance. Really, it isn’t normal for someone to be that
happy all the time.
Xander
Leahman didn’t know what he was getting into when he accepted an invitation to
visit his best friend and help her interview people for the newly created
position of manager at Craft Time. When a surly man bumps into him and then
walks away with an enticing sway to his hips, Xander decides the position—and
Dermot—are perfect for him. Now all he can think of is finding ways to get
Dermot out of his clothes. Well that, and how to open this grinch’s heart to
the Christmas season and, hopefully, love.
Excerpt:
Shawna started flipping through the
haphazardly chicken-scratched pages. “I put the ordering codes for those
pre-made kits in here somewhere. Mrs. Mincer’s new project reminded me I wanted
to order some for the endcap on the back aisle. I think the kids would love them
as Christmas gifts.”
Xander leaned on the counter and tried to
read the pages upside down, which wasn’t hard considering some of them were
evidently written upside down. “As long as you don’t plan to try and pawn one
off on Mrs. Mincer, imagine her outrage at a pre-made feeder,” he whispered.
Shawna gasped. “Do I possess such nerve?”
“Yeah, you do.” He straightened and wiped
his hand over the counter, brushing off nonexistent dust. “So, I’m thinking of
grabbing some lunch at Alimentaire today, you want me to bring you anything?”
The speed with which Shawna jerked her
head up would’ve given a weaker person whiplash. “Xander…”
“What?” He grabbed his coffee mug and
downed the now cold liquid in two gulps. “Oh, look at that, I’m empty. Would
you like a cup?” He turned before she took him up on his offer and fast-walked
toward the office where the little kitchenette was located. It wasn’t much
really, a counter with a stainless steel sink, tiny microwave, and coffee
maker. Underneath, a mini-fridge nestled between two storage cabinets.
“Don’t think you can dodge me that
easily.” She rounded the corner and burst into the room like a woman on a
mission. “You’re going over there to see him. Don’t deny it.”
“I deny nothing, and admit to the exact
same thing. What’s the big deal? He’s a nice guy.”
A snort was her elegant response. He
raised his eyebrow to her while reaching for the coffee pot.
“He’s mean, Xan. You don’t do mean, you do
happy.”
“He’s sexy. I do do sexy,” Xander
countered.
She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Oh, so
you’re using that head to eat lunch with.”
“Maybe I just want to see if I can make
him smile.” Xander sighed.
She shook her head at him. “Just don’t
tell him any of your jokes.” Carefully snatching the now full and doctored
coffee mug in his hands, she winked. “You want him to laugh with you, not at
you.”
“Oh, ha ha,” he grumbled, suppressing the
urge to give her back the middle finger salute.
All Romance eBooks Reader
Reviews (2)
Submitted
By: JymmyRob on Dec 13, 2014
This
is a very smooth and heart encompassing read. Xander and Dermot, each with
their own unique characteristics and endearing qualities, are at once so easy
to respect and to love; and this is continually built upon and carried
throughout right to the last sentence of the tale. There are no crevasses that
the reader must leap over, no rapids to navigate, not even a snow storm to
maneuver through; just a delightfully captivating fantasy to experience and
savor!
Submitted
By: karenminfl on Dec 9, 2014
We
get to see two strong men. One has every reason to hate Christmas and Xander is
willing to keep things simple for his man. They have so much to work through
and a near disaster almost derails the whole thing. This story really gives you
a great feeling for the Christmas reading season.
