Hello everyone!
Hope your weekend was great and your work week starts of great as well. As the title implies, today is dedicated to my updates: where I'll be virtually and in real time, what's new with me, my new releases, what I'm working on and so forth.
Hope your weekend was great and your work week starts of great as well. As the title implies, today is dedicated to my updates: where I'll be virtually and in real time, what's new with me, my new releases, what I'm working on and so forth.
My monthly newsletter is live and doing well. Everyone who gets the newsletter is automatically entered in the drawing to win an original item from my craft shop. (This craft shop tab on the website) The newsletter is also your vehicle to ask me questions. When you send in your questions you are entered again into the monthly drawing. The answer to those questions will be posted here as well. What is exclusive to the newsletter is the free reads. Sign up for the newsletter on my website.
Currently I am editing The Right Choice. It is book II of the Happily Ever After: By Any Means Necessary series. This series is basically about the lives of established couples and how they deal with issues in their relationship.
Today I will give you a sneak peek at The Fun House, a contemporary romance about two friends find them selves slow walked into an alternative lifestyle after not dating for a while.
Blurb:
Today I will give you a sneak peek at The Fun House, a contemporary romance about two friends find them selves slow walked into an alternative lifestyle after not dating for a while.
Blurb:
Diamond Jones
hasn’t had the greatest luck when it came to the opposite sex, so she hasn’t
dated for two years. Her best friend, Tia, comes to visit and decides that fun
is going to be their top priority for the weekend. To achieve her objective,
Tia enlists Kain Williams and his friend Trey. Will the men help or hinder the
women in obtaining their ultimate goal? Or will Diamond’s biggest fears in life
prevail?
Excerpt:
“So
Trey, from these pictures it looks like you guys have been friends a long time,”
Diamond said turning toward them.
“Yep.
Kain was a freshman and I was a sophomore when we met.” He chuckled. “After all
we’ve been through together. Kain is more of a brother than a friend. Is white
wine okay or would you like something with a little more kick to it?”
“That‘s
fine for me,” Diamond told him.
“I’d
like some kick. Do you have any brandy back there?” Tia asked.
Trey’s
eyes widened at her request, then he chuckled preparing the drinks.
“Who
is the little girl in all the pictures, Trey? She’s beautiful.”
Tia
accepted the brandy snifter he offered before he walked to Diamond with a half-filled
wine glass.
“Thanks.
That’s Starr. She’s my daughter.” He took a drink from his own glass, then
smiled. “Ah, here’s Kain. Drink?” he asked extending his in Kain’s direction.
Tia
laughed behind her glass as Diamond almost choked on her drink. Her poor friend
was staring at Kain like a deer in headlights. She looked between them all and
bit back a grin. At five foot eleven she stood almost eyes to eye with Kain,
Trey towered over his friend. Diamond’s five-foot-two stature looked childlike
against Trey’s wide shoulders, solid torso and tree-like legs. She shook her
head watching her friend’s dumbstruck gaze follow Kain as he sat on the couch.
“Yeah,
man, whatever you’re drinking is fine,” Kain said, answering his friend.
“So,
guys, now that we’re all here, what are we going to do?” Tia asked, joining
them at the sofa.
Everyone
glanced around at each other.
“Umm,
can we just stay here and hang out?” Diamond asked hesitantly. She sent a look
across to Tia, then to Kain.
Tia
shrugged, then turned to Trey.
“It’s
your house, man. I’m cool with it if you are,” he said to Kain.
“That’s
fine with me,” Kain said. “We can turn on some music and sit right here getting
to know each other better.”
“Cool.
Let me get you that drink.” Trey walked to the bar.
“Thanks,
man. So what kinds of music do you like, Diamond? I’ve got almost a hundred CDs
in this thing.” Kain reached for the stereo remote on the coffee table.
Tia
waited for Trey at the bar while he took Kain his drink. “Is that Miles Davis?”
she asked, turning her ear upward.
“Yes,
Kain is stuck on him at the moment. He has lots of blues and jazz in his
player.”
Tia
nodded. As she sipped her drink her gaze went to the wall past the fireplace.
“You’ve
been staring at those pictures for a while now, Tia. Is there something you
want to ask me about Starr?”
Tia
looked at him over her glass. “Well, maybe just one question and I’ll never
bring it up again, but feel free to offer whatever you like,” she added
quickly.
“I’ll
keep that in mind. What’s your question?”
“Is
Starr’s mother still on the scene?”
Trey
finished his drink. “Starr’s mother and I never had a scene. Yeah, we kicked it for a while, but it never really took a
turn into serious. We had already gone our separate ways when she told me she
was pregnant.” He chuckled, refilling his glass. “I told her I would take care
of my baby and she took me literally. After Starr was born, she left the
hospital and left Starr there for me to pick up. I haven’t seen her since.”
“Wow.
I thought that was a guy thing.”
“So
did I until then.”
After
a few minutes, she cleared her throat and tapped the counter softly. “Since I
said I wouldn’t ask you anything
else, this is where you’re supposed to offer
information.”
Trey
laughed. “I was a freshman in college when Starr was born. When I didn’t hear
from Starr’s mother Kain and I brought Starr home from the hospital. With help
from him and my mother I raised her myself.” He topped off her drink and
continued, “It was rough at times, but we had more good times than bad. I
wouldn’t trade the experience, or her, for anything in the world.”
“Where
is Starr now?”
Trey’s
whole face lit with pride. “Oh, she’s nineteen now. Beautiful, brilliant and a
freshman at UCLA. You two may have that in common, I think,” he added and
sipped his drink.
“What?”
“Being
brilliant and beautiful.”
“How
do you know if I’m brilliant? We just met. I could be dumb as a box of rocks
for all you know,” Tia said with a chuckle.
His
head tilted thoughtfully. “No, I don’t think so. There’s an analytical mind
behind that beautiful face of yours. Prove me right. What do you do for a
living?”
“Well,
you’re right. I’m a lawyer.”
“A
lawyer. Really? I would have never guessed that.”
Her
brow rose. “Why? You just said I was brilliant. Aren’t lawyers considered
brilliant?”
He
nodded. “Yes, yes, they are, but I was thinking more on the lines of a nurse or
something.”
Tia
frowned. “A nurse?”
“Well,
yeah, because although lawyers are smart and have to be logical, all the
lawyers I know are also…” His face twisted as he searched for the right words.
“What?”
Tia urged.
“Well,
they’re stiff, stuffed shirts, tight tie-wearing, dull-assed people.” He ogled
her openly, then smirked. “And, quite frankly, that ain’t you. The nurse thing
came to mind because I saw you as being more helpful to others in some way.”
Tia
looked at him over her glass. “Hmm, I think I’m going to take that as a
compliment. You’re right, of course. All the lawyers I know are like that,
that’s why I’m not. For me it’s a job, not a lifestyle. It’s a full-time job
keeping them separate, too.”
“Why
a lawyer, then?”
“Well,
Diamond and I always said that whatever we ended up doing for a living we wanted
it to make a difference. Our job had to have meaning.” She shrugged. “Diamond
became a teacher and I became a lawyer.” Tia put her glass down and leaned on
the bar. “So that’s my story, Trey, what’s yours? What do you do for a living?”
Trey
leaned over his side of the bar until their noses touched. “I own Secret
Desires.” His voice was low, husky and sexy.
Her
brow furrowed as she sat back on the stool. “What, you mean the lingerie
store?”
He
nodded before taking a drink.
“Get
out of here. You’re not serious, are you?”
Trey
nodded again.
“So
what are you saying? You’re the secret
in Secret Desires?” she asked, her voice unable to hide her surprise.
Trey
leaned his head back and roared with laughter. A deep, hearty sound that
interrupted Diamond and Kain’s conversation. They turned to look at him.
“It’s
nothing, pay us no attention. We’re okay,” Tia explained, waving them away.
Diamond
and Kain looked at each other, shrugged, then turned away.
“Okay,
it wasn’t that funny.” Tia rolled her eyes and swirled her drink.
“Obviously I was wrong in that assumption. Would you care to explain?”
Trey
wiped away a tear and took a calming drink. “No, I’m not the secret in Secret
Desires. It’s no big secret our store helps others reach their hidden desires,
but their secret desire is the only secret,” he explained. “My mother passed
the store to me when she retired. It’s
kind of the family business.”
“Oh.”
She
caught his eye and they chuckled.
The
two couples sat getting to know one another, drinking and dancing the night
away. Trey walked Tia to her car while Diamond said goodbye to Kain at the
door.
Diamond
reached the car just as Tia gave Trey a goodbye kiss.
“Good
night, Diamond, it was a pleasure meeting you, too.”
“Thanks,
Trey, you, too.”
“You’re
going to call me on Monday, right?” he asked, bringing his attention back to
Tia.
Tia
nodded as two of his large fingers stroked her face and pinched her chin
lightly. She shook her head, watching him walk away.
“Girl,
whoo! I might have to make more frequent trips back home. I can’t wait until I
can rub on that head. I bet it will feel real good between the legs, too,” she
added, her voice growing husky as she started the car. “So, how did you like
Kain? Did you give him the paper with your numbers on it?”
“Yes,
I did and I think he’s great. Nice personality, sense of humor, great body, and
he smelled good, too.” She sighed and looked out the window.
“What?
What is it?”
“Well,
it’s just… I just don’t want him to turn into a freak, like Kendrick did.” She
frowned.
“It’s
time to shake that off, girl. Tonight we made a good Macon memory.” Tia nudged
her. “Right?”
Diamond
smiled. “Yes, you’re right. Tonight really was nice.” She leaned her head back
and closed her eyes. “Home, Jeeves!”
Tia
gave a jaunty salute. “Yes, ma’am!”
*************
The Fun House is available now in ebook on Dana's website and coming soon in print!
