|
|
|
|
Is
sassy, magical, “fat cat” Emrys more than Mina can stand? Or is
he just the sort of sarcastic, shape-shifting feline she needs
to help her win the heart of the man she’s loved since…forever?
READ AN EXCERPT Chapter One Wilhelmina Watson stared at the phials, stoppers, and bottles full of liquids before her in much the same way she did needles: With a great deal of fear and contempt. What in the world made her decide to open a homemade perfume boutique in little less than two months? She didn’t even know how to make a simple casserole, never mind a stinkin’ perfume fragrance! She could make a mean boxed pudding, and, okay, so she could bake a cake like nobody’s business, but seriously, that was sooo very different from perfume. (She really couldn’t make a casserole.) With a groan of defeat she dropped her head forward onto the worktable with a thud. Curse her whacked out ideas and infernal love for the one man who didn’t want to jump her bones. It was because of Steven that she even thought of creating strawberry based perfumes. He loved strawberries and being as head-over-heels in love with him as she was, she took the opportunity to smell like his favorite fruit all the dang time. She even had a little strawberry patch in her back yard just for him! The phone rang. She stretched her arm out and felt around with her fingers for the contraption that caused her no end of headaches. Without checking the caller ID to see who was calling, she pressed the talk button and brought the receiver to her ear. “Hello?” she mumbled. “Mina, you busy?” came Steven’s voice. “Define busy.” He laughed. “Are you doing anything at all?” “Yes, as a matter of fact I am. I’m deciding which would be the better way to kill you. Shotgun? Or poison? I like poison myself.” “C’mon Mina, be serious for once today how ‘bout it?” “Fine. Ruin my fun you demented schmuck. What the crud did you call me for?” “I was wondering if you wanted to go to the lake with me tomorrow. Game?” Oh, her stomach hurt at the thought. She wasn’t the type of girl who liked to wear skimpy little bathing suits and parade her near naked self in front of the many pervs who scouted near naked girls. She groaned and raised her head from the table. “Steven, you know I hate going to the lake. I hate bikinis. I hate the skinny little twigs who wear them.” “Yeah, but you love the water,” he prodded. That was true. She grimaced and bet he was smiling that cocky half-smile he wore when he knew he had won an argument. She caved. “Oh, fine. When are you leaving?” “Around eleven-thirty, that okay with you, night-owl?” She grimaced again and wished she could reach through the phone to grab his neck and squeeze the breath out of him. “I’ll be there. Just don’t show up at the house at the butt-crack of dawn like you did last time, got it?” she grouched. He laughed a laugh that had always made her shiver from the sound of it. “Sure thing, Mina. See you at eleven-thirty,” he said and hung up. Mina blew out a petulant breath and sat the phone back on the table and her head fell back on the table. “My life is so screwed up. I love my best friend but he only sees me as a friend. God,” she whined. “Why me?” “Think about it this way, Mina,” murmured Emrys, her magic cat, as he jumped up on the table. He was using his deep, bored tone of voice that shouldn’t belong to a cat, whether he was magical or not, that he always spoke with—except when he was telling her about the many different flavors of chocolate he loved, then his voice was filled with near orgasmic ecstasy. “At least you’re never bored. You always have some spoke in the wheel to keep you busy. I almost wish I was you,” he told her in such a way that she knew he really meant he’d rather die. “Oh, shut up, Rys. You’re giving me a headache.” She peeked at the clutter on the table again. “What am I going to do with all this stuff I ordered? Tell me again why I did it.” “Beats the hell outta me, sweet.” She looked at him from the corner of her eye, doubting she’d never find out where he picked up his foul language. It sure wasn’t from her. She glared at the objects one last time before wrinkling her nose and heading back inside, Emrys following along at her heels. “Let me guess, you’re going to drown your misery in a strawberry daiquiri and some chocolate pudding,” Emrys stated. She glared at the fat orange tomcat as she shut the screen door. “You know me too well.” If a cat could smile, hers did. “Sometimes I wish I didn’t.” “You and me both, kitty,” she muttered as she started creating the ultimate strawberry daiquiri. An hour later, stuffed from the entire bowl of chocolate pudding she had practically inhaled (she had finally given in and let Emrys have some, too) and the two strawberry daiquiris she’d sucked down, Wilhelmina slumped upstairs to wash her worries away in her humongous shower. She brushed out the tangles from her curly brown hair and brushed her teeth, then she slipped into a slinky black satin camisole and matching panties and climbed into bed. She was so exhausted she fell asleep just as her head hit the pillow. * * * “Mmmm, I smell bacon and coffee. My two favorite smells besides strawberries.” Smiling, Wilhelmina took up the bacon from the pan and placed it on two plates along with a biscuit and some fried eggs. She sat both plates on the table and then fixed two mugs of coffee. “I figured we could eat before we left. No use swimming on an empty stomach.” Steven chuckled and slid into a chair. “You just want to make me wait because I cajoled you into going with me.” He picked up his fork and chopped up his eggs. “You angel, you. You left the yolk runny. Just the way I like ‘em,” he said appreciatively. He took a bite and chewed. Wilhelmina snorted. “Be careful, babe. You’ll choke to death shoving it in your face like that. Then neither of us will be going swimming.” Steven rolled his eyes. “That would be the highlight of your day.” Mina arched a brow and started eating her own food. “You bet it would be.” Emrys jumped up on the table at Mina’s elbow and stared at Steven. “Why don’t you just tell the freakin’ idiot you love him? It would put an end to all this tension I’ve been picking up from you lately.” Mina sipped her coffee. “I don’t think so, kitty. That would be a catastrophe. And I don’t want to have to clean up that mess.” “Come on. It wouldn’t be so bad telling him, would it? He might just want to fu—“ “Emrys!” she yelled. “Get down from the table.” When he didn’t move she snapped her fingers and pointed to the floor. “Now!” “I was only telling the truth,” he grouched as he slunk away, his orange tail high in the air. Steven watched the orange abomination walk off. He arched a brown eyebrow. “Yeah, you better listen to her, you pudgy excuse for a cat.” Emrys lifted one paw and extended his middle claw. Steven blinked and looked at Mina with a smile. “I don’t think he likes me. He just flipped me off.” He shook his head and laughed. “Geez, Mina. What have you been teaching that cat?” Mina took a sip of her coffee before replying. “Just about everything I know. It only took him a couple of days to master my colorful and extensive vocabulary.” Steven burst into laughter. When he could catch his breath he set his plate, silverware, and mug in the sink and motioned impatiently for Mina to move her behind. “Come on, slowpoke. We’re not going to get a good spot if you don’t move faster than the pace of a snail.” Mina wrinkled her nose at him and got up, not bothering to put her dishes in the sink. She grabbed her oversized tote bag that she used for a purse and followed him out the door, locking it behind them. After twenty minutes of arguing playfully with each other in the car, they reached the lake and Steven killed the engine. Mina got out, stepped out of her flowing white skirt and tugged her halter-top over her head. She stuffed the clothes in her tote. “Yes,” she said, catching Steven’s gaze as he passed it over her, “I hate bikinis but they do look damn good on me.” Steven grunted something that sounded an awful lot like, “Yeah, too damn good.” Mina smirked and grabbed her lounge chair from the back of Steven’s Explorer and set it up in a secluded spot that would attract the least attention and allow her some privacy. She pulled her favorite romance novel from her tote and started reading. * * * Steven glanced at Mina from the corner of his eye as he grabbed the cooler of drinks and sandwiches from behind the driver seat and locked the door. She looked scrumptious in her maroon bikini with her hair piled on top of her head; her thick curls framing her oval face to perfection. When she bent forward to scratch her ankle, thus displaying her ample cleavage to his view, Steven had to swallow the groan that rose suddenly to his throat. He placed the cooler by his own chair and slipped off his sandals. Since it was the middle of August there was no point in taking a dive to cool certain parts of his anatomy. The water would be near as heated as he was. He walked to the edge of the lake, frowning slightly as he did so. What had gotten into him? Mina was his friend, nothing more and nothing less. He shouldn’t even be thinking the word sex in regard to her anyway, although her body practically screamed it from a mile away. Her every basic move from the way she walked to the way her lips formed her words was sensual and sexy as hell and inspired a great many images for his brain to ponder. “Hey, Steven? You really gonna go for a swim? You just ate remember? And I am not gonna be the one pulling your sorry butt from that water.” He leaned his head back and groaned. “Yeah, Mina. Thanks for reminding me,” he said and walked back to their oh-so-secluded spot. He sat in his chair and grabbed a soda from the cooler. He opened it and took a swallow, hissing as it burned its way down his throat. He looked at Mina. “Why did you pick this spot? We can’t get any sun and we’re practically hidden from view.” She didn’t look up from her book and turned the page. “I didn’t say you had stay glued to my side the entire time. Go find another spot, it’s not like I’m going to die if you’re not right here with me. I’ll be fine right here without you. I have my book for company.” Anger unfurled at her snide comment, and that confused him. There was no reason to get mad at her. She told him stuff like that all the time, and he said the same to her. They were only goofing around. He shrugged it off, got up and picked up his chair. “I’ll be over there if you need me,” he said and walked to a sunnier, not hidden spot. Mina just waved her hand, not paying any attention. She was too engrossed in her book. After sitting in the sun for forty-five minutes, Steven figured his hour had passed and went and dunked himself in the cooling lake. Mina closed the book and wiped away the tears that were streaming down her face. When Angels Cry was one of her favorite books in the world. It was so touching and sweet and it made her heart ache every time she read it. She placed it back in her tote and grabbed a drink from the cooler she had pulled closer to her earlier. She leaned back, closed her eyes, and took a sip, loving the way it burned her throat. After a moment, she set it on the ground and opened her eyes…to find Steven cavorting in the water like a child with a woman who was everything she was not. Her heart once again broke into a thousand tiny pieces—like it did every time she saw Steven with another woman. You would think she’d be used to the dull ache in her chest by now, but no matter how many times she felt it, it felt like the first time every time. Then came the anger, burning hot and vice-like. How dare he be with anyone but her? She wanted to go strangle them both. “Oooh, he makes me so mad,” she hissed. “Mina, lighten up. God, you’re getting on my nerves. Get a grip.” Wilhelmina gasped and looked sharply around for Emrys. She spied him in the back of Steven’s Explorer and got up to let him out. “How in the world did you get here, Emrys?” “I snuck in there, toots. And let me tell ya, I’m not one for riding,” he said with a definite wobble to his walk as he slunk to lie beside her chair. “Especially with the way that dip-wad drives.” He shuddered. “I think I lost eight of my nine lives just watching where he was going.” Mina plunked herself back in her chair and glowered at Steven and the red-haired bimbo. “Why does he have that kind of fun with anyone but me?” she asked, gesturing to Steven. Emrys shot her “duh” glance. “It might be because every time he asks you to do stuff like that you blow him off and complain like a nagging bitch.” She glared at her cat. “I am not a bitch.” Emrys scoffed. “You could have fooled me.” Want to read even more of Mina and Steven's story? WILHELMINA TAKE THIS MAN? is Excerptalicious! Visit the site to download an exclusive excerpt not available here.
AN OUTLANDISH PROPOSAL is a novel that uses the "Bargain" plot device, but with a twist!
Christopher spent the time since his father's death trying to find a way around his father's terms, with no success. Now, with only a month left to choose and marry his bride or lose the Grayson fortunes forever, Christopher must face the inevitable. It is clear he will be forced to accept his father's dictates from the grave and wed, but who shall he marry? Erin Pettigrew is not special. She's not beautiful, she's not charming, and she most definitely is not titled. With nothing to recommend her, she is quite embarrassed by the deep affection she has developed and secretly nourished over the past two years for one of Society's own, Christopher Wyndham. The rational side of her knows she must set aside the far-fetched yearnings of her heart and marry someone within her own class. Yet when Christopher approaches her with his outlandish proposal, her heart won't allow her to refuse... |
Wilhelmina
Take This Man?
I am
currently engaged in a collaborative effort with author
ABOUT
AN OUTLANDISH PROPOSAL...