Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!
Today we have a smooch from Kandy Shepherd but first
... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is .....
Pam Lowery!
Can you please contact Louisa George at louisageorgeauthor (at) gmail (dot) com to receive your copy of A Deal With The Devil
And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Kandy Shepherd's From Paradise... to Pregnant!
One night with consequences…
A week in Bali was accountant Zoe Summers’s dream vacation. But when the tropical island paradise is hit by an earthquake, she’s trapped—alongside Mitch Bailey, sports star and blast from her past! High on the thrill of survival, they seek comfort in each other’s arms…
It was only supposed to be one night, but Zoe soon discovers an unexpected souvenir—she’s pregnant! Now Zoe and Mitch will have to ask themselves…can one night lead to parenthood and a lifetime of love?
Scene set-up
Zoe Summers and Mitch Bailey knew each other at high school where he was the popular jock and she the nerdy new girl. She helped him with an important project but their friendship ended badly. Eight years later they meet at a resort in Bali, unexpectedly brought together by an earth tremor that hit the island. Now he’s an international soccer star and she a successful businesswoman. They’re in the swimming pool of her private villa. The attraction is there for both of them but it was a strictly hands-off friendship in the past. They’ve never touched, certainly never kissed…
Smooch -
‘Putting it like that makes us both single,’ he said, his deep voice a tone deeper.
‘Yes,’ she murmured through a suddenly choked throat.
For a long, still moment their eyes held. The intensity of his gaze reminded her of Mitch as a student, determined to understand the subject she was helping him to master. Back then he’d been reading a page in a poetry book; right now it felt as if he was reading her face as his gaze searched her eyes, her mouth.
In turn she explored his face. His chiselled face. His strong jaw. The knowing glint in his green eyes framed by those too-expressive eyebrows. And his mouth, lifted to a half-smile that gave a promise of pleasure that made her own lips part in anticipation, her breath quicken.
Her eyes locked with his and a thrill of anticipation tingled through her.
Mitch Bailey was about to kiss her. And she was going to kiss him right back.
Mitch had been aching to kiss Zoe ever since she’d joined him in the pool. But just as his lips grazed hers, just as her lips parted under his, just as she uttered a delicious little moan of surprise and need, an Oriental-sounding chime came from the carved gate to the villa.
‘Room service!’ called a cheerful voice with a lilting Balinese accent.
Mitch stilled. Zoe looked up into his eyes. He saw echoed in hers the same frustration he was feeling at being thwarted in their first kiss.
For a long moment they stood motionless in the water, his mouth still claiming hers, her hands resting on his shoulders in silent agreement to pretend they weren’t there.
The doorbell chimed again.
Mitch muttered a curse under his breath. Then he pulled Zoe closer and kissed her hard. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back with equal passion. Heat ignited between them so fast he was surprised steam wasn’t rising from the water.
Damn the room service timing.
With regret he let her go, then pulled her back for a final swift kiss. If she could see his thought bubble now it would give her the promise torn from him. Later.
Kandy is giving away a signed mass market paperback copy of From Paradise...to Pregnant! to a commentator anywhere in the world.
All you need to do is tell us:
Have you ever had something go wrong on a vacation—or have your vacations always gone smoothly?
Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Yvonne Lindsay will be posted!
Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver
... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is .....
Pam Lowery!
Can you please contact Louisa George at louisageorgeauthor (at) gmail (dot) com to receive your copy of A Deal With The Devil
And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Kandy Shepherd's From Paradise... to Pregnant!
A week in Bali was accountant Zoe Summers’s dream vacation. But when the tropical island paradise is hit by an earthquake, she’s trapped—alongside Mitch Bailey, sports star and blast from her past! High on the thrill of survival, they seek comfort in each other’s arms…
It was only supposed to be one night, but Zoe soon discovers an unexpected souvenir—she’s pregnant! Now Zoe and Mitch will have to ask themselves…can one night lead to parenthood and a lifetime of love?
Scene set-up
Zoe Summers and Mitch Bailey knew each other at high school where he was the popular jock and she the nerdy new girl. She helped him with an important project but their friendship ended badly. Eight years later they meet at a resort in Bali, unexpectedly brought together by an earth tremor that hit the island. Now he’s an international soccer star and she a successful businesswoman. They’re in the swimming pool of her private villa. The attraction is there for both of them but it was a strictly hands-off friendship in the past. They’ve never touched, certainly never kissed…
Smooch -
‘Putting it like that makes us both single,’ he said, his deep voice a tone deeper.
‘Yes,’ she murmured through a suddenly choked throat.
For a long, still moment their eyes held. The intensity of his gaze reminded her of Mitch as a student, determined to understand the subject she was helping him to master. Back then he’d been reading a page in a poetry book; right now it felt as if he was reading her face as his gaze searched her eyes, her mouth.
In turn she explored his face. His chiselled face. His strong jaw. The knowing glint in his green eyes framed by those too-expressive eyebrows. And his mouth, lifted to a half-smile that gave a promise of pleasure that made her own lips part in anticipation, her breath quicken.
Her eyes locked with his and a thrill of anticipation tingled through her.
Mitch Bailey was about to kiss her. And she was going to kiss him right back.
Mitch had been aching to kiss Zoe ever since she’d joined him in the pool. But just as his lips grazed hers, just as her lips parted under his, just as she uttered a delicious little moan of surprise and need, an Oriental-sounding chime came from the carved gate to the villa.
‘Room service!’ called a cheerful voice with a lilting Balinese accent.
Mitch stilled. Zoe looked up into his eyes. He saw echoed in hers the same frustration he was feeling at being thwarted in their first kiss.
For a long moment they stood motionless in the water, his mouth still claiming hers, her hands resting on his shoulders in silent agreement to pretend they weren’t there.
The doorbell chimed again.
Mitch muttered a curse under his breath. Then he pulled Zoe closer and kissed her hard. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back with equal passion. Heat ignited between them so fast he was surprised steam wasn’t rising from the water.
Damn the room service timing.
With regret he let her go, then pulled her back for a final swift kiss. If she could see his thought bubble now it would give her the promise torn from him. Later.
* * *
Kandy is giving away a signed mass market paperback copy of From Paradise...to Pregnant! to a commentator anywhere in the world.
All you need to do is tell us:
Have you ever had something go wrong on a vacation—or have your vacations always gone smoothly?
Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Yvonne Lindsay will be posted!
Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver
Hi Kandy
ReplyDeleteWoohoo congrats on the release I loved this story Mitch and Zoe are so good the setting is awesome its a great story :)
For us I guess our holidays have had the normal things like cars breaking down kids getting sick that sort of thing nothing like what Zoe and Mitch have with an earthquake but it brings them together :)
Have Fun
Helen
Hi Helen, so lovely to see you here and Thank you for letting me know how much you enjoyed Zoe and Mitch's story. I'm glad to see you haven't had any disasters on your holidays!
DeleteFab excerpt, Kandy -- am loving the heat between Zoe and Mitch. :-)
ReplyDeleteThankfully, my travel woes have been minor (not on the same scale as an earthquake!) -- luggage arriving a day later than me in Europe (but at least it arrived), an event cancelled due to snow (but, hey... snow!). I'm thinking Zoe and Mitch find ample consolation in their travel woes too. ;-)
Hi Michelle, I'm glad to see your travel woes have been minor and that the snow more than made up for the cancellation of the event. Yes, Zoe and Mitch have reason to be thankful for the natural disaster that brings them together!
DeleteGreat smooch, Kandy! Damn those room service people ;)
ReplyDeleteI've been pretty lucky with my travels *touch wood*. It's mainly issues with flying and delays (or little screaming passengers!) I did have a bad experience staying at a resort for a work conference in the middle of a moth plague (yes, that's a thing) and I am TERRIFIED of moths. I ended up calling the security desk at 3am because there were so many in the room that I couldn't sleep. They sent a guy to fix the situation and we counted 35 in total. Talk about bug central! Makes my skin crawl even thinking about...
Glad you enjoyed the smooch, Stefanie! Your moth plague sounds horrendous for someone who is frightened of moths. (And I know other people who have the same fear.) Thank you for sharing as I suspect you don't really want to revisit the incident too often!
DeleteSuper Smooch, Kandy! I've read Mitch and Zoe's fabulous story and this was a lovely opportunity to revisit their first kiss!
ReplyDeleteAs for holiday mishaps, I'm happy to say that I can't think of any major calamity that've happened while we've been on holiday. Glenn's luggage did get lost when we went to Fiji many years ago - actually not lost but picked up by another passenger. Same coloured backpack! And the girl who picked it up was going home and lived on one of the islands. So she wasn't in a tearing hurry to do anything about it because she had everything she needed at home. We were only there for a short holiday and it was nearly time to come home before she got back to us to arrange a luggage swap! Thoroughly annoying more than anything!
Hi Sharon, thank you so much for inviting me to LoveCats. Thanks also for your kind words about Mitch and Zoe's story, I'm so glad you enjoyed the book. I've had missing luggage on vacation, too, but not as annoying as your experience sounds. So inconvenient!
DeleteDamn that room service! Great smooch, Kandy. Mitch and Zoe's story sound intriguing!
ReplyDeleteOn a trip to Spain years ago, there was a spate of bus accidents so I insisted travel by train instead. Much safer! Half way through the train trip and just outside a tunnel, the train caught fire and five minutes later (and after we'd all jumped off) it blew up! The irony!
The train caught on fire! That numbers among the worst vacation disasters I've heard of, Jennifer! You were really lucky to get off that train. I feel quite shaky at the thought of it!
DeleteHi Kandy! Hi lovely Love Cats, especially my good mate Sharon who's playing hostess today. Speaking of today - winter has well and truly arrived on the Sunshine Coast. Grey and cold here today. Worthy of a miserable day in London! Hope everyone's wrapped up warm with a good book to read on this long weekend.
ReplyDeleteKandy, I got a new story in on Friday so I'm giving myself a reading binge weekend - and From Paradise to Pregnant is next off the pile once I've finished Helene Young's fabulous Northern Heat. Loved the smooch - you do write a lovely kiss scene.
As you know, I love your Dolphin Bay stories. Are we going back there again any time soon?
Waving to you, Anna! sounds like you have the perfect weather for a reading binge weekend! Actually, today here is pretty good for an inside reading day too - the wind outside has fangs made of icicles! Brrr!
DeleteHi Anna, congratulations on finishing your new story - I look forward to reading it! I hope you enjoy FROM PARADISE TO...PREGNANT! when it makes its way to the top of your TBR pile. No plans to revisit Dolphin Bay in the immediate future, though there's a character's story I'd like to tell, so who knows. The next two Harlequin Romance books are set mainly in Sydney. I think you'll like HIRED BY THE BROODING BILLIONAIRE in August with its beauty and the beast theme set in an untamed garden...
ReplyDeleteKandy, your new story sounds very intriguing with that untamed garden setting!
DeleteOoh, that sounds right up my lime tree alley!
DeleteHello Kandy, this beautiful story, I hope to read presto. On the demand side, I must say that I have never had a hitch during my holidays .... the only hitch, if we want to call it that, was sometimes rain although sometimes even the rain can be romantic on vacation.
ReplyDeleteHave a good day.
Hi Franca, thank you for your comment. I'm glad to see your holidays have gone well without any disasters. When it comes to rain, I went to Fiji on a holiday a few years back - somewhere I'd always wanted to visit - and it rained every single day which was not fun! I do hope you enjoy FROM PARADISE TO...PREGNANT! when you get a chance to read it.
DeleteHey, Franca, it sounds like you've definitely had smoother sailing for your vacations than some of our commenters.
DeleteHi Kandy,
ReplyDeleteWell, I've been on a couple of family holidays where we were cut off by flood water. We thought perhaps we should offer our services as rainmakers!
Congratulations on the release of 'From Paradise to...Pregnant'. It sounds fantastic and I'm so looking forward to reading it!
Hi Annie, flood water can be a major holiday disaster can't it! Years ago when we were living in London, we were meant to go on a cruise along the Amalfi coast in Italy. Italy was flooded everywhere and we had to divert to the French riviera which was lovely but we'd been there before. I can still remember sloshing around St Tropez in knee-deep water. I still have not seen the Almalfi coast! I hope you enjoy From Paradise to...Pregnant!
DeleteHI Kandy - welcome to LoveCats with your fabulous smooch! Love the heat between these two.
ReplyDeleteAs for holiday disasters....my hubby and I got stuck in between floors in a hotel elevator in Ho Chi Min City when we were visiting Vietnam a few years back.... it took a couple of Vietnamese workmen to haul me out of there in between a small gap while my hubby pushed from the rear.....needless to say he's retold the story many times since then :)
Hi Helen, I have a dread of being stuck in an elevator so have great sympathy for you! What an awful vacation experience.
DeleteIt was so lovely to catch up with you in Bundaberg.
Good Lord, when DOESN'T something go wrong?
ReplyDeleteThere was the time I kept my purse things in a huge sewing bag on a road trip across the continent. We stopped for gas and then crossed to a third lane of traffic (with grass in-between the second and third lanes) - and my door wasn't closed properly, so my bag went flying across the pavement. My dear husband had me stay in the car with the young ones while he dodged traffic to get it for me.
How about when we were driving through Northern Canada in the middle of the night? My husband was asleep in the backseat, while I drove with the kids beside me (almost 11 and 13 years of age). No traffic anywhere at 11pm. Felt a hum in the air. Figured it would pour rain soon. Pulled over to wake my husband to continue with the driving around 1am. He asked why I didn't have the radio on to hear the weather forecast. I said because he was sleeping. Turned on the radio and the first very clear words we heard were, "If you can hear my voice, you are in a tornado watch area." And then the skies opened and driving became difficult. Eventually we came to a small town where the power lines were down, and the police officer directed us to drive over one of the cables.
We leave on Tuesday for a trip 2000+ miles away. My sister and her husband came here to attend my daughter's wedding a week ago (so came a week earlier in their motor home). We go with them back to their home and visit, then we are flying home about a month from now. First vacation my husband has had in over 15 years. It will be lovely visiting with our nieces and families again, as we used to visit every year until my husband was laid off and went from job to job since then, finally getting a job (in his fifties) at minimum wage for the past 13 years - and just retired a week before the wedding.
And here I am blogging before everyone wakes up....
I DO have Kandy's book here ready to read (and can hardly wait!) - so don't put me in your draw, please - but, alas, there are too many other things to do before we can hit the road and read later....
Oh my gosh, Laney, what a litany of vacation disasters. I absolutely cringed at the thought of you being caught in a tornado! It sounds like you are setting off on a lovely vacation, I hope you and your husband enjoy every minute of it and that it is absolutely disaster free. Also hope you enjoy the new book when you get a chance to sit back and relax.
DeleteYow, Laney! That is a litany of vacation disasters! A tornado too - that is one terrifying weather event! I hope the trip you're about to set out on is trouble free!
DeleteHi Kandy. What a wonderful smooch and I love your book cover. So many things have gone wrong. My favorite is we missed our connecting flight, because the gates were so full, they had it take off so the plane we were on could land.
ReplyDeleteHi Tammy, glad you liked the smooch. It's a beautiful cover isn't it? I love it, it pretty well captures that first kiss between Zoe and Mitch.
DeleteSorry to hear about you missing your connecting flight through no fault of your own - how annoying. I hope the airline made it up to you!
Tammy, that airport sounds like one to avoid when travelling! So busy!
DeleteHey Kandy! Loved this story! HATED when room service interrupted them!
ReplyDeleteHi Robyn, nice to see you here. I'm so glad you enjoyed the story! I have to say, I did enjoy tantalising Zoe and Mitch by having their first kiss so unkindly interrupted. When writing a "sweet" romance you have to make every kiss count!
DeleteRobyn, I know what you mean about that room service interruption of Zoe and Mitch's kiss! So close!
DeleteHi, Kandy! Hi, Sharon and the LoveCats!
ReplyDeleteKandy, what a delicious smooch in a fabulous setting! I have my very own copy of From Paradise to Pregnant, and I'm so looking forward to diving into it. Congrats on your release!
I once missed a flight because I got the dates mixed up. I managed to get another flight the next day, but it was a costly mistake! But none of my travel mishaps compare to my former flatmate, who seems to be a magnet for danger! He was taken hostage aboard a train in Colombia, caught in the middle of a tribal war in New Guinea, contracted cerebral malaria, and was treated by a witch doctor for conjunctivitis and nearly died. I really need to write a story about him one day! ;)
Hi Vanessa, so glad you liked the smooch. The cover reflects the moment very well, I think. I loved setting the start of this book in beautiful Bali, I have been there twice and really love it. If funds permitted I'd go there every year! Your friend's story must be the disaster vacation story of disaster vacation stories! I hope you do use it as inspiration for one of your wonderful stories.
DeleteHey Vanessa! Waving! Thanks for popping to help us make Kandy welcome on the LoveCats!
DeleteGood grief! You'd never ever want to travel with your former flatmate , would you! That man needs to have a travel warning label slapped on him so everyone knows to steer clear! LOL
Coming in late here, Kandy. I have downloaded this book and want to tuck up in bed to read it now.
ReplyDeleteWorst holiday experience - the queues at check in were so long and computers were down so we missed our flight and didn't get to our destination for another twenty four hours. Bit of a pain when we only had one week away.
Hi Sue, thank you for downloading my book - I hope you enjoy reading it! Your holiday glitch sounds awful, what a waste of twenty-four hours out of seven days of holiday. Very frustrating!
Delete