Nov 22, 2015

Sunday Smooch with Yvonne Lindsay

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!


Today we have a smooch from  Yvonne Lindsay but first 


... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is  

SHARLENE!


Can you please contact  stefanie (at) stefanie - london (dot) com  to receive your copy of A DANGEROUSLY SEXY CHRISTMAS.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Yvonne Lindsay! (Available for pre-order from Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Harlequin stockists online and near you!)






A sexy Texan has the holidays to decide: close the deal or open his heart? Only from USA TODAY bestselling author Yvonne Lindsay! 

Royal, Texas, native Nolan Dane's homecoming is bittersweet—he'd once lost everything here. But he's eager to finalize a key real estate deal for his mysterious boss by Christmas—even if making it happen means cozying up to local shop owner Raina Patterson. Falling for the beautiful single mom isn't part of the plan. But when Nolan's secrets catch up with him, he realizes his true feelings for Raina run deep. Now, can he prove he's worthy of her—before it's too late?






Single mother, Raina Patterson, doesn't want to make a mistake again, not like the last time. She's slow to trust and has resisted Nolan's efforts to take her out but one day she can resist him no longer...




Their drive back to her house was done in a companionable silence and once they got there, Nolan walked Raina up the path to her front door. Haloed by the porch light, she looked like a beautiful angel but his thoughts and intentions toward her were anything but angelic.

“Thank you for this evening,” Raina said. “I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed adult conversation and company.”

There was a smile on her face that was a wistful and it sent a pang to Nolan’s chest. He could imagine she had little enough time to herself, let alone to share with another person.

“It was absolutely my pleasure.”

Afterward he couldn’t be certain who had made the first move. But it didn’t matter one bit. His senses filled with her—her scent, her taste, the feel of her in his arms and above all else, the beauty of her kiss. A sense of rightness filled him as their lips met, as his hand lifted to thread through her hair and to cup the back of her head. Inside him a knot began to unravel and he knew, in that moment, that he wanted Raina in his life. That he could finally begin to let go of the pain of the past that had kept him in emotional isolation.

He traced the softness of her lips with his tongue as they parted beneath him. Desire unfurled through his body, doubling on itself until it consumed his thoughts. When Raina’s hands pushed through his hair and held him to her, he knew she felt the same. She pressed her body against his and heat flared between them.

Nolan deepened their kiss. His tongue probed her mouth and she responded in kind. A shudder of need pummeled him and he felt an echoing tremor from her.

Overhead the light flicked off and then on again.

He felt Raina pull away. Her lips were swollen and curved into a grin.

“I can’t believe this. My father is obviously letting me know it’s time for me to come inside.” She gave a half-embarrassed giggle before leaning forward to kiss Nolan sweetly, and all too swiftly, on his lips. “I’m sorry. I’d better go in before he comes out with a shot gun.”

“You’re kidding about the shot gun, right?”

“Of course I am, but he’s very protective. Thank you again, Nolan. For everything.”

“We’ll see each other again,” he stated firmly.

“Yes, I’d like that.”

“Soon.”

She nodded and laughed, her breath leaving a misty cloud in the air between them. “Yes, soon. How about Monday night? Dinner here, with JJ and me.”

“I’d really like that,” Nolan said. Even though every minute he’d spent with JJ so far reminded him all too much of all the things he’d missed out on with his own son, he enjoyed the little guy’s company and his simple enthusiasm for life. It was a poignant reminder that he needed to inject some of that enthusiasm back into his own. And maybe, just maybe, he needed to consider telling Raina about the wife and son he’d lost, too. “Monday, then.”

“Is six o’clock okay with you?”

“Perfect. I’ll be there. Can I bring anything?”

“Just yourself is fine. See you then.”

She turned, put her key in the lock and opened the front door. Then, with a small wave, she was gone from sight. Nolan shoved his hands in his pockets and jogged down the path to his car. He drove back to the hotel, his mind only half on what he was doing while the other half raced ahead and churned over a million different thoughts.

Sleep would be a long time coming tonight. He hadn’t expected anything like this when he’d returned to Royal. Hadn’t wanted it. He’d been meticulous about his relationships in the past and particularly about avoiding any emotional entanglements. But somehow this attraction had found him and lodged itself within the gaping hole of loneliness he had come to accept as being as much a part of him as every breath he took.

And it felt good. In fact, it felt better than good—it had brought back to life something he hadn’t experienced in far too long, hope—which left him between a rock and a hard place when it came to the job he was really here to do. Did he compromise his integrity and this fledgling relationship or should he focus on the role he was here to complete and then walk away at the end of his time here in Royal knowing he could be walking away from the best thing that had happened to him in a very long time?



I have to admit, I'm a bit of a "Bah, humbug!" type when it comes to Christmas. I haven't always been like that and I live in hope that some of the joy of Christmas will return to me one day, LOL! Whether I'll reach Christmas Fairy levels of joy will remain to be seen, however, but I'm curious...which are you? Scrooge or the Christmas Fairy? All comments will go into a draw for one lucky winner to receive a signed copy of LONE STAR HOLIDAY PROPOSAL!

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from the ever-gorgeous and vivacious Louisa George will be posted!


Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver

24 comments:

  1. Hi Yvonne

    Oh WOW I loved that smooch I need to read this book :)

    As for Christmas I do love it I have 7 grandchildren which I think makes it lost of fun but I do own up to getting stressed while getting everything prepared I need to start making Christmas Cakes this week and write Christmas card lots to do although I do have the Grandkids presents not wrapped but at least I have them :)

    Have Fun
    Helen

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    1. Hi Helen, wow, 7 grandbabies! No wonder you love Christmas. How gorgeous.

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  2. Great smooch, Yvonne.

    With a large extended family, I find Christmas had got a bit stressful over recent years, but not this year! We are off to Austria and will land in Vienna on Christmas Day and then straight off to a candlelight dinner. Lots of sightseeing and skiing this year.

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    1. Colour me green with jealousy, Jen! That sounds amazing! We were in Austria and Switzerland for Xmas about 22 years ago and I've never forgotten it :-) We ice-skated on a frozen lake on Xmas morning while horse drawn sleds tinkled bells all across the ice.
      It was such an incredible experience for this girl from Oz!

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    2. Yep, green's not my colour but I do feel distinctly envious of your Christmas escape this year. I keep telling my hubby we should run away one year and I think I would really enjoy a white Christmas.

      AA your experience sounds novel-worthy, too!

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  3. well I am not much for Xmas now too many people missing but I try for the sake of the ones still here---LynW

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    1. Actually, that's a very good point. We've decided, as a family, not to exchange gifts this year (except for with our own kids and spouses) and I have to say that's taken quite a bit of stress out of things already. I find it increasingly difficult to find meaningful gifts for people at Christmas and I feel the day should be about celebrating being together with our loved ones rather than buying things that may not be wanted etc.

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  4. I AM the Christmas fairy, Yvonne :-) I love it so much! The tinsel, the carols, the wishing merry xmas to random people you've never met before, the cheer, the tree, the general feeling of goodwill....happy sigh!
    But I do like to wait until December before I go the full Xmas fairy :-)

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    1. Oh, AA, that's gorgeous. I can just see you doing that, spreading good cheer. Don't ever change :-) !

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  5. Most years I could take or leave Christmas, although I put that down to having a birthday one week before Christmas.
    This year, I'm looking forward to decorating and I also got much of my gift shopping done this morning.
    I'm eager to decorate but am attempting to be patient and wait until December before I decorate since I strongly believe November and especially September/October are too early for Christmas anything. I swear Kirkcaldies opened their Xmas shop in Sept this year.

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    1. Ugh, September? Really? LOL!

      Good on you for being so up to date and organised, Lyn. My daughters' birthdays are in October and November and I don't even like to think of Christmas until their birthdays are behind us. This year, with our new family policy of not going crazy buying presents, I'm feeling a little more relaxed about the "festive" season, though. ;-)

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  6. Somewhere in between. I love Christmas, but I am low key on my celebration.

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    1. Yes, I need to find that middle ground, Tammy. I'm sure you have a lovely relaxed celebration that way :-)

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  7. A wonderful smooch thank you.

    I LOVE CHRISTMAS!! I love everything about it. I think what makes it so special are all the little family traditions. Many are from my childhood that have followed me.

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    1. You're welcome, Mary, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

      Yes, family traditions are fun, aren't they? And passing them down through the generations is lovely.

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  8. Lovely smooch Yvonne!
    I'm definitely a Christmas Fairy and enjoy all the festive traditions. The heart of it all is the tree and we have a collection of Christmas decorations that include family heirlooms of both the vintage glass type and the made-at-kindergarten type.We play corny carols as we put up the tree. And then wait of the cats to notice what's going on...

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    1. Carols? *shudder* LOL! Just kidding. Mostly ;-)

      I bet your tree looks wonderful at Christmas, Kandy--filled with love and memories.

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  9. Not surprising to you, I am a Christmas Fairy! The last few years I have been extremely busy so didn't get the tree up until Dec 20-23. I hated it! I prefer having the tree up by mid November (when we host our family Christmas) so that I can read beside the tree lights. My husband recently retired, and I casually mentioned to him on Nov 12 that this year I would like the tree up earlier, and voila, the tree was brought upstairs immediately! So ... the first day was spent getting the tree up with the lights and garland ... and the next day we got all the decorations on it and around the house. I just love it! I'm sure you're thinking, "But that's before Thanksgiving!" Nope! I'm in Canada, and we held our Thanksgiving in October. So now I just love love love sitting beside the tree and feeling the ambiance in the room. Not only do I enjoy the lights, but I also check out all the decorations year after year, as some are from when my kids were in school 20+ years ago (I bet they are like Kandy's variety, LOL), there are crib mobiles, crocheted snowflakes and crocheted antique ball holders, my mom's last Christmas cards to our children 19 years ago, and 20+ small teddy bears. We have had so many nice comments on it already this year. Can you tell I just love having it up (but the outside lights don't get turned on till later in December)?

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    1. Laney it sounds like you really do love Christmas. I bet your home is looking just lovely.

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  10. Lovely scene, Yvonne! How nice to have a book out in time for Christmas!

    As for me, I love Christmas. I admit though, to being a bit bah, humbug about putting out decorations in November.

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    1. I'm definitely a minimal decorations person and I have to admit I cringe when I see them going up in the malls as early as October these days. This year, since we're not hosting Christmas, I probably won't put up a tree. Gotta make everyone really believe I'm a Scrooge/Grinch, right? ;-)

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  11. Fab excerpt, Yvonne! Love Raina's dad. ;-)

    I used to be a bit of a Christmas Grinch once upon a time -- there always seemed so much to do, and so many places to visit, and so many people to keep happy. But since I've decided to relax a little more about it all, I've found myself really enjoying Christmas.

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    1. I may have chanelled a bit of my own late father into Raina's dad, LOL! I need to take a leaf out of your book, Michelle, and decide to relax and enjoy rather than stress out over the thing. It's not going away so I really only have one option, right? ;-)

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  12. Laughed about the porch light flicking on, Yvonne! There's such a lovely feeling of hope for the future in this scene.

    And now I have to admit... I'm much better these days but I used to be more Scrooge than Christmas Fairy! Christmas used be quite difficult with some not very happy memories attached. But thanks to my lovely dh, I've relaxed about the festive season and take it quite in my stride these days. But I remember how hard to could be and I have a lot of sympathy for people who do find Christmas a tough time.

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