Ignoring the elbow - Kandy Shepherd

Have you ever tried to take a selfie of your elbow? I’m here to report that it’s not easy.

Why, you wonder, would Kandy want to take a photo of her elbow? The thing is, I like to include pictures in my blogs and I’m writing about my elbow. And I’m writing about my elbow to warn you not to do as I did, that is, ignore the fact I had fractured my right elbow.

About seven weeks ago, I was staying on my own at our little farm in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney in lock-down mode to meet a deadline for a book for Harlequin Romance. Being at the farm involves looking after the seventeen animals in residence: four cats, two horses, two Dexter steers (a miniature cow breed); and nine chickens. At the time of year (winter Down Under) it also involves hauling firewood from a shed into the house as the wood-fired stove is the main source of heat in a cold mountain climate.

The chickens need protection from predators such as foxes and eagles. Though they free-range during the day, in the evenings they are locked into a secure yard. The metal gate to the chook yard (Aussies call their chickens “chooks”) had been difficult to close for a long time (in spite of constant requests to hubby to fix it). Long story short, in a frustrated effort to secure the gate I banged my elbow on it.

It hurt. My elbow ended up with spectacular bruising half way along my arm in both directions. I iced it. I massaged arnica into it. I displayed my multi-coloured bruising with a strange kind of pride to my family. “You should go to the doctor, Mum,” my daughter said each time. No need for that, I would answer. I’m too busy. It’s just a bruise. A very big bruise, but just a bruise.

It didn’t hurt that much. I continued to haul firewood, mix and carry buckets of feed to the horses, throw hay to the bullies, wrestle with the gate to the chicken enclosure, vacuum the house. When the bruising abated, I went back to the gym and did resistance exercises.

Then my arm started to really hurt. The simplest movements caused pain. “You should go to the doctor, Mum,” my daughter said. Six weeks after the incident, an x-ray and an ultrasound confirmed I had fractured my elbow and torn a tendon. Resting the arm was required, a neoprene cuff fitted by a physiotherapist, and all activities such as outlined above banned. No lifting, no pulling, no pushing—and certainly no gym or swimming (my favourite exercise.)

By ignoring the pain and exacerbating the injury I had made things worse. Even simple things like using scissors hurts. A natural right hander, I’m finding it tricky to use my left hand for heavier tasks. I pride myself at carrying on but it was foolish not to heed nature’s warning of that massive bruising and look after myself. Now my elbow will take longer to heal than it would if I had sought help sooner.

So that’s why I took a selfie of my elbow to share with you. Not a particularly attractive photo to illustrate my post—how fortunate my cat Alfie happened to be in the background to liven it up.

Have you ever ignored an injury or an illness? Or did you seek help straight away? I’d love to read your comments!

Nostalgia Is A Bitch

When I was a kid we lived for six years in a small Queensland town about 300 kms west of Rockhampton, where I was born. We had a lot of family in Rocky though and we visited often - sometimes by car, sometimes by train because my dad was a railway man and one of the perks was cheap train travel.

When we drove - and remember, this was back in the days before we had aircon in cars let alone DVD players in the backs of seats or iPads!! -  my mother would host sing-a-longs. Its the reason why I know every WW2 song in existence - I can belt out Pack Up Your Troubles, The White Cliffs of Dover and It's A Long Way to Tipperary as if it was yesterday. In the back of that sweltering Kingswood she also taught us Waltzing Matilda, Click Go The Shears and ALL the versus of Two Little Boys. My mother had 4 children in a car that should legally (by today's standards) only have sat 3 and did I mention no aircon??? so she had a job to keep us all amused when the grand adventure soon turned to "he's touching me" and "she had the window seat last time!"
 
There were two markers we always looked out for on that trip. The water tower in Blackwater - we'd all compete for who was the first to see it towering in the shimmering distant haze - and Mt Archer which is the mountain that stands sentinel over Rockhampton.

I realise now, looking back, how quiet my mother would become as soon as she said, "Look kids, Mt Archer." At the time, some part of me recognised it too, that stillness. I would see it come over her profile from my seat in the back but I didn't understand it for what is was. Not like I do now. Even without her being around for me to ask, I know my mother was swamped with the same kind of gut wrenching nostalgia that grips me when I return to my hometown and know she's not going to be there to greet me.

My mother grew up in Rocky and lost her mother at the age of 14 (after losing her 18 year old sister two years prior). I can't even begin to imagine the overwhelming grief of that. I lost my mother at the age of 41 and it was, and still is almost 6 years later, the most devastating thing I've ever experienced.  I've driven home so many times over the years with a sense of peace and homecoming but its different since my Mum died. As soon as I see Mt Archer, I am struck with the deepest sadness, like my heart is being pulled from my chest all over again, knowing that when I get out at that end of that journey she wont be there smiling her funny downturned smile which I inherited, a fridge full of the grandkids (and my) favourite food and her soft hands with the skin that crinkled over her knuckles.

The Cold Chisel song, Flame Trees, plays on repeat through my head as Mt Archer suddenly looms ahead -

"We share some history, this town and I
And I can't stop that long forgotten feeling of her".

"There's no change, there's no pace
Everything within its place
Just makes it harder to believe that she won't be around."

I stopped thinking about my Mum every single day a few years back but for long agonising moments as I roll in past Yeppen crossing, I am as gutted and lost as the day I kissed her goodbye forever.

Yeppen Crossing

Which all leads me to, nostalgia is a bitch ..... 😒

What gets you nostaligic?

RETRO Sunday Smooch with Amy Andrews

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a retro smooch from  Amy Andrews but first  the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is ....Sarah! 



Can you please contact Leah Ashton on leah (at) leah-ashton (dot) com to receive your prize.


And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Limbo!

This Smooch first appeared back in May 2015 but the book now has a fabulous new quirky cover and is, for the next week only, on special for 99c!  
 

Six Feet Under meets Stephanie Plum in Amy Andrews’ fresh, funny, sexy urban-family noir about a country singer who almost made it, a private investigator who’s seen too much and a mother who will cross all barriers to save her child.
 
When ex hillbilly-punk rocker turned cadaver make-up artist Joy Valentine is visited by the ghost of a high-profile murder victim begging for Joy’s help to find her kidnapped baby girl, Joy knows from experience the cops are going to think she’s crazy.  So she takes it to the one guy she knows who won’t.
The last thing disgraced ex-cop turned private investigator Dash Dent expected is a woman from his past turning up to complicate his present with a nutty, woo-woo story. The problem is he knows Joy is telling the truth and he can’t ignore the compelling plight of baby Isabella whose disappearance six months prior transfixed the nation.
Discounted and discredited by the police, Dash and Joy work together to uncover the mystery and find Isabella, with a whacky supporting cast including Eve, a brothel madam; Stan, an excommunicated priest; Katie, Dash’s ten-year-old daughter; and two horny goldfish. It’s a race against time and against all odds – but the real battle for Dash and Joy might just be keeping their hands off each other.

Scene set-up 

Amy says - Joy and Dash have been enduring some fairly heavy duty sexual tension but both are determined not to act on it. That is until Joy decides to send a prank nudie pic of her bare breasts to Dash. It's a joke but she soon realises she's taken it too far when things get really weird between them.

*****Please note there's some language and mature content in this excerpt. Lots of calling out to God and Jesus and all the sweet, sweet angels. Don't read if this isn't your thing!******

"....you didn’t like the nudie pic but you didn’t want to offend me by telling me?’ Her brown unwavering eyes didn’t leave his for a second.

Didn’t like the picture? Was she mad? He’d gone into the bathroom and jerked off while he’d looked at it. But that would definitely incriminate him.

‘Er...no...I —’

‘You thought it was inappropriate,’ she interrupted. ‘Look, I’m sorry. Clearly you’re pissed about it. It was just a stupid, spur of the moment thing and I thought, you know...you’d seen them before and we’re both adults so it wouldn’t be a...thing. It was meant to be just a bit of fun. But I should have thought it through a lot more. I really do sincerely apologise for putting you, putting us, in an awkward position.’

Dash blinked. Inappropriate? Pissed? Hell, did she have the wrong end of the stick. He was depositing that image into his spank bank permanently.

He sighed. ‘Joy —’

‘I know,’ she interrupted again. ‘It was...unwise.’

Unwise? For someone who had slept with him within a couple of hours of getting reacquainted with him and led a bit of a fast and loose life in a hillbilly-punk band she was surprisingly straight. Surely she’d know how much something like that turned a guy on?

‘Joy...no. Well yes...it was in some ways. Putting my cop hat on here you do know it’s not advisable to send pictures of yourself like that over unsecure networks, right? Well, at all really...you never know who could get hold of that image. Hell I could have forwarded that to anyone.’

She sat up a little straighter. ‘Oh my god, you didn’t, did you?’

‘No. Jesus. What do you take me for?’ Dash was not a good sharer. ‘Absolutely not. I deleted it.’ Almost straight away.

She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Really?’

‘Yes.’

She dropped her hands from her knees and shifted into a cross-legged position again, tucking the folder with all his research safely under her knee, as she held out her hand palm up. ‘Show me your phone.’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Really?’

‘Yes.’ She wiggled her fingers at him.

Dash rolled his eyes and pulled his phone out of his back pocket, keyed in his security pin and slapped it in her hand. He watched her quickly navigate to his messages with several thumb swipes.

Her gaze flicked up to meet his. ‘Okay,’ she said as she handed it back, settling herself into the comfy corner of the couch.

Things shifted nicely beneath her shirt and he noticed her nipples were erect again as he absently put his phone in his back pocket. He realised he’d been staring a bit too long and pulled his gaze back to her face. But she’d well and truly sprung him. 

She raised an eyebrow at him. ‘You taking a brain picture now?’

Dash cringed. Fuck. Classy, man. Real classy. 

‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I have...breasts on the brain today. I think the fish have been secreting some wild...pheromone or something...and then you sent the picture and...’

‘So...’ she frowned. ‘You didn’t mind me sending the picture?’

Dash raked a hand through his hair. ‘Joy, I’m a guy. Of course I didn’t mind. Guys like breasts.’

‘Even miniscule ones?’

Dash dropped his gaze to her small, perfect breasts. To the large nipples that were practically poking through her shirt. He couldn’t help himself. ‘Yes,’ he said, his voice all kinds of husky as he glanced back at her.

‘Oh.’

She bit down into her lip again and there was a sudden shift in the air between them. A vibe. A pulse. It swirled around Dash and tugged at his groin.

‘I thought you didn’t approve.’

‘Oh I approved,’ he murmured. ‘I just don’t think it’s...a good idea for us to go down this track again. It’s not like it was last time, you know?’

She nodded and even that motion was enough to rub her shirt against her breasts. ‘And yet there you are, taking brain pictures again.’

‘Oh god.’ His eyes flew to her face as he ran a shaky hand through his hair. ‘I’m sorry.’

She shook her head slowly, the slightest smile touching her mouth. ‘How about I give you some help with that?’ she murmured. Then she grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up.

All the air hissed out of Dash’s lungs as he stared at the very things that had been on his brain all day. Her slight breasts sat high and perky, the large nipples scrunched into tight little berries. Begging for a warm tongue. Ho. Ly. Fuck. If she’d reached for his zip and yanked it down, his dick couldn’t have come to life any faster.

She peered over the top of her shirt. ‘Better in real life?’

He dragged his gaze off her nipples to that knowing little smile on her face and his inner caveman roared to life.

‘You really ought to not tease a man so close to the edge.’

Her gaze locked with his. ‘Who says I’m teasing?’

Pregnant seconds passed as Dash’s common sense warred with his common erection, his gaze drifting back to her nipples, his mouth as dry as day-old toast.  

‘Jeez-us, Dash. You want me to beg?’

The erection won.

Dash grabbed her closest ankle and yanked her unceremoniously down the couch, the folder hit the floor as her arms grabbed for purchase behind her head and her breasts bounced enticingly. Heat slammed into his groin, saliva flooded his mouth. He tucked her leg in behind him as the other one fell over the side, spreading wide to accommodate his hips invading her space.

Then, with his eyes fixed firmly on the prize, he bent at the waist and opened his mouth over her left nipple, sucking it in hard.

‘Fuuuuck,’ she groaned, her back arching clear off the couch, her hands pushing into his hair, holding him there.

The nipple hardened into a ripe peak in his mouth and Dash circled his tongue around and around it as his fingers stroked across the right one, drawing it into a tight hard peak.

She tasted good, smelled good — like Cuervo and lime — and sounded good under him, as she panted and bowed her back, offering more of herself to him. He switched sides then, swiping his tongue over the taut nub, drawing it in to the warm cavern of his mouth as his thumb caressed the moist peak he’d just abandoned.

She sucked in a breath. ‘Dash. Jesus.’

He’d been fantasising about this all day. About tasting those nipples that had stared back at him from the screen of his iPhone. Touching them. Teasing them. And he went back and forth between the two, lost in their sweetness, their softness, their hardness and the thrilling rush of heat surging through his system and the desperate, incomprehensible urgings that gurgled in the back of her throat. 

‘Fuck...God...Jesus. Dash stop,’ she moaned, pulling at his shoulders. ‘You’re killing me.’

Dash stopped, but only for a second, lifting his head and lunging for her mouth, the force of it pushing her head back into the soft fabric of the couch as he devoured that too, his hands still firmly on her breasts, his thumbs brushing back and forth over the nipples in time with each incursion of his tongue deep into her mouth.

She pushed herself into his palms, whimpered against his lips, opening wide to him, letting him have his way with her. Surrendering completely.

For a chance to win a digital (must have an Amazon account) copy of Limbo tell me about a time when you've done something you shouldn't have then immediately regretted it.

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and another smooch will be posted!

Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver

Celebration time

Launch day is always special and unnerving and scary...we send our 'babies' out into the world after much navel gazing and worrying and second-guessing and editing.

So when Wednesday came around and my book, Something About You launched I was on tenterhooks. This is my second full self-published book so the buck stops with me. I chose the cover, I chose the editor, I wrote the blurb...which is all so very different from working with a traditional publisher. There's no one to hold my hand and no one else to take the blame.

But, I loved writing this book so much. Jenna and Nick are perfect for each other but both have been hurt in the past so they try very, very hard not to fall in love. I also love the setting of Portobello Market, Notting Hill where I lived for a few years--it's a crazy melting pot of cultures and sounds and scents and has a small community feel although it's in a big city.

Here's the blurb:

Will they risk their friendship for a night of unbridled passion?

A broken heart …
Widow Jenna Cassidy-Pearce has had her one love of a lifetime. Now she’s fine being single and focusing on her new floristry business, raising her daughter and spending time with her friends. On top of all that she’s also organizing a very secret wedding for her sister, the wedding-shy wedding planner. Jenna’s life is a whirlwind of busy-but-in-control, and that’s just how she likes it – it keeps the loneliness and the longing at bay. So when old friend Nick Welsh comes back into her life she's not prepared for the onslaught of emotions and unwelcome lust she feels for him.

A damaged soldier …
After surviving bombs and bombshells that damaged his life and destroyed all trust, ex army officer Nick Welsh has returned to London for a quiet life. He definitely does not want to get embroiled in Jenna's chaotic one, but there's something about the spirited redhead with the sparkling blue eyes and complete inability to sit still that makes him keep seeking her out, and there’s a whole lot of chemistry he just can't deny.

The healing power of love
Is he ready to trust again? And can he teach Jenna that everyone deserves another chance at love?
A fun story about family, second chances, old friends and new love.

What are you celebrating this week/month? I'm hoping to share some bubbles with my writing friends this weekend as I send this baby out into the wild (a bit like wetting the baby's head! LOL). What's your preferred way to celebrate? 

A Roman Love Affair - Annie West

I'm in love - with Rome. It started early, watching Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in 'Roman Holiday' and then there were all those years when I studied the history and culture of the ancient city. But there's nothing quite like spending time there to turn an affection into love!

 

In May this year I was lucky enough to spend a week in Rome. The intention was to do some research for future books, but to take it slow, getting over jetlag ready to attend a readers' festival in Paris. But instead of taking things slow I found myself out and about from early in the morning till late in the evening, revelling in this marvellous city.

 

Here are just a couple of the things that appealed:

 

1. The view from the hotel room. How could you not love that? Added to that was that it was right next to a big park and from the balcony I could hear birdsong.

 

2. Speaking of hotels, there was the rooftop terrace and bar and the chance to watch the sun go down over the city before heading out for dinner.

 

 

3. The unexpected finds when wandering around the city, like a piece of beautifully carved marble, ignored by everyone as too mundane.

 

 

4. When they do spectacular in Rome, they really do spectacular. Here's the ceiling of a corridor in the Vatican that was just stunning.

 

 

5. The food. Sigh. This lemon and saffron risotto that was one of the best lunches I've ever had!

 

 

6. The museums. Yes, I'm a nerd but I loved them. Here's one of my favourite things - a glorious Etruscan terracotta sarcophagus built for a loving couple.

 

 

7. The sheer theatre of the place. Where else would you find a couple of Roman soldiers hanging around the street ready for photo opportunities.

 

 

8. The early evening stroll (passeggiata) and the opportunity to relax at an outdoor cafe and watch the people go by. In case you're wondering, the bright orange drink is an Aperol Spritz, something I've only had in Italy.

 

 

I'm hoping to visit Rome again sometime but meanwhile I have hundreds of photos and a huge store of happy memories. Plus I'll be revisiting the city as I write some future stories.

 

Is there a place you visited on holiday that you can't wait to return to? I'd love to hear!

 

And if you want a touch of Italian goodness, Annie has a new romance out. BOUND TO THE ITALIAN BOSS is (you guessed it) an office romance set, not in Rome but in the beautiful north of Italy. It's the 3rd book in her HOT ITALIAN NIGHTS e-novella series. For more details, visit Annie's website, or you can buy it at the usual places. Here's the link to it at Amazon.

 

Friends to Lovers...

The thing I love about romance novels (other than the sexy bits and swoon-worthy HEAs, of course) is the VARIETY. Seriously, there is a romance novel for all tastes.

Like your romance hot and heavy? Erotic romance has you covered. Want something with a sprinkle of faith? Read an inspirational romance. Don’t care for regular guys? Try paranormal.

Even within the subgenres there a massive choice of styles, voices and tropes. Billionaires (because millionaires are so 2014) and marriages of convenience, cowboys and secret babies, amnesia (pregnesia!), wrong bed, sleeping with the boss…if you like it, there’s a romance novel out there for you.

Today I’m going to share one of my personal favorites: friends to lovers.

There are so many reasons why I love this trope, I guess part of it is that is seems so plausible. How many people fall for their friends? It happens all the time.

Of course, friends to lovers stories can be mixed in with other tropes as well—what if that friend was a rock star? Or was the brother of the heroine’s ex-boyfriend? Yep, see what I mean. Variety!

Here are a few wonderful stories that you should definitely check out if you’re a friend to lovers fan as well:

Sweet - Falling for her Fake Fiancé by Cindi Madsen

This is a really cute story that mixes the friends to lovers trope with a fake engagement. Wes and Dani have been BFFs since college but a single awkward kiss gone wrong has put them off ever trying to take their relationship further. When Wes’s sister announces her plans to appoint none other than the ex who left him high and dry a few years ago as her bridesmaid, he decides there’s no way he wants to face that alone.  so he calls in reinforcements from his friend, Dani.

Sexy - Make-Believe Wedding – Sarah Mayberry

It wouldn’t be a recommendation list without a Sarah Mayberry book. This is another friends to lovers mixed with a fake engagement, but there’s also a whole lot of unrequited love. *swoon*

At the annual Valentine’s Ball Andie allows herself a moment of sheer fantasy to fill out an entry form for the Great Wedding Giveaway. Andie channels years of fantasy and yearning for Heath McGregor onto the page, but she never intends to actually enter the Giveaway. Afterall, they’re not engaged. The form, however, finds its way to into the hands of the judges and shenanigans ensue.

Get yourself a bottle of water – Rule of Three by Kelly Jamieson

Friends to lovers works equally well in erotic romance. Here you’ve got friends to lovers with a ménage twist. They totally had me at the tag line: Kassidy is a good girl who wants to be bad. Dag is a bad boy who is very, very good. And Chris? He likes to watch…

This story is filled with lots of steamy scenes but also had real heart and emotion at the core of it.  If you can get past the fact that they have a character named Dag (which means something very unappealing in Australia) then this read is a lot of fun.

Are you a fan of the friends to lover’s trope? Tell me your recommendations below.

Sunday Smooch with Leah Ashton

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from Cat-in-the-wild Leah Ashton but first...


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


Can you please contact Ally: ally (at) allyblake (dot) com  to receive your copy of The Wedding Wish.


And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Leah's latest release: Behind the Billionaire's Guarded Heart.

Falling for her mysterious boss…

When Australian heiress April Molyneux is left brokenhearted, she looks for a new start in London. Determined to stand on her own two feet, she finds herself working for the reclusive yet sexy billionaire Hugh Bennell.

Hugh likes his life—and his emotions—uncomplicated, but meeting glamorous April changes everything. Hugh doesn’t do relationships, and April wants to keep the independence she’s worked so hard for. But with these sparks flying…resistance might be futile!

Once a socialite and Instastar, April has dyed her hair and is using the name April Spencer, so Hugh - her boss - has no idea of her fortune or her glamorous past. Hugh's mother was a hoarder, and April's job is to clean out her house which has been left untouched since her death. Hugh has been having a hard time dealing with his mother's hoard, and what it represents to him, but slowly he's been revealing more to April and beginning to trust her. Hugh has just revealed some of his past to April, when he suddenly turns the tables..

  ‘My husband left me,’ she said.
  Silence.
  She’d expected him to recoil. Because surely this wasn’t the conversation Hugh Bennell wanted to have with her?
  Instead, he nodded. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked simply.
  She smiled. Genuinely this time. ‘Yes,’ she said with confidence. ‘Now. Sucked for a bit, though.’
  He smiled too.
  ‘I needed a change. So here I am. Unpacking your boxes and stacking supermarket shelves. Trust me, it’s not as glamorous a mid-life crisis as I’d expected.’
  ‘What happened?’ he asked. Gently.
  ‘We fell out of love,’ she said. ‘Him first, but me too. I just hadn’t realised it. So I’m okay. Not heartbroken or anything. But it was still sad.’
  ‘Not heartbroken?’ he prompted.
  Her gaze had travelled downwards, along his jaw and chin. Now it flew upwards, locking with his.
  ‘What do you think?’ she asked.
  Her gaze was heated. Hot. Deliberately so.
  Nope. Definitely not scared any more.
  ‘No,’ he said, his voice deliciously low. ‘I don’t think you are.’
  And just like that weeks of tension, of attraction, of connection were just—there. No glancing away, no changing the subject, no pretending it didn’t exist.
  It was there. Unequivocally.
  Oh, God.
  His eyes were dark, and intensely focused on her. He’d moved closer again, so that only centimetres separated them, and there was no question about what he wanted to do next.
  He leant closer. Close enough that his breath was hot against her cheek and then her ear.
  ‘I want to kiss you,’ he said, and the low rawness of his voice made her shiver.
  How did he know? April thought. That she needed that? That she needed a moment? That despite the crackling tension between them doubts still tugged at her?
  Could she trust her instincts after what had happened to her marriage? She’d got it all so very wrong. And, even more than that, could she actually kiss another man?
  It had been so long—so very, very long…
  ‘Kiss me,’ she said, because she couldn’t wait another moment.
  Although it turned out she had to.
  His lips were at her ear, and he didn’t move them far. Instead he pressed his mouth to the sensitive skin of her neck, at the edge of her jaw. Suddenly her knees were like jelly, but strong hands at her waist steadied her.
  The sensation of his lips against her neck and his hands against her body was so good, and April’s eyes slid shut as a sigh escaped from her mouth.
  Her fingers untangled themselves from the sleeves of her jumper and reached for Hugh blindly, hitting the solid wall of his stomach and sliding up and around to the breadth of his back.
  Hugh dotted her jaw with kisses that were firm but soft. And glorious. But not even close to enough. More than almost anything, she wanted to turn her head to meet his mouth with hers—but she didn’t. Because, even more than she wanted that, she wanted this anticipation to last for ever. This promise of Hugh’s kiss that, she realised, had been growing from the moment they’d met.
  But he was definitely going to kiss her now – this mysterious man who was so different to anyone she’d ever met - and the wonder of that she wanted to hold onto. Just a few seconds longer.
  By the time his mouth reached hers April felt about as solid as air. His hands pressed her closer, and then her own hands drew his chest against her breasts.
  His mouth was hot against hers, and confident.
  If she’d been tentative, or if her brain had been capable of worrying about her kissing technique or other such nonsense, his assuredness would have erased it all.
  But, as it was, April didn’t feel at all unsure. In fact, Hugh made her feel that this kiss was about as right as anything could get.

April is working two jobs - cleaning out a hoard, and stacking supermarket shelves. What's the worst job you've ever had?

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Amy Andrews will be posted!

 Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver