LAZY HAZY HOT SUMMER DAYS by Yvonne Lindsay

My husband and I are taking a couple of days to ourselves and have been offered the use of a friend's holiday home by the beach. And it's beautiful! 

We arrived on a stinking hot day and were instantly mesmerised by the sea. I have to admit that I wondered whether or not the constant crash of the waves would wear me out but I've found it to be distinctly soothing. I've always loved the water and loved swimming but I'm a bit cautious on that this time around because there's a bit of an undertow here and the waves can be quite strong and there's the recovering frozen shoulder that has plagued me for several months which makes swimming probably a not so safe option for me at the moment. It doesn't bother me, though--I'm happy to observe the waves and the birds and, well, just take a few moments to sit and relax and enjoy.

New Zealand is enjoying a hotter summer than I can remember in a long long time. Yes, we've had some good summers but always interspersed with a great deal of rain, which has dampened out annual camping holiday on many an occasion. So much so that we've pretty much put camping on the back burner for now. 

Our kids are horrified, of course, but then again they're both back at work while we're still on holiday playtime and last night was deeply relaxing as we enjoyed a glass or two of wine and slowly watched the sky change as night fell. It feels like such a privilege to be able to simple stop "doing" and just "be", even if it's only for a few days.

So, that brings us to the beach, where I'm going to watch my husband have a swim while I peacefully munch toast on the deck in the sunshine and let my mind take a break.

What's your favourite way to relax?

Brides, bouquets and book deadlines. Opa!

I'm up to my neck in weddings!  Not mine, and I don't even have to plan an outfit or buy a new pair of shoes. I'm living and breathing my latest book which is due to my editor next week. This is the first in a series about a family wedding business set in Westchester, New York. The parents have suddenly left, it's up to the three children to run things, and it's not as easy as they first thought. This is a Greek-American family and they specialise in weddings for Greek families so there's lots of beautiful Greek inspired food and Greek customs and traditions.

Although I was married in New Zealand, I had a traditional Greek Orthodox ceremony - well actually not completely traditional. My DH was born in New Zealand to a Greek father and a Greek Cypriot mother and was brought up in a household with very rich traditions. While we wanted to have those elements as a big part of our day, we also wanted to celebrate my New Zealand heritage of outdoors, sun and a relaxed approach to the wedding ceremony.

We ended up with the very best of both world. We were married in a traditional medieval herb garden and our reception was on the verandah of the colonial cottage nestled amongst the rosemary and thyme. A Greek priest officiated and the whole ceremony was in both Greek and English with a traditional "chanter" singing parts of the ceremony. We had the candles and the "stefania" - the decorative crowns to link us - and when the priest said in Greek that I would be expected to obey my husband, I did what generations of Greek women have done and stepped on my husband-to-be's toes...

It's been fifteen years since our big day but I've loved spending time this week looking over our photos and remembering what an incredible day it was.

Have you been involved in wedding ceremonies from another culture? What did you enjoy about them?

Tēnā koutou katoa! - Celebrating who we are.

Yesterday was our national day in New Zealand. Waitangi Day celebrates the signing of the treaty of Waitangi between indigenous Maori tribes and the English Crown in 1840, and it's a day for us to reflect on what makes us New Zealanders. But we're a funny lot us kiwis, we're often a little shy about showing our national colours and we don't go in for a lot of pomp and ceremony. What we tend to do instead is have the day in the sun with friends and whānau (family) getting back to nature.

Yesterday my friend Heather and I continued our little tradition of trying to pack the day full with as many things as possible that define us as New Zealanders.

First, we took our kids to a gorgeous part of the country, the Marlborough Sounds. Here there are endless waterways, peaceful New Zealand bush and people having fun in and on the water. Here is our little picnic site all set up. 

Next, the challenge was to eat as many New Zealand's favourite foods as possible. Of course we started off with snacks - that's my Jay introducing you to Lemon and Paeroa (L and P) a yummy lemony fizzy drink, Kiwi Dip made with dried onion soup and reduced cream (tastes MUCH better than it sounds!), pumpkin and kumara (sweet potato) dip  and Bluebird chips.

The rule for the day was that we could only eat New Zealand food and listen to New Zealand music. Here are two or our favourites - the fabulous Lorde, and one by my gorgeous friend (and godfather to my youngest) Tama Waipara. I love the way Tama includes so much New Zealand imagery in his music.

  

After a swim (and doing "bombs" off the jetty) it was time for lunch— first there was bacon and egg pie, sausage rolls and Watties tomato sauce....

and finally a whole lot of kiwi goodness....pavlova with kiwifruit, mallow puffs, jaffas, jet planes and pineapple lumps.

The day came to a close with a drive home on our notoriously windy roads, with everyone already planning on more kiwi delights for next year.

How do you celebrate your national day?

Sunday Smooch with Louisa George

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!


Today we have a smooch from Waking Up With His Runaway Bride by Louisa George, but first ...

the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is -- Clare Scott!

Congratulations, Clare! Can you please contact Robyn at

robyn (dot) grady (dot) author @ gmail dot com   ... and she'll send you a copy of Strictly Temporary.

And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Waking Up With His Runaway Bride by Louisa George...



Back cover blurb... 

Mim McCarthy needs to focus on saving her clinic - not her insufferable yet outrageously sexy ex Dr Connor Wiseman. He might have grown into those cheekbones, but she knows he won't have forgiven his runaway fiancee so easily! Yet it's impossible to deny the sparks between them - their fights used to be legendary, but their making up might be even more momentous...







[Set up...Connor is in town to assess Mim's business- her future is in his hands - yep, the same guy she ran out on three years ago. Now she's lost a bet to him too. Her penalty? A one hour salsa lesson...]


Common sense told her to walk away. 
That being so close to him was spectacularly foolish. Any dealings with Connor needed to be based on work, not on a silly wager and definitely not a dance lesson where she’d have his hot skin under her fingertips.

He’d made her cross, although she realized now that was just a jumble of emotions all caught up in being with him. A smokescreen for desire. She tried to cling on to the anger, to formulate a resistance to him based on that.

She put her hand on the hard wall of his chest to push away from him. Felt the raging thunder of his heart. The full force of his heat burnt her fingers but she couldn’t draw them away. Not now. This was too real. Too raw.


Blatant need zipped between them. Pressure throbbed through her body to fever pitch. She reached up to touch his mouth. Couldn’t stop. No matter what. She had to run her fingers over those lips.
He grabbed her wrist and his gaze fixed on her. Held her captive.


‘I want to kiss you, Mim.’ It was more groan than words, a deep low sound that tugged at her abdomen and sent rivers of desire skittering through her.


She drew in a breath to fight against the heat swelling through her. ‘No.’


‘Why not?’


She couldn’t think of a rational reason. Her brain was filled with him, his closeness. 
Kissing him was inevitable. Had been since he walked back into her life. Whatever would happen after that she didn’t know. Right now she didn’t care. She just wanted to touch him, feel him, taste him again. ‘Do you have a procedure manual for that?’ 


‘Thought I’d go with you on this. Gut feeling.’ 


‘Tut tut,’ she breathed. ‘Breaking rules again.’


His mouth grazed hers, slowly at first, tracing a line across her bottom lip. His hand cupped her neck as he pulled her to him, pressing his hard body against her.


Resistance was futile. No man had ever had this effect on her. It was all or nothing with Connor, no middle ground. And she wanted it all. 
Right now.


Nothing mattered now except tasting him again. She opened her mouth to his, felt a surge of pleasure ripple through her as his tongue licked against hers.


Yes, this was foolish. It was deliciously losing control. For the first time in too many years, she felt so alive, in his arms. 


Desire made her bolder. She pulled him closer, ran her hands down his back, ripped the T-shirt from his jeans. Pressed her breasts against his chest, grazed her nipples against the thick cotton. Shafts of need arced through her as he kissed a trail from her mouth to her neck.


Lilting salsa music filtered through from the lounge, cementing her focus. The dance lesson. The bet. 


She dragged her neck away from his delicious nibbles. ‘I am still cross. You are so not off the hook...’

Waking Up With His Runaway Bride is available now in UK, and from August 1st in Australia/NZ.  To be in the draw to win a signed copy, leave a comment below:


Have you ever won or lost a bet that changed your life?


Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced -- and a smooch from Heart Of The Valley by Cathryn Hein will be posted!