Monday, October 27, 2014

Lobster Cove: Angel in Disguise

Today's Feature: Angel in Disguise by Mitzi Pool Bridges

Rating: Sweet

Angel in Disguise


After her husband is killed, single mother Julie Whitney opens Julie’s Coffee and Sweet Shop.  Suddenly, her business partner and baker falls ill and she needs a new pastry chef.  If she doesn't find one fast, she'll go bankrupt.

The mob wants Gabe Vaughn dead.  Sleepy little Lobster Cove seems as good a place as any to hide.  The red-headed owner of the coffee shop needs help; Gabe's family owned a bakery.  He could think of worse ways to occupy his time while he lays low.

On one hand, Julie is convinced heaven answered her prayers when she needed help the most.  On the other, the tall, dark stranger with secrets in his eyes has made it clear he is only passing through.  Is her mysterious new employee hiding something? Or is he really an angel in disguise?

Excerpt:
He took her lips with his and kissed her deeply.

Did that mean he loved her, as well? She wouldn’t ask. “I don’t want you to go. What if they find you? What if…?”

“No more what ifs. I’ll be fine.”

He hugged her close. Julie thought her heart was going to break. Gabe could die. What would she do? 
“You’d better be.”

They kissed again. And again. Until Julie’s head was swimming, her body crying for release.

Instead of doing anything about it, Gabe gently pulled away and walked her to the door. “Once I’m a free man, we’ll take up where we left off.”

Moments later, she found herself outside his door, her keys in her hand. Dazed, she looked at him, couldn’t believe he was sending her home when she wanted to stay.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Julie. I have more to do now than ever before.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll be gone a few days. I’ll put as much pastry as I can in the freezer so all you’ll have to do is frost the cupcakes and put out the cookies. You’re a whiz at making the tarts, so they’ll be no problem. It’s the best I can do.”

“Oh, Gabe. I don’t care about any of that. I just care about you.”

“Call it my way of caring about you.”

He kissed her lightly on the lips. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

His door shut, and she stood there, unable to move, unable to absorb the story he’d just unfolded.

She’d known all along Gabe was a man of mystery—a dangerous man. Her instincts were right on that score. But a cop? One who was hunted by the mob? It was unreal.

She walked slowly to her car. She wanted to cry, but her eyes stayed dry.

She had to trust what he said, that he’d come back. Could she?

She hadn’t known when he walked through her front door that she’d fall in love.

Her heart trip-hammering in her chest, she started the motor and drove home.

Gabe was leaving.

Would he keep his promise and come back?

Click here for more information on the Lobster Cove series.


Monday, October 20, 2014

Lobster Cove: Heavy Netting

Today's Feature is Heavy Netting by Nicki Greenwood

Rating: Spicy

Heavy Netting

Branson Cudahy is as southern as it gets, a cyber crime investigator from happily-landlocked Lexington, Kentucky. He has been chasing a hacker for three years, and now the trail has led him to Lobster Cove, Maine...which is a real problem for a guy with a shellfish allergy.

Jenna Sanborn waits tables to pay the bills, but she dreams of opening a quilt shop in the heart of town. She’d never even think of leaving Lobster Cove, but the handsome newcomer is tempting beyond her wildest imaginings.

Bran and Jenna never expect the whirlwind romance that comes out of their meeting. As hard as they fight to control their feelings, their hearts are fighting to push them over that dizzying lover’s leap. Will love win out, or will the hacker—and their dreams—slip the net?

Excerpt:
He released the orange then pivoted to gaze down the street. He had a stare like a hawk, surveying everything, but clearly on the lookout for something particular as he swept the passersby. Jenna wondered what wheels were turning in his head. Then she wondered what “business” had brought him to town. “Did you find the police station all right?” Nosy, she scolded herself as soon as the words left her mouth.

He didn’t seem to mind. “Yeah, thanks. Listen, since I’m new in town, I could use a few tips on where to go and what’s good to do. Can I grab you a coffee?”

Flustered again, she gestured at her grocery cart. “Milk. Ice cream. Frozen vegetables.”

“Not a stalker,” he said, “I promise.”

“I didn’t think that.”

“Yeah, you did. It’s okay.” He smiled. “Best coffee in town?”

“Sang Freud,” she said automatically. “Up the street on the left.” She grinned. “It’s hard to get lost here. There’s not much town.”

“All right, Jenna,” he said. “Tell you what. I’m gonna be there about four o’clock. If you want to meet me there and talk Lobster Cove, I’ll be all ears. If not, no pressure.”

She giggled. Giggled. Like a teenager going to her first concert with a cute boy. Mortified, and now convinced that her cheeks were as red as a stop sign, she backed away. “I’ll keep it in mind. See you later, Mister Cudahy.”

His grin sent a flutter through her midsection. “Bran.”

“Okay. Bran.” She waved goodbye, then hurried off down the street with her groceries and would-be-truant oranges.

As she walked, she sensed his gaze on her, and she beamed, flattered and flustered, and for once, feeling beautiful.

Click here for more on Lobster Cove and the books in the series


Monday, October 13, 2014

Lobster Cove: Another Man's Son

Today's feature is: Another Man's Son by Glenys O'Connell

Rating: Sensual

Another Man's Son


Kathryn Morgan broke Ben Asher's heart when he returned from military service in Afghanistan to find she'd married her boss, wealthy banker Ket Morgan Jr.

Ben vowed he’d never return to Lobster Cove but now, seven years later, he is back as an undercover FBI agent sworn to expose the Morgan family’s criminal activities. Will his vow to bring down the notorious Morgans extend to the woman he still loves?

When Kathryn’s son is kidnapped, she is forced to swallow her pride and reveal the secret of another man's son. Can Ben protect Kathryn and her son from Ket and his sinister friends, or will old hurts and secrets destroy them all?

Excerpt:

He should have known she’d come to see him. Women like her treated men like something they’d wipe off the soles of their shoes. Once a man got them out from under his skin, they ran back to try and get that old itch scratched again.

He schooled his expression to show none of these thoughts as five minutes later one of the deputies, Roy Webb, showed a pale-faced Kathryn into the office. Ben thanked the deputy, then silently indicated that Kathryn should sit on one of the hard, uncomfortable visitor chairs before returning to the file he was reading. Or pretending to read—the sight of her took his breath away, and he watched her covertly from under his brows. Dark rings under her eyes accentuated her paleness. She was thinner than he remembered, dressed in an expensive designer suit in a pale oyster color that accentuated her pale skin and luminous green eyes. Her features had matured and she had developed a poise that suited her. The pretty girl he had known had become a stunningly beautiful woman.

Finally, when he could put it off no longer, Ben signed his name with a flourish, placed the paperwork back into its file, and dropped it in his out basket. He leaned back in his chair, met her direct gaze, and asked, “What can I do for you, Mrs. Morgan?”

Something flickered across her face at his tone, at the slight emphasis on her married title. She pushed back a stray lock of hair with fingers that shook a little, but her voice was even as she replied. “I’ve come to you because I need help, Ben.”

Click here for more information about this book and others in the Lobster Cove series




Monday, October 6, 2014

Lobster Cove: Catch Me If You Can

Today's feature: Catch Me If You Can by Mitzi Pool Bridges

Rating: Sweet

Catch Me If You Can

The bodies of three missing women are found in Lobster Cove. Sheriff Lynn Lawton has no leads, and not enough staff to handle the investigation.  When help arrives in the form of FBI Special Agent Jake Mackenzie, more than Lynn's job is at stake.

Jake never understood what happened between himself and Lynn fifteen years ago.  To him, it was more than a summer romance.  He loved her deeply, but she let him go to pursue his dream career in law enforcement. Now he's returned to sell his family's vacation home and cut his ties to Lobster Cove for good.

Will Lynn be able to keep him from learning the secret she's hidden from an entire town, or will Jake unwittingly leave her and their love behind a second time?

Excerpt:
Her eyes stopped on a tall, dark-haired man striding through the crowd with a confidence she remembered all too well. Her heart stopped. When he got to the rope, he lifted it, then looked at her as he came her way. Her deputy tried to stop him. When the man held up an ID, Luther stepped back.

She took a ragged breath. Her fists clenched at her side as he headed straight at her.

He couldn’t be here. Not now. Not ever. He was part of her past. He’d made sure of that.

It took him a minute to get to her. She spent every second willing her heart to still, her anger to subside.

His ID was still in his hand. He was working out of the New York office, but she didn’t want him to know she knew that. Or that she looked him up at odd hours of the night when she couldn’t sleep.

“How did you manage to get this case?” she asked when he came within hearing distance.

“Lucky, I guess.”

If her heart had hammered before it was nothing compared to what it was doing now. It thundered in her chest until she could barely take a breath.

Of all the people in the world, the one she never wanted to see again stood in front of her, a polite smile frozen on his lips, questions in his deep blue eyes. He was bigger than when she knew him. Except for the few lines around his eyes, fifteen-plus years looked good on him.

She took a long silent breath. Jake Mackenzie had broken her heart years ago. How would she get through this without him uncovering more than a killer?

She broke out in a cold sweat that had nothing to do with the corpse at her feet.


Click here to read more about the series.