by J. Lynn Rowan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Contemporary romance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Life
is good for Tess Gardiner: Her Savannah, Georgia, bakery and cafe is thriving.
She’s earned Master Pastry Chef status from the American Culinary Federation.
And she’s attending a regional culinary convention in Charleston, where she’s
been invited to sit on a small business panel discussion. The opportunity to
tout her success will, hopefully, lead to bigger and better things in her
professional life. As for her personal life? The relative contentedness she’s
enjoyed for years receives a sudden jolt when she comes face to face with Tyler
Brinks, the ex-boyfriend she summarily dismissed from her life eight years ago.
Tyler’s success as a
highly-trained chef has launched him into the stratosphere. He already owns one
ridiculously successful restaurant, and he’s aggressively working on plans for
a second. But he’s never quite gotten over Tess, and he’s never really been
sure what actually went wrong between them. So when a pastry and baking
competition is announced for the week following the culinary convention in
Charleston, Ty jumps at the chance to tempt Tess with the challenge of being
his partner, giving him the perfect opportunity to remind her how good they
once were together.
As the competition
heats up in the kitchen, it soon becomes clear to Tess that Ty has more than
cream puffs and cupcakes on his mind. And she can’t deny that her feelings for
Ty never truly cooled, but have been simmering all these years, despite the way
their relationship ended. Now Ty’s attention has her wondering—is this just the
path to final closure? Or could this be a second chance at true love?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
Ty comes to a stop a couple paces away and settles his hands
on his hips. “Hey, Tess. Long time, no see.”
“Yeah, well . . .”
That’s got to be the lamest opener ever. I clear my throat,
relieved that my voice is working at all, and muster up my pride.
But before I can come up with a real comment, Ty says, “I
saw you listed on the small business panel discussion. Must be exciting.”
“This from a featured presenter.” Squaring my shoulders, I
tilt my head slightly and jerk my chin at him. “You always walk around in your
chef’s coat?”
“Only when I’m hoping to run into my ex-girlfriends at
culinary conventions.”
The teasing note in his deep voice has my eyes narrowing.
“Tyler—”
He holds up his hands, palms out, and chuckles. “Geez, I’m
kidding. Calm down, Contessa.”
“Do. Not. Call. Me. That.” I grind the words out from
between my teeth.
“Wow. Still touchy, are we?” He crosses his arms again and
tips his head back while he surveys me. We don’t have a big difference between
us in height, but whenever he does that, it makes me feel about five inches
tall. “I was actually prepping for a demonstration, and was just taking a
little break.”
Irritation slides through me, both at Ty as well as myself.
I shouldn’t be letting the old hurts bubble up like this. I haven’t seen him in
eight years. Even if we parted on the worst terms possible, he deserves the
benefit of the doubt, as a fellow culinary professional if nothing else.
“Sorry.” I make a show of folding up the pamphlet, forgotten
until now, and sliding it into my bag. The move allows me to break eye contact
and re-center myself. By the time I look up again, Ty’s smirk is back in place.
Hoisting my bag into a more secure position on my shoulder, I fold my arms in a
mirror of his posture. “You’ve probably got a busy few days ahead. Odds of us
running into each other again are slim, so . . .”
A knowing light flashes in his eyes, even as he offers a
handshake. Against my better judgment and with only the barest hesitation, I
accept.
Fires start popping up all along my nerves the instant our
palms touch. By the time I realize my mistake, it’s too late to pull away.
Ty gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “Maybe I’ll see you
around.”
He releases me, takes a couple steps backward, and gives me
a wink before turning to walk away. I stand there, my hand still hanging in the
air like a limp fish.
Maybe I’ll see you around?
Coming from Ty, that’s not a possibility.
It’s a promise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author Bio:
J. Lynn Rowan
started writing stories as a small child, usually starring her favorite cartoon
characters. Most of her work through middle and high school was filled with
typical teenage angst and melodrama, and usually mirrored the books she loved
to read. But eventually she found her own author’s voice and decided to
seriously pursue a writing career.
Historical
fiction remains J. Lynn’s “first love”, but she has enjoyed the journey to
becoming an author of romance and chick lit. She is a member of Romance Writers
of America, the Central New York Romance Writers, and the Historical Novel
Society. She is also a teacher who tries to instill a love of learning,
reading, and writing in her students.
When she’s not
writing, J. Lynn enjoys travelling, gardening poorly but enthusiastically,
studying various topics in American history for her own expertise, and
channeling Julia Child every time she steps into the kitchen.
A native of
Oswego, NY, she now lives in Charlotte, NC, with her own Romantic Hero of a
husband and their little rainbow, affectionately known as Babycakes.
Email:
jlynnrowanliterature@gmail.com
Website:
http://jlynnrowanliterature.wordpress.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/JLynnRowan
Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/JLynnRowanLit
Pinterest:
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YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UClfsVyA4LQYMA0Cq7T1rb6w
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14191767.J_Lynn_Rowan
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/J.-Lynn-Rowan/e/B012YC8PQ2/
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