Lindsey will
be awarding a $10.00 Amazon gift certificate to three randomly drawn commenters
during the tour. So leave a comment at the end of the post.
BLURB:
Since her divorce two years before, Kelsie Collins has been
determined to guard her heart and steer clear of seemingly ‘perfect’ men. An
easy task considering the kind of men her matchmaking mother and her best
friend, Nanci, keeps setting her up with. She allows them to set her up,
knowing their hearts are in the right place and that there is no risk of her
letting any man close enough to hurt her again. Her growing experience in ways
to slip out of those ‘dates from hell’ prompts her to start writing a bad date
survival guide. One aptly titled - OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE. And it’s during one
of those escapes that sexier than sin firefighter Cole Maxwell comes to her
rescue.
Cole isn’t sure what to think when the sexy redhead he’s just
‘rescued’ from a bad date informs him that he’s too ‘perfect’ to date. That’s a
first. He’s had relationships end because the women couldn’t handle the risks
that go along with his chosen profession, but never because he’s too perfect.
When his crew gets called out to rescue someone who is stuck in a
tree, Cole finds himself once again coming to Kelsie’s rescue. This time he’s
not about to let her get away without agreeing to give him a chance, even
holding her high heels hostage to make it happen. She finally gives in and things
heat up between them like a 3-alarm fire. But there’s more than passion between
them and Cole sets out to prove to Kelsie that he’s nowhere near ‘perfect’, but
he is the ‘perfect’ man for her. Can he get past the wall she’s built up around
her heart? Or will he end up being just another chapter in her book of men she
ran from?
*Operation: Date Escape was a Romance Writers of America Golden
Heart finalist as well as a finalist in the American Title III Competition put
on by Romantic Times and Dorchester Publishing.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
Cole’s gaze slid down to the silver tray in her hands. It was filled with what appeared to be
assorted slices of cake.
“Uh, I’m Cole. Can I help
you with something?”
Her face lit up at that.
“You sure can!” She moved toward
him in a determined stride. Smiling, she
held up a plastic fork. “I need you to
try these and let me know which kind you like the best.”
“The one I like the best?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’m particularly fond of the cappuccino
truffle torte myself, but I think my daughter’s more the French vanilla with
cream cheese icing kind of girl.”
He looked toward his crew; certain this had to be some sort of
joke. Only they weren’t laughing. Their slightly agape expressions told him
they were as confused as he was at that moment.
“I’m sure they’re all good,” he said, trying to placate the
plastic fork-wielding woman.
“Oh, will you just look at that dimple!” she exclaimed. “And that smile. You probably had her hooked right there.”
Her who?
The woman’s gaze moved over him in an appraising manner that had
him shifting uncomfortably where he stood.
“It looks like you take very good care of yourself. I can certainly see why she’s crazy about
you.”
No, crazy would be this cake lady and her true cake of choice
should be fruitcake with a side of nut roll because this woman was definitely
nuts.
“Uh, well, yeah. We try and
stay in shape around here,” he replied with a warning glance to his friends who
were snickering in the background. “The
job can get pretty physical.”
“Of course.” She smiled at
him.
“Speaking of which,” he said, feeling more than a little
uncomfortable. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but I really do need to get back to
work.”
“Yeah, he’s got dish duty today,” Nate called out with a grin.
The woman glanced toward the kitchen area. “Oh, well let me get those for you while you
taste the cakes.” She set the tray on
the dinner table and took a forkful of one of the miniature slices. She lifted it to his mouth. “Here’s the first one. It’s lemon crème.”
“Um...” Cole muttered around the forkful of cake she’d just shoved
into his mouth. “Don’t you think your
daughter and her husband-to-be should be the ones sampling these?”
“Absolutely, but Kelsie’s got a full schedule of cleanings this
afternoon so I decided to─”
“Kelsie?” he gasped, half-choking on the tangy lemon cake still
left in his mouth.
“My daughter,” she prompted as she handed him the fork. She shoved the tray his direction and then
stepped around the island to the kitchen area where a few dirty dishes
awaited. “Now try the raspberry crème,”
she called out to him.
“Something you forgot to tell us, Maxwell?” his captain asked with
a grin.
“Look, Mrs. Collins...” he began as his gaze shifted from the tray
of cakes to Kelsie’s mother.
“Miss,” she interjected.
“Excuse me?”
“Collins is my maiden name,” she said as she turned on the water
and reached for the dish soap on the counter by the sink. “I never married. But seeing as how you might end up part of my
family, I’d rather you call me Melinda.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
Romance
author Lindsey Brookes grew up reading romance novels. She penned her first
romance, a historical, at the age of seventeen. From there she went on to join
Romance Writers of America where she learned the ins and outs of the publishing
business and ways to hone her craft. She switched to writing contemporary
romance and has finalled in/or won more than 75 RWA chapter sponsored contests
with over a dozen different manuscripts. She is also a four time RWA Golden
Heart finalist as well as a past American Title III finalist and winner of
Harlequin's Great American Romance Novel contest. She's married to her
childhood sweetheart, her hero, with whom she has two beautiful daughters.
Check
out her websites:
Facebook
page:
Twitter:
Operation:
Date Escape purchase links:
Remember
to follow the tour and leave comments on the other blogs in order to increase
your chances of winning.
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