Today’s Write Wednesday is a teaser and another excerpt from NEVER A BRIDE which is specially priced for 99 cents. The first book in the At the Shore series, ONE SUMMER NIGHT, is also specially priced for 99 cents! You can purchase these e-books at https://amzn.to/3aZLouG.

But for now, your teaser and excerpt!

Teaser

Emma never dreamed that the happily-ever-after would change her life. . . But as her two best friends find love, Emma worries about what her future will bring. She has seen all too often what happens once husbands and children arrive. She puts on a brave face because she wants her buddies to be happy, but as a wedding planner, she has seen one too many marriages go south. Not to mention her parents’ bitter divorce which has soured her on the idea of marriage for herself. She can’t imagine ever finding a man who can bring her a forever kind of romance.

He’s been in love with her forever and can’t understand why she can’t see it. . . Carlo da Costa knows why Emma avoids relationships and yet he can’t help but wonder how someone who puts such love and care into others’ dreams can’t allow herself to believe in the fairy tale. He sees the yearning on her face when she spends time with him and his big boisterous family and knows that deep inside, she wants the same thing. Carlo hopes that one day he can provide her with that because he’s sure Emma holds the key to his heart in her hands.

Excerpt

“I can see you’re all having fun, but did you decide on any of the tuxes I picked out?” she said as she peered at Jonathan, Owen, and Andy, and wondered where Carlo was hiding.

Jonathan sauntered over, grabbed the last piece of sandwich, placed it on a plate, and handed it to her. “Eat. It’s way past lunch hour and you’re cranky.”

“I’m not cranky,” she said, but her stomach complained noisily, forcing her to add, “Just hungry.”

“More like hangry,” he teased. Grinning, Jonathan laid an arm over her shoulders and walked her to the leather wing chair beside a massive leather couch where Andy and Owen sat sipping beers. She joined them there and took a bite of the sandwich, nearly moaning as the flavors of the tender roast pork, bitter broccoli rabe, and sweet mozzarella cheese exploded in her mouth. Not to mention Carlo’s secret garlicky tomato sauce, the game-changer that had made him a champion on a network cooking show.

After swallowing, she glanced around the room at the men. “So what’s up? Where are the tuxes I left out for you?”

“We decided we’re not tux kind of guys. Well, Owen is, but the rest of us are just plain ol’ suit types,” Jonathan said as he sat on the arm of her chair.

She arched a brow. “And Carlo?”

Owen gestured with his beer bottle to the dressing room. “He’s in there.”

Wondering if Carlo needed help, she walked over and knocked.

“Come in,” he said.

She did only to find Carlo standing there in nothing but his tidy whities and a white shirt that was too small for his broad shoulders. The shirt hung open in front giving her a glimpse of what lay beneath the fabric.

Her heart did a little stutter at the sight of him, all lean sculpted muscle and smooth skin with the remnants of a summer tan. Heat suffused her and her face warmed in a blush.

If Carlo noticed, he did his best to hide it as he fought to pull the shirt closed and said, “I never knew that the buttons on your suit sleeve said so much about a man. If they’re real. Stitched. Horn. Who knew?”

She took a few hesitant steps until she was close to him and brushed his hands away as he struggled to button the shirt. “This shirt is absolutely the wrong size, but the style will suit you,” she said and smoothed the fabric across his broad shoulders and chest.

At his ragged sigh, she looked up and met his gaze. The desire there was impossible to miss and she should have stopped touching him. She should have moved away, but she couldn’t.

“You’re not playing fair, Emma,” he said, a rough grumble in his voice as he laid his hands at her waist.

“I’m sorry. It’s just so scary to think about changing what we are,” she said and finally stepped away from him and wrapped her arms around herself.

He raked his hands through his thick cocoa brown hair, tousling the ever-present waves. “I’m not your father, Emma. I would never hurt you. I respect you.”

“I know,” she said, but inside there was still too much fear and doubt. “I just need a little more time, Carlo. And you said you’re a patient man, remember,” she teased, trying to ease the tension in the room.

“I am, but I’m not a saint either. When you touch me . . . I want to touch too, Emma, but I can wait. Just promise me one thing.”

She was afraid to ask what she had to promise but fought back her fear. “I guess it depends on what the promise is.”

With another ragged sigh, he shrugged his shoulders, straining the fabric of the shirt. “I feel like a tool. Promise you’ll make sure I look okay because I’m not a suit kind of guy.”

She grinned and was about to reach out to smooth the linen over his shoulders again but jerked her hand away and locked it with her other hand behind her back to keep from touching him again. Meeting his gaze, she said, “I promise.”

You can purchase NEVER A BRIDE at the following retailers:

Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/2MLZRyK
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Kobo: bit.ly/kobo_Bride

Good morning and happy Wednesday! We’re having a beautiful day here on the Jersey Shore and I’m sending prayers for everyone in the path of the hurricanes heading their way. Today’s Write Wednesday is a teaser and excerpt from NEVER A BRIDE which is specially priced for 99 cents. The first book in the At the Shore series, ONE SUMMER NIGHT, is also specially priced for 99 cents! You can purchase these e-books at https://amzn.to/3aZLouG.

But for now, your teaser and excerpt!

Teaser

Emma never dreamed that the happily-ever-after would change her life. . .

But as her two best friends find love, Emma worries about what her future will bring. She has seen all too often what happens once husbands and children arrive. She puts on a brave face because she wants her buddies to be happy, but as a wedding planner, she has seen one too many marriages go south. Not to mention her parents’ bitter divorce which has soured her on the idea of marriage for herself. She can’t imagine ever finding a man who can bring her a forever kind of romance.

He’s been in love with her forever and can’t understand why she can’t see it. . .

Carlo da Costa knows why Emma avoids relationships and yet he can’t help but wonder how someone who puts such love and care into others’ dreams can’t allow herself to believe in the fairy tale. He sees the yearning on her face when she spends time with him and his big boisterous family and knows that deep inside, she wants the same thing. Carlo hopes that one day he can provide her with that because he’s sure Emma holds the key to his heart in her hands.

Excerpt

Prologue

The bouquet shot toward her head like a spaceship launched at the moon.

Emma Grant had no time to deflect the missile. She tangled her fingers into the luscious petals of the peonies, roses, and hydrangea, rousing fragrant floral scents as the bouquet grazed her face. When she was in wedding planner mode, she would have taken the time to appreciate the freshness of the blooms, but tonight she was also a bridesmaid and best friend and totally unhappy about her current predicament.

Flowers fisted in her hand, Emma whirled to face her other best friend and maid of honor, Connie Reyes, who with a subtle hip check, had knocked Emma straight into the path of the flying tussie mussie. “I thought you were my friend!”

“Totally,” Connie said with a broad smile and waltzed off to the side of the dance floor to where Carlo Gonzalez, her caterer extraordinaire and longtime man crush, stood with some of his wait staff.

Her friends thought Carlo was the man to give Emma her happily-ever-after, except it wasn’t possible that someone like Carlo could love someone like her. She was broken inside and had been for some time while Carlo was everything good in this world. A loving son and a supportive brother. A go-to-guy for her and so many others. But a lover? Even though her insides ignited at the thought of making love with the incredibly handsome Carlo, Emma knew it could only lead to misery on way too many levels.

He was her business partner of sorts and she valued how well they worked together. They had even talked about forming an event planning business more than once so Emma could have her own company and Carlo could expand his. Not to mention that he was her best friend and she couldn’t imagine not having him in her life, but she was certain that was what would happen if they tried to go from friends to lovers and it didn’t work out.

But Emma’s fears weren’t keeping Connie from trying to drag Carlo into the center of the dance floor for the next part of the wedding ritual. He protested at first and as all eyes settled on him as he balked, embarrassment engulfed her. His hesitation confirmed to Emma that changing the nature of their relationship was not necessarily something he wanted to do either.

Others soon joined in to offer Connie assistance and Carlo finally relented, although clearly reluctant. The handsome caterer stood with the other single men, and as the groom prepared his garter toss, Emma closed her eyes and mumbled a prayer beneath her breath.

“Dear Lord, please be good to me,” she said and half-opened her eyes to watch.

Apparently God wasn’t listening since the garter flew across the air, and like a horseshoe tossed at a ring, the circle of baby blue satin ribbon and beige lace landed on Carlo’s index finger, earning hoots and shouts from all gathered at the perfect catch.

Emma groaned and popped her eyes wide open as Carlo stood there, dangling the garter for all to see. A stain of color marred his cheeks as he peeked at her with a chagrined smile.

The heat of a blush erupted all across her face and up to her ears. She half glanced at Connie who had returned to stand by her and Emma said, “I will kill you for this. When you least suspect it, it will happen.”

Connie couldn’t stifle her chuckle, and when the groom’s brother and best man Jonathan Pierce strolled to her friend’s side, Connie high-fived Jonathan for his assistance with the plot. Connie murmured something to him that Emma couldn’t quite hear as the band launched into a sexy riff to continue the wedding tradition. Carlo sauntered over, garter dangling from his finger as someone placed a chair for her to sit on in the middle of the makeshift dance floor.

“The quicker you get it over with, the easier it will be,” Emma thought, hurried out, and unceremoniously plopped onto the chair. It was like taking off a bandage with a quick rip. It cut the pain much like she wanted to lessen the humiliation of Carlo being forced into this wedding tradition.

The sexy music continued as Carlo kneeled before her and mouthed “Don’t worry.” In deference to the fancy event being held at the Sinclair beachfront mansion, he was dressed in a tuxedo. The black of the tux emphasized the deep brown of his thick wavy hair. The electric white shirt was the perfect foil against olive skin that still bore the remnants of a summer tan. He smiled at her, his teeth toothpaste bright and perfect. The smile was brilliant and transformed the chiseled features of his face. Made his chocolate brown eyes gleam with a mix of amusement and awkwardness.

It was way too easy to picture him as the groom. Her groom, but that was an impossible wish. As his gaze locked with hers, she detected something different for a moment. Something dangerous that she tried to convince herself wasn’t there. There was no way that was there, she told herself.

She silently pleaded with him not to make the situation worse. Ever the gentleman, he heeded her plea and kept it clean as she looked up toward the inky night sky to avoid watching him. His touch was deferential while he slipped the lacy fabric past her shoe and ankle, but even the faintest whisper of his rough palm against her skin had her trembling inside and heat racing across her body. He moved the garter up a little higher to her calf and paused, forcing Emma to look at him to find out the reason for his delay.

Carlo grinned sexily and the fire at her core ignited into a five-alarm blaze. He was just so damn handsome and it was impossible not to imagine doing more with him. He inched the garter past her knee, his palm teasing her smooth skin, but stopped there despite the entreaties of the single men to go ever higher. He wagged his head, shook his finger in a no-way gesture, and tenderly draped Emma’s gown back over her legs.

Emma met his gaze once more, thankful, but this time it was impossible to miss that his look was filled with yearning. With that emotion, she had maybe hoped for and dreaded at the same time. And then Carlo did something totally unexpected and decidedly risky. He wrapped an arm around her waist, urged her to her feet, and slowly drew her close.

Her knees trembled and her heart pounded so loudly, she barely heard the music and cheers from those who’d maybe had a little too much to drink during the festivities. Carlo steadied her, keeping his arm around her waist as he cradled her jaw. Slowly he leaned toward her and tilted her face up with the gentlest pressure.

She could have backed away. Could have stopped him, but truthfully she didn’t want him to stop. She inched up on her tiptoes to meet his lips.

I have to confess that I love doing research for a new book. For BLOOD CALLS, I had to read up on a number of things, including the Spanish Inquisition and art forgeries. What was the most interesting thing was finding out that it wasn’t all that uncommon to find that works of art that had been sold for millions or were being exhibited in museums were later found out to be fakes! In BLOOD CALLS, the heroine is a talented artist who has unwittingly become involved in a multi-million dollar art fraud. When her life is threatened, an unlikely hero emerges- Vampire art gallery owner Diego Rivera. This story is filled with emotion, suspense, and sexiness. I hope you enjoy this free read.

Prologue
1491, Galicia, Spain

The thought of slowly strangling the life from his wife made the flogging almost bearable for Diego Rivera.

As each lash stripped another bit of skin from his back, he imagined his hands encircling her throat. Tightening. Watching her eyes bulge as he exerted pressure and heard the beginning crack of cartilage beneath his fingers.

The pleasure of his near delirium daydream evaporated as one particularly sadistic blow penetrated his defenses and his body jerked spasmodically.

“Madre de dios,” he gasped as fire erupted down the middle of his shoulders. Beside the heat of the whip as it tore into his flesh, Diego sensed a warmth that could only be blood trickling down his back in various spots.

“Confess your sins, converso. It will go easier if you tell us the truth,” the Inquisitor urged from his spot a few feet away. Beside him sat a physician whose job it was to make sure the heretic wasn’t too far gone to confess.

This business of saving lives wasn’t supposed to kill anyone, Diego thought cynically and laughed out loud.

The sound bounced off the stone walls of the room, shocking his torturers, who looked at him as if he was crazy. Maybe he was, Diego thought, as he heard the eerie echo of his laughter, sounding much too much like that of a madman.

As the physician rose from the chair and walked toward him, it occurred to him that they would stop the punishment now and wait for him to be more lucid. That was the way it had been for weeks now. Maim and wait. Repeat.

It was the way it would be today.

The physician examined him and deciding that he was too far gone to elicit a true confession, jerked his head toward Diego. The two guards positioned behind the Inquisitor quickly undid the shackles that had been cutting into his wrists.

Released from his bondage, Diego slumped and would have fallen to the ground if not for the intervention of the guards, who dragged him from the chamber and into the small cell that had held him prisoner for nearly a month now.

They tossed him inside unceremoniously. He landed roughly on the stone floor, his head smacking into the cobblestones since his arms were too feeble to break his fall.

What was one more bruise? he thought as the chilly humidity of the cell quickly registered against skin damp with sickly sweat. In reaction, he shivered violently, which only brought renewed pain to his mangled back and sore arms. He tried to quell the chatter of his teeth and swore he would get vengeance on those who had betrayed him.

He didn’t know how long it had been before the slight scuffle of a shoe on the stone floor drew his attention.

“Esperanza?” He glanced upward and smiled as the familiar face of the plain servant girl from his home crept into his vision. Esperanza had been sneaking in to care for him.

“Don Diego, I’m so sorry,” she said and then even greater agony erupted along his back as Esperanza dabbed at it with a moist cloth.

At his groan, she explained, “This will help keep it from getting infected.”

Diego knew she meant well, but keeping him alive would only benefit the Inquisitor. He gently laid a hand on her thigh as she kneeled beside him. “You are a good girl, Esperanza.”

A slight gasp came from her, confusing him. In the vibrant brown of her eyes, however, he finally realized why she risked her life to help — she was in love with him. In a way, he cared for her as well.

Diego had barely noticed her the entire time that she labored in his home. He had been too busy whoring with so many other more beautiful women, including his own bitch of a wife. His infidelities had been the reason that his wife had lied about him and turned him over to the Inquisitor. Backing her claims that he was a relapsed converso was a lower nobleman who coveted Diego’s properties and wife.

Dios help the poor man when he discovered the real nature of the harridan Diego had married.

A woman nothing like kind and gentle Esperanza, he thought and passed his hand over her cheek. The skin was soft and smooth, remarkably creamy in color which contrasted rather nicely with the deep auburn color of her hair.

“Do not come again, little one. I am not worth your life,” he said and in truth, he meant it. He had not been a good man up until now. Selfish and materialistic, it had taken this unfortunate encounter with the Inquisitor to make him realize that he needed to change. That he needed to be a better man.

“Don Diego“

“Promise me you will stay away.” As tears filled her eyes and spilled over, he whispered, “I will never forget you.”

She kissed his cheek, then rose and rushed from his cell.

He didn’t expect the loneliness that followed her departure — a greater torture than any the Inquisitor could visit on him.

A loneliness that had been with him for most of his life, he had realized in the weeks of numbing pain and solitary confinement within this small cell.

He vowed that if he survived, he would strive to change that. Strive to do good.

God had to have visited the Inquisitor’s insanity on him for a reason and he wasn’t about to question why he had been called.

He just intended to answer when the time was right.

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With Memorial Day fast approaching, you may be searching for some awesome beach reads even if you can’t physically hit the beach! For that feel of summer, check out the At the Shore series with ONE SUMMER NIGHT, WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER, and NEVER A BRIDE. Especially since ONE SUMMER NIGHT is specially priced at 99 cents. That’s a deal for a Publishers Weekly Top 10 Romance and NY Times selection for the Round-up of Romance! You can download the novels at and https://amzn.to/2XemdxZ and https://www.caridad.com/books/at-the-shore/.

I love doing a series set in one of my favorite spots on earth – the Jersey Shore. That’s why I came up with the At the Shore series. Today I’m sharing an excerpt from ONE SUMMER NIGHT, the first book in the series. This book was a Publishers Weekly Top 1O romance and featured in the NY Times Round-up of Romance. It’s on sale right now for 99 cents and I hope you’ll check it out!

Teaser

An offer that’s impossible to accept . . .

Maggie Sinclair has tried everything to save her family’s business, including mortgaging their beloved beach house on the Jersey Shore. But now, she’s out of options.

The Sinclair and Pierce families have been neighbors and enemies for almost thirty years. That hasn’t stopped Owen Pierce from crushing on Maggie, and he’s determined to invest in her success. Now he has to convince her that he’s more than just trouble with a capital T!

Excerpt

With keen interest, Owen Pierce took note of the three women as they hurried away from the dais and into the Sinclair mansion.

“Put your eyes back in your head, Bro. She’s nothing but trouble,” Jon warned in low tones.

Owen bit back the retort that if anyone knew about trouble, it was his brother. Jonathan had always marched to a different drummer and had set out on his own as a teenager to explore what he wanted out of life. Now a successful entrepreneur, he had captured the media’s attention with his innovative designs and daring adventures. That left Owen to shoulder most of the burden of the family’s real estate business, as well as deal with his father’s anger over Jonathan’s latest newsworthy escapade.

He envied his brother’s carefree spirit and determination, especially as Maggie Sinclair marched back onto the patio with her friends, an angry bride, and an obviously inebriated groom. Both the bride and groom looked far from happy as they approached the elaborate multi-tiered wedding cake that had been wheeled out to the middle of the makeshift dance floor.

He worried the bride might plunge the long knife she held into her new husband, but luckily for the newlyweds, Maggie directed the blade toward the cake.

Jon playfully elbowed him. “Seriously, Owen. She’s not for you. Father declared the Sinclairs off-limits ages ago. He would have a stroke if he thought the two of you were involved.”

Involved with Maggie Sinclair, Owen thought and sighed with regret.

In a way, he’d been involved with her forever. He’d like to chalk it all up to a sloppy, hurried, and stolen kiss at eighteen and the allure of forbidden fruit. But since that kiss, he’d watched her mature into a smart, beautiful woman. One who was willing to work hard for the town and business she cared about as well as friends and family. With every encounter, he’d grown more intrigued with the person Maggie had become.

But his father had come down hard on them about mingling with the Sinclairs right after Maggie’s mother’s death. For years, they’d been unable to come to their Sea Kiss home, and even when they’d returned, they’d done so without their father, who refused to be so close to the family he thought had wronged him.

Not that Owen expected that Jon would kowtow to such rules, since his brother was the kind of man who didn’t hesitate to take what he wanted.

He arched a brow and met his brother’s blue-eyed gaze, which glittered with a mix of undisguised challenge and amusement. “Do you think you’re the only one entitled to a little adventure in your life?” he said.

Jon chuckled. “My kind of adventure is way safer than what you may be considering.”

“Why’s that, Li’l Bro?” he asked, appreciating the sight of Maggie in a dusty-rose gown that hugged dangerous curves. Her chestnut-brown hair fell to her shoulders in soft waves and framed ice-blue eyes and a sassy, sexy face that snared his attention every time he saw her.

Jonathan took a last sip of his champagne and barely stifled another laugh. With a shake of his head, he replied, “Because all I risk is an occasional broken bone, but that!” He jerked his head in Maggie’s direction as she stepped back beside Connie and Emma. “That will break your heart.”

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Good morning! Today I have a little teaser for you from NEVER A BRIDE. In this scene, Carlo and Emma have spent the night together, but probably not in the way that both would have expected.

Teaser

Emma woke to tempting warmth and a teasing tickle against her cheek.  Half asleep, she tried to smooth away whatever was causing it and encountered a wall of hard muscle and crisp chest hair.  She groaned and screwed her eyes shut as memories of the night before pummeled her brain.

“You okay?” Carlo said and his deep voice rumbled through her, awakening other parts of her body.

“I am so so sorry,” she said and met his amused gaze.

“I have to confess that in all the dreams I had about our first night together – ”

“You dreamed about us being together?” she asked and her heart pounded, rushing blood to all those already alert parts.

With a half-grin, he shifted so they were face-to-face on the pillow and covered the hand she had splayed on his chest.  “I never imagined our first night together or the morning after would be quite like this.”

There was no mistaking the look in his eyes and what he had expected, but that didn’t keep her from saying, “What did you imagine?”

Order

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