Check out Christina Tetreault's latest release.
Blurb:
After a blind date stands her up, Catrina
Striker stops in O’Leary’s Pub for a sandwich, nothing else. Then Tony Bates,
North Salem’s resident playboy, sits down next to her and destiny takes over.
Cat knows all about Tony’s reputation, but that doesn’t stop her from doing
something she’s never done before: invite him back to her apartment.
Tony Bates has always looked at Catrina as
nothing but his buddy’s little sister, until a chance encounter one summer
night changes all that.
Since the sudden death of his college
sweetheart, Tony has kept all his relationships casual and fun. Everyone knows
that, which is why Cat and Tony agree to keep their involvement a secret rather
than risk Tony’s friendship with her brother. However, what starts out as a
secret fling soon becomes much more, and Tony must decide if he’s ready to risk
his heart again or lose the woman who completes him.
Excerpt:
Across the café, Cat stopped to speak with Sue
Adams, and she looked in his direction. She gave him the tiniest of nods and
then said something to Sue before joining the line at the counter.
Thanks
to the location of his table, Tony could watch her as she waited in line
without anyone the wiser. While she waited, she spoke with the other customers
in line, and he couldn’t look away.
Cat
radiated friendliness. She had this sunny personality that called people to
her. A person couldn’t be around her and remain in a bad mood. Even people she
didn’t know well appeared at ease and happy around her.
He
told himself that was one of the reasons he couldn’t stay away from her. He
simply liked the way he felt around her.
Brendan
Michaels, another lifelong North Salem resident, joined the line behind her.
Right away, he placed a hand on her shoulder and started up a conversation. As Tony
watched her shake her head at whatever Brendan said, he forced himself to
remain seated rather than bolt across the room and rip Brendan’s arm off.
Although many people wouldn’t mind seeing Brendan put in his place, residents
would wonder why Tony had intervened because, by the looks of it, Brendan and
Cat were only talking.
Tony
ground his teeth together as she said something in response to Brendan’s
statement. What was taking so long anyway? How hard was it for Skye to make Cat
a cup of coffee? From behind the counter, Skye handed Cat her order. Cat
stopped two more times before reaching him.
“Hi,
Tony. How did the game go?” She made no move to sit. Instead, she sipped her
coffee.
“We
won by three touchdowns. It was like Beverly sent their JV team to play today.”
His
hands itched to reach out and pull her close. Since that was out of the
question, he wrapped his hands around his coffee mug.
“Big
plans for the afternoon?” he asked.
“I’m
meeting Kelsey here. What about you?”
“Waiting
for my mom. She asked me to meet her. Why don’t you sit and keep me company
until Kelsey gets here.”
She
took the seat next to him, her knee bumping into his leg.
“So
what kind of trouble are you and Miss Bancroft planning to get into today?”
She
scooted her chair a little closer to him. “Shopping. She needs something for
Mrs. O’Brien’s wedding.”
No
one would ever call him a saint. Tony released his coffee mug and reached under
the table. “A Saturday night at the mall, where’s the fun in that?”
He
caressed her thigh, wishing she had on a skirt instead of jeans.
“Shopping
can be fun, especially when you plan to get a few new things for yourself. Ella
told me about the two new stores that opened last week. I can’t wait to check
them out.”
He’d
gotten an earful from his mother after her last trip to the mall about one of
the new stores. She’d gone on for a good thirty minutes about how inappropriate
the outfits on the mannequins were and how the store shouldn’t be allowed to
hang photos in the windows. He loved his mom, but sometimes she could be a bit
of a prude.
“Besides,
it won’t take all day. I told Kelsey I need to be home by seven because I have
other things to do.”
Under
the table, Cat ran her fingertips over his hand, and it reminded him of the way
she’d caressed his chest earlier that week.
“How
does that sound?” she whispered, her voice almost inaudible.
Visions
of her in some new lacy outfits formed, and his heart rate accelerated.
“Four
sounds better,” he answered, grateful for the noise in the café.
“Kelsey
loves to shop. If I’m lucky, I’ll get her out of the mall by five.”
“I’ll
be at your place by six then.” An hour should be enough time for her to get
home. “Text me if you get home earlier,” he whispered.
Under
the table, she squeezed his hand. “Your mom just walked in.”
Tony
looked up as his mom walked toward them. Right away, Cat released his hand and
reached for her coffee.
“Catrina,
how are you?” His mom joined them at the table.
“Great,
Mrs. Bates, and you?”
“Fabulous.
I love being retired. Right after Maureen’s wedding, I’m off on a cruise with
my sister for a week.”
He
shifted in his seat as his mother and secret lover discussed Maureen O’Brien’s
upcoming wedding, an event the entire town was talking about.
“Do
you want a coffee or anything, Mom?” Anything to get him away from the table.
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About The Author:
I started writing
at the age of 10 on my grandmother's manual typewriter and never stopped. When
I am not driving my 3 daughters (ages 8, 6, and 6) around to their various
activities or chasing around our three dogs, I am working on a story or reading
a romance novel. Currently, I have two series out, The Sherbrookes of Newport
and Love on The North Shore. You can visit my website www.christinatetreault.com or follow me on Facebook to learn more about my characters
and to track my progress on my current writing projects.
Author Links:
Twitter: @cgricci
