#Surviving40 by Karen Anne
Publication date: August 25th, 2020
Synopsis:
Piper Quinn was more than ready to turn forty. So ready she began planning her Parisian celebration at thirty-five. That is until her life fell apart at thirty-nine. Left staring at divorce papers, Piper instantly regrets signing that pre-nup. How was she to know her husband would turn her in for a younger model?
After "accidentally" setting her Manhattan apartment on fire. Piper finds herself not only newly divorced, but newly homeless. Forced to move back home with her parents and take a job she doesn't want, she soon discovers the gossip train in town moves faster than the subway system in rural Connecticut seems downright claustrophobic when her sixteen year old daughter stops talking to her.
A blast from her past is the spark Piper needs to reignite her life. Owen Clarke, an old high school flame has the ability to turn back time making Piper feel sixteen again. The instant chemistry between them gives Piper hope of redeeming her second act. There's only one teeny, tiny three foot problem: Owen's daughter is in Piper's Kindergarten class. With temptation lurking in every corner, Piper needs to put her emotions--and hormones--in check.
No one said getting older was easy, but turning forty just became a game of survival.
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Excerpt
#SurvivalTip: If you have to hang your head, might as well be off of a headboard.
Owen ran a hand up the length of my thigh, nuzzling his nose against mine, stealing kisses and causing me to fall deeper into the bliss he had created. My leg was hooked around his waist, our bodies tangled together, slick with sweat under a cloud of euphoria.
"Happy?" he asked as he brushed the hair away from my face.
"Very," I admitted. The last hour had been perfection and now... my eyes caught a glimpse of the clock hanging on the wall, the moonlight from the window conveniently illuminating the numbers. "Crap!"
"What's wrong?" Owen placed his hand on my waist, gave me a squeeze, and pressed himself against me. A guttural groan rumbled in his throat. Clearly, he was ready for round two. There was no time for that now.
"It's almost one. I can't have Sage get home and I'm not there." I grabbed the sheets and wrapped them around me while I slid out of bed, got on all fours, and searched for my missing underwear.
My gown was abandoned, crumpled in a small heap underneath a chair he had in the corner. How did it get there? Did it grow legs and walk away? I snatched it up, along with my panties, which were under his bed, and darted toward the bathroom. I tripped over one of my abandoned heels in the process and slammed head first into the wall. "Ow!" I whimpered and tried to hold onto my dignity along with my clothes, and the sheet, while instinctually reaching for my head. There wasn't any blood. Thank God for small victories.
"Hey." Owen leaned over and put on the light, then sprang out of the bed and over to me. He gently lifted my hand away so he could see if there was any damage. "It's already swollen. You're going to have a nasty bruise in a few hours."
"Great, I'm a big fan of having concrete evidence of my more humiliating moments."
Owen had a drowsy look in his eyes, like everything I said was covered in sugar and he could just eat me up. He kissed my boo-boo like I was a child, then pinned me against the wall. It occurred to me then that he was still very, very naked. Damn, he didn't lack in the confidence department one bit.
"Owen, I can't do this right now." I tried to wriggle free, but he had me locked in place. "I need to snap back into mom mode and set an example and all that jazz."
He swept his hand between my thighs with a butterfly touch, taunting me. I shuddered. His eyes sparkled. Clearly, this was some sort of weird, single mom foreplay for him.
"Relax, I'll get you back before your coach turns into a pumpkin." His mouth found mine, and instantly, all that had transpired between us over the past few hours came rushing back. I wasn't sure if it was the power of his kiss, or the blow to my head, but I was getting lightheaded. I plucked my mouth away, coming up for air before Owen pulled me back under his spell.
"I could take you right here." Owen groaned, his breathing quickly becoming a pant, daring me to concede. Would it be so awful to be out all night? Adulting was so hard. So was Owen.
The need to be selfish bubbled up inside me. I wanted to stay, to live in this moment of reckless abandon. Owen pressed against me, causing me to moan. He responded by kissing my neck, which basically turned my libido into a ticking time bomb. How was I ever going to find the strength to say no when every cell in my body was screaming yes? No one knew self-sacrifice like a mother. One of us had to be reasonable, and I supposed it was the one who most likely had a concussion. "I think I need ice for my head."
That seemed to sober him up. "On it." He walked away, giving me a great shot of his ass before he reached down and swiped his pants, pulled them on, and headed down the hall to the kitchen.
I sort of loved the idea of him strutting around his place commando. Knowing I only had a few moments of freedom, I ducked into the bathroom and shimmied my way back into my gown. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My eyeliner was smeared, and m perfect curls now had a distinct post-coital look. There was no hiding what we'd done.
About the Author:
Karen Anne was writing before she could read. As a toddler, she sat with a book in her hands and made up the stories, eager for the day when she'd find out if it all truly ended in happily ever after. Karen still determines the destiny of other people's lives, but this time, the characters are her own.
She is a Contemporary Romance author who lives in New York.
Coffee drinker by day, wine enthusiast by night, she loves cats and deeply misses 90's grunge.
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