Publication date: September 16th, 2022
Synopsis:
Eva dodges the fans, media, and gossip that follow her supermodel mom and rock star family members by wearing disguises. After an aimless gap year, she struggles to figure out what she wants from life. She moves in with her famous guitar god brother in Austin while he recovers from a drunken stage stunt accident and tries to stay sober. When a hot Texas cowboy named Alex takes Eva by surprise, she risks her safety and security of anonymity by letting him into her unconventional life.
Alex is captivated by Eva and promises to protect her privacy. Yet he has a secret of his own--the fling he had with an older woman is fraught with scandalous potential for him and now Eva. He broke free of that mistake months ago, or so he thought. As things heat up with Eva, his old flame returns and won't leave him alone.
Just when Alex thinks he has the reins on the situation, his ex teams up with a gossip reporter hell-bent on invading Eva's privacy. The resulting expose, with a sly spin on a recent encounter with his ex, is Alex's worst nightmare, and Eva's unsure what to believe. Can she face the world with Alex at her side or will she return into hiding?
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I drive to the house, and she's on the porch wearing shorts and a tank top. The sight of her does my heart good. She runs to me as soon as I leave my truck. I pick her up and love the way she wraps her arms and legs around me.
I laugh. "What's got you in such a good mood?"
"You're here." Her bare legs squeeze my hips, and she kisses me. I could become real used to this, with her breasts mashed against my chest and my hands cupped under her butt.
"Come on." She slides down my body--oh damn, that was hot--and takes my hand. "Hector's teaching me to cook. We're making salmon with roasted red pepper pesto."
In the kitchen, Hector's setting out ingredients and cookware. "Hello, Alex. Eva wants to learn to cook. Any idea what that's about?"
"No idea." I grin, appreciating the Wonder Woman apron Eva's putting on.
"You like it?" She strikes a pose.
"I love it." I pull her to me and kiss her, long and hard.
Hector clears his throat--loudly. "Are we cooking here, or what?"
"Sorry, Boss." Eva laughs, and I move to the other side of the bar.
A pen and notepad call to me, begging me to draw the scene. In my sketch, I nickname Hector "Honcho," as in head honcho. I draw Eva in a Wonder Woman costume. She and Hector put the salmon in the oven, and she heads over to sit down by me at the bar when he orders her to the sink. "These dishes aren't washing themselves."
"Sir, yes sir!" She salutes him. "Show me what to do."
His explains what needs to be washed by hand and what can be put in the dishwasher, like it's the first time she's done this. How strange and different from me. I've been washing dishes since I was five years old. Mom had me stand on a chair to reach the sink.
Hector throws together a rice and vegetable side dish.
Once everything's ready, Eva and I carry our plates to the theater room.
"Have you watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" she asks.
"Yeah, it's good. Cassidi and I watched the whole series a few years ago."
"I'm up to the ninth episode."
By the end of the show, we've finished eating and share the after-dinner mints she brought from the kitchen. She shuts off the lights. We get comfy in the oversized theater seats and play the next episode. It's about nightmares coming true in an alternate reality. One of them involves a character being chased by a scary clown.
Eva switches the lights back on and shudders. "I hate clowns."
"I'm sorry, I forgot that part of this episode. We can skip it if you want."
"No, I wanna see the end, but can I sit on your lap?" She laughs. "Wow, how cheesy."
"I like cheese," I joke. And of course, she's welcome to sit on my lap anytime she wants.
She leans against my chest, and I put my arms around her. She smells delicious. It's the usual vanilla but with a hint of something else. Peaches?
The rest of the show is lost on me. I concentrate on having her close.
As the episode ends, she nestles her head between my neck and shoulder and our fingers entwine. Can she hear how fast she makes my heart race?
I press my nose to the top of her head. "You smell like peaches and cream."
"She looks up at me with those beautiful green eyes. "Is that a good thing?"
"It's a very good thing." I kiss her, and she shifts on my lap, pushing the button to recline my seat back. Soon, she's lying on top of me.
TONYA PREECE writes romance and contemporary young adult fiction and incorporates music into all her books in one way or another. She lives near Austin, TX where she's a small business manager for a forensic engineering firm. She and her husband enjoy traveling, live music, wine, and spoiling their fur babies.
As an active SCBWI member since 2015, Tonya has volunteered for several conferences and has served as a critique group facilitator. She joined the Writer's League of Texas and The Author's Guild in 2021. She's serving as the 2022 WriteOnCon Financial Administrator and Critique Boutique Coordinator.
Tonya's 2022 debut, Whiskey on Our Shoes, was selected for the 2019 #WriteMentor program. One of her YA novels, THE MISSING MEMORIES OF CORDY O'REILLY, earned her a 2020 scholarship/mentorship with Austin SCBWI and was a finalist at the 2018 Houston SCBWI conference.
An avid consumer of written stories, Tonya reads and/or listens to an average of 75 books a year. Some of her favorite YA authors include Jeff Zentner, Julie Buxbaum, Sarah Dessen, and Robin Benway. In adult romance -- Kate Clayborn, Christina Lauren, Helena Hunting, Emily Henry, and Abby Jimenez Series she tires to keep up to date on: Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness and Janet Evanovich's Sephanie Plum. Recent mainstream faves are Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Five Fun Facts about Tonya that aren't reading or writing related:
1. She volunteers at a local food pantry, where she enjoys serving weekly since
2017.
2. Her travel bucket list includes Italy, Ireland, and Bora Bora. Australia would be
awesome, too!
3. She loves ziplining, indoor skydiving, and rollercoasters.
4. She's a fan of bands like With Confidence, Broadside, All Time Low, State
Champs, Sleeping with Sirens, and As It Is.
5. In her free time, she can be found indulging a jigsaw puzzle habit and/or
binging shows like Outer Banks, Never Have I Ever, Downton Abbey,
Bridgerton, Good Girls, Veronica Mars, and iZombie.
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