Lucky Charm
by Marie Astor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Twenty-eight-year
old Annabel Green is about to tie the knot with her college love, an aspiring
author Jeremy Blake, but her plans for an ideal wedding are rudely interrupted
when she catches Jeremy kissing his gorgeous book agent.
Shell-shocked by
Jeremy’s betrayal, Annabel retreats into the quiet routine of TV dinners and
solitary evenings. It is then that Annabel’s best friend, fashion designer
Lilly Clayton, sets herself on a mission to draw Annabel out of her shell. In
an attempt to persuade Annabel to keep an open mind on dating, Lilly takes
Annabel for a stunning makeover, but after Annabel passes on a date with a
dashing entrepreneur, Lilly decides that more drastic measures are needed.
Lilly invites Annabel to see a palm reader who gives Annabel a lucky charm that
is supposed to help her find true love.
A few weeks later,
Annabel meets a new love interest, and as the two embark on a whirlwind
romance, she starts to believe in the power of the talisman the palm reader has
given her. But what Annabel doesn’t know is that Lilly is hiding a secret that
could unravel her faith in her newly found luck in love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPTS:
The next morning,
Annabel woke up alone. At first she almost panicked when she saw the canopied
bed and the tapestried walls, but then she remembered everything. With a groan,
she leaned back into the soft mattress and burrowed her head in the pillow. What
was she thinking, jumping into bed with a man she barely knew? Which led her to
another question – where was Etienne? She jumped up on the bed, looking for
signs of her companion from last night, but neither Etienne nor his clothes
were anywhere to be seen. Oh, no, she
thought, her pulse quickening with alarm.
He left me here all alone! What if someone walks in on me? I could get arrested
for indecent exposure. Is it even legal to have sex in historic landmarks?
she wondered, her mind racing feverishly. And
what sex it had been, Annabel thought dreamily. The intense memory was
powerful enough to distract her from her current predicament: wild, passionate,
all-consuming sex. Her lips curved into a smile of satisfaction as she
remembered the heedless, fiery abandon that had consumed her last night. It was
the same abandon that now caused her to wake up naked in an unknown bed in an
unknown house. The sobering thought quickly brought her back to grim reality.
Where were her
clothes? She had to get dressed and get out of there as soon as possible,
hopefully before someone walked in on her and asked her what she was doing
there, lying on a thirteenth century bed, albeit with a very modern,
comfortable mattress. With relief, Annabel saw her clothes on the bench by the
end of the bed. She was just about to grab her dress when she heard the door
squeak open and, seized with panic, could not think of anything better to do
than jump under the covers.
“Annabel? Are you
under there?”
The sound of
Etienne’s bemused voice filled her with relief. As usual, she had overreacted.
“Annabel, what
are you doing under there?” Etienne pulled the corner of the coverlet.
“Hiding.” She
blushed. “I didn’t know it was you. I was afraid of getting caught.”
“So you hid under
the covers?”
“At the time it
seemed like a good idea.” She shrugged. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I’m sorry, I
wanted to surprise you with breakfast.” Etienne motioned at the breakfast tray
that he had put on the bed table.
Remembering her
earlier panic attack, Annabel felt her face color.
Etienne poured
two cups of hot chocolate and handed Annabel her cup. “I’m sorry I scared you.
I hope this makes up for it.”
Annabel took a
sip and felt the rich liquid warm her body. “It’s delicious. Thank you. I’m
sorry for being such a scaredy cat.”
“It’s my fault
entirely. I should have woken you up.” He offered her a plate of croissants.
Realizing how
hungry she was, Annabel bit into the flaky croissant, savoring its buttery
flavor. She took another sip of the hot chocolate, her mind struggling to
process everything that was happening to her. Last night she had the best sex
of her life with an incredibly handsome man who was now serving her breakfast
in bed. This sounded too good to be true. Something would have to go wrong eventually,
but then maybe it would not. Maybe, just maybe, her streak of bad luck was
over. Annabel patted the golden heart pendant around her neck. She was not
superstitious, but a little magic never hurt anybody.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Marie Astor is the author of contemporary romance
novels This Tangled Thing Called Love, Lucky Charm, On the Rim of Love,
romantic suspense, To Catch a Bad Guy, and a short story collection, A Dress in a Window. Marie is also the author
of young adult fantasy adventure novel, Over the Mountain and Back.
If you would like to learn more about Marie’s
writing, please stop by her website: www.marieastor.com or visit her on
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection
Books by Marie Astor:
This Tangled Thing Called Love – a contemporary
romance about overcoming one’s inhibitions, learning to tango, and finding
one’s true love match.
Lucky Charm – a humorous contemporary romance about
love, luck and friendship.
On the Rim of Love – a contemporary romance about
the unexpected power of love.
A Dress in a Window – a collection of short stories
about love, coincidences, and fate.
http://www.amazon.com/A-Dress-Window-ebook/dp/B004E112TO/ref=pd_sim_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2
Over the Mountain and Back – young adult fantasy
adventure novel about a boy who takes his snowboard for a ride and finds
himself in a magical, hidden world he never knew existed.
Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.marieastor.com/
Twitter: @marieastor
****Giveaway Information*****
Marie will be awarding to five randomly drawn commenters at the end of
the tour (US ONLY), one of the following five custom-designed jewelry prizes:
Prize 1: Smoky quartz necklace with sterling silver flower clasp
Prize 2: Lapis and labradorite necklace with sterling silver clasp
Prize 3: Kayanite and turquoise sterling silver necklace
Prize 4: Onyx and red agate sterling silver bracelet
Prize 5: Jade, amber and red agate necklace
I encourage you to follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:
And remember... Always keep it Dirty, Smutty & Hussy!
Thank you for hosting this tour!
ReplyDeleteIs Etienne French? How romantic to bring her breakfast in bed - hot chocolate and croissants. *swoon*
ReplyDeletestrive4bst(At) yahoo(Dot) com
Thanks for the excerpt
ReplyDeletebn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
Thanks for the giveaway. I would love to read this book. sounds really good. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com
ReplyDelete