VALENTINE
TIME@Kathleenlawless
Steel
rolls his eyes when I get out the Valentine’s décor late in January, but I know
he secretly enjoys my passion for the day and all its historical connotations; from
a monk secretly marrying lovers at the expense of his own life in 3rd century Rome,
to the fact that today 150 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged
world-wide. Plus it is a great excuse to
brighten up an otherwise gloomy February.
Valentine’s
Day is not just another day brought to you by Hallmark. From early days to modern times poems and
songs have been written, copious books penned, along with the exchange of rings
and vows. Which sent me on a quest for
romantic poetry. Here are a few classics
to get you in the mood.
“Love is a
single soul inhabiting two bodies.”
Aristotle
“If I had
a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk through my garden
forever.” Alfred Tennyson
“How do I
love thee? Let me count the ways.” Elizabeth Barrett Browning
“Age does
not protect you from love. But love, to
some extent, protects you from age.”
Anais Nin
“Love is
like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the
fingers open and it stays. Clutch it and
it darts away.” Dorothy Parker
“The best
and most beautiful things in the world can not be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.” Helen Keller
“My bounty
is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep: the more I give the more I have
for both are infinite.” William
Shakespeare.
Times have
changed, sentiments have shifted, but love is all around. In keeping with the day of love in 2018, my
novella INTIMATE STRANGERS is
included in a sexy box set LOVE ME HARD with 14 other authors.
Today I am
featuring a fresh new voice in the romance world, Whitley Cox.
From SEXY DAD by Whitley Cox as featured in LOVE ME HARD
“Jesus Murphy,” Amy said with a whisper
chuckle. “You two need to go get a room. There are children here. You can cut
the sexual tension in this place with a knife.”
I shook my head, removing my gaze from
Sam. He didn’t follow but instead continued to watch me. I let out a huff as I
turned to face Amy. “It’s all him. He’s looking at me like he wants to take me
into the janitor’s closet and have his way with me.”
She elbowed me in the ribs and bobbed her
eyebrows. “Maybe he does.”
A few moments later, I was busy chatting
with my mom posse, trying my damnedest to ignore Sam when my phone vibrated in
my pocket.
S: You look really
nice today. I like the high-tops. ;)
Did he just winky-face me?
I glanced up to find him with his back to
me as he played trains with Landon. I texted him back.
H: Are you TRYING
to out us to the “coven”?
S: The coven?
H: My mom posse.
S: You call
yourselves the coven?
H: As a joke. More importantly, are you
trying to out us? Those looks were anything but innocent. Amy said she could
cut the tension in this room with a knife.
Notice I didn’t say sexual tension. I’d had to delete that at first. I didn’t want to
presume anything or, more importantly, give him any ammo.
S: What kind of
“tension” are you referring to? I’m not tense. Are you tense? Why are you
tense?
Damn him! Even when he was texting and not
even looking at me, he was being cute and getting me all flustered.
H: I think you
know EXACTLY what kind of tension.
S: Sexual?
H: Oh God!
S: You’re
blushing.
My head popped up from my phone. Sure
enough, he had swiveled his big sexy body back around and was sitting
cross-legged on the floor with Landon, his phone in his hand.
H: Because you’re
trying to embarrass me.
S: I’m not trying to do anything but get
to know you. And now I know you embarrass easily. I also know I like it when
you wear that tight sweater. Shows off your …
With a wry smile, I lifted my head. He was
watching me. My phone vibrated again, and I looked down.
S: Elbows. You
have GREAT elbows.
H: You’re
incorrigible.
S: I prefer the
word smitten, but to each their own.
“Are you two sexting?” Amy’s voice was low
right next to my ear. Her breath smelled like coffee with a hint of chocolate.
The woman always had chocolate in her pocket and would slip a square in her
mouth when she didn’t think any of us were looking.
I shook my head. “Not sexting.”
“But you are texting?”
“Yes.”
“Is he being all adorable and flirty?”
“Yes.”
She bounced on her heels a couple of
times. “Oooh, I am so good at this. You two are too cute.”
“Shhhh.” I shot her a dirty look. She was
getting loud, and the other moms, no matter how boisterous and noisy their
conversation about diaper rash was at the moment, all seemed to have ESP when
it came to gossip.
“Oh, relax. My lips are sealed. But this
is so exciting.”
I brought my gaze back up to Sam and
smiled at him. He smiled back, and the butterflies in my abdomen—the wild and
crazy kind—started to dance. “It really is.”
So why not treat yourself on this special
day? Curl up with coven of sexy new reads and a
heart-shaped box of chocolates. ORDER NOW books2read.com/lovemehard
Thanks for sharing the excerpt. I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Jodie. I love Whitley's fresh new voice.
DeleteI enjoyed the lines you shared and your excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lynn, I'm excited to be part of the box set.
DeleteSounds like a great story, and of course it would go better with chocolate. Everything goes better with chocolate.
ReplyDeleteChocaholic here. But it has to be dark. I know there are divided camps with milk and dark.
ReplyDeleteI love the excerpt. I like chocolate and, Kathleen, no matter how much I tell myself I love dark, it's milk that holds my soul. Sigh. I'd better go have some of both. Just to see...
ReplyDeleteDon't all writers use chocolate for inspiration?
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt. Good luck with the box set!
ReplyDeleteThanks Joan. It's great to try something new.
ReplyDelete