I'm popping the question to you know who...
Apr 27, 2023 11:01 am
I'm popping the question(s) to you!!
I have something big to ask you. Where would you like to see the Home Wreckers Construction series go? Have you had your fill? Do you want more? Do you need a break from this series and want more of another? Hit reply and let me know what you think. I'm listening.
My apologies for two incorrect book links in Monday's newsletter. One of the buttons for Crushing on the Boss led to The Marriage Pact instead. One of the links to Luca was a dead link. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Read Luca's first chapter...
If you're still on the fence about picking up Luca or haven't had time to read his story yet, I'm sharing the first chapter in today's email.
One quick note...don't forget to pick up the bonus material linked at the back of the book. When you click the link, it'll ask you to opt-in and subscribe to the newsletter, but you will not be subscribed twice. The bonus material gives a little background about Luca, what Penelope's up to with her monster dolls, and an update on Luca's grandma.
The following is copyright material
Chapter 1
Luca
Light begins to fade, and a rosy shimmer dusts the horizon. Dusk settles over the Kindlewood Warehouse District as streetlights flicker to life, illuminating my path from the bank to Ribbons & Bows. It’s close to quitting time with a shipment of boxes waiting for me on the loading dock, but a quick run to the bank before closing time was necessary. The monthly auto-withdrawal hits my account first thing in the morning. I can’t afford the monthly medical bills, let alone the overdraft charges an empty bank account would incur.
Cars dot the curb as the nine-to-five work week comes to a close, and residents venture out for an evening of fun. A group of eager teenagers waits for the theater ticket booth to open for the early show. The marquee advertises new shows opening this weekend with a prime-time date night special. Movie and snacks for two at the discounted rate of forty-nine dollars. It’s a steal but out of my price range.
I clutch the account balance slip in my hand, mentally calculating my new bank balance once the bills hit. By morning I won’t have forty-nine dollars to my name, let alone someone to take on a date. One of these days, I’ll land on my feet, but I don’t want to think about the loss that leads to that day.
My soles pound the pavement as worry, fear, and overwhelming loneliness sucker-punch me in the gut. My fingers tighten around the slip of paper that defines my worth by the lowest denominator. A dollar figure. If I’d had a fighting chance from the start, things wouldn’t be like this. But no amount of wishing can change the past or the future.
A row of trees lines the street with benches and the occasional trash and recycle bin. I stop a few doors away from Ribbons & Bows and steal a glimpse at the display window. Penelope flits about inside, straightening and dusting, readying to close shop for the night. She bends and twirls as she cleans, captivating me with her grace and model-perfect good looks.
She captured my attention the moment I laid eyes on her two years ago. Day by day, she silently stole my heart with her shy smile and gentle spirit. She comes from a solid foundation, a family with roots, traditions, and expectations. She’s a constant reminder of what my life lacks and what will always be out of reach. A vise wraps around my heart. I have no business entertaining thoughts of a life with her when I’m living paycheck to paycheck.
I unclench my fist, cursing the account slip and the cruelty life has hurled at me. I rip the paper to shreds and toss the scraps into the trash. A splash of neon orange tucked into an adjacent tree catches my eye. I grab the fluffy litter caught in the branches, ready to toss it in the bin, but metal pokes my hand. When I open my palm to inspect it, a solitary eyeball stares back at me, buried beneath a mound of colorful fake fur.
Phillips-head screws peek from underneath the fluff, creating makeshift legs. The monster wears a meticulously painted, crooked smile with nuts and bolts for ears. It’s cute in a clever mad scientist sort of way. It likely belongs to a child, though it doesn’t appear tattered and worn as a well-loved toy might. I finger the jute twine that loops through an eyelet mounted at the top of the doll’s head. A tag dangles to the side.
To the person who rescues me, you are my light. "Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness," Desmond Tutu
***
Penelope
My pulse quickens when the bell above the door chimes. Butterflies take flight in my tummy, leaving me feeling silly and full of nervous jitters. I know without looking that Luca’s back from his errand. I sense him, his cologne mixed with sweat, and the instant energy that sparks in the air.
I catch his reflection in the glass display case as he passes. He turns his attention toward me as if he senses my stare. He grins, and my body flashes hot, sending my hormones into a tizzy. Luca’s salt-and-pepper stubble, heart-stopping dark eyes, and six-pack abs are impossible to ignore.
He has never made untoward advances to make me think he feels anything for me other than friendship, but a girl can dream. Not that a man as handsome as Luca would ever fall for a woman like me. He’d date someone stylish and sophisticated. Someone more experienced than myself. Still, he’s the only man I’ve ever known who alters my body’s thermostat with a single look.
I’m not as naive as one would think. I lack experience, but I’m armed with information. I consider myself rational, polite, well-built, and of average looks. I’ve paid attention to my friends at the coffee shop and their explicit conversation topics. Octavia’s certifiable, and Simone’s a romantic at heart. They aren’t shy about what they want, and goodness knows their men give them every inch they ask for, literally and figuratively. I’d be amused with myself, but I’m a wee bit jealous I don’t have what they have.
I’m plain Jane vanilla compared to them. They’re sophisticated and outgoing, and I’m what my parents refer to as a wallflower. I’m not as experienced as my friends, but I’m not as innocent as everyone thinks. I know what’s what. I have the internet and a Cosmopolitan magazine subscription. I’ve carefully studied advice in chat rooms and combined what I’ve learned there with what I’ve gleaned from my friends. A woman has to be assertive and go after what she wants. Women don’t sit back and wait for men to make the first move anymore.
I’ve used some of Octavia and Simone’s one-liners and pick-up lines on Luca, but my failed attempts at flirtation always end the same. Luca gets that adorably sexy look in his eyes that sends a thrill racing through my body. I get sweaty palms, smelly pits, and damp heat between my thighs. Then he throws a flirty curveball at me, and I get tongue-tied and anxious. Instant wit is lost on me. The right line and perfect rejoinder come long after our frivolous moments pass. I often wake in the middle of the night with the perfect zinger on the tip of my tongue, but then it’s too late.
Each time I fail at flirtation, I lick my wounds, pull up my big girl panties and try again. I can’t help myself. I only have eyes for Luca. I wish he had the same for me.
💜💜💜
INSTALOVE SPOTLIGHT
The instalove spotlight has been on Crushing on the Boss this week. Ezra Langford and Harper Knowle's story is hot and steamy. Their story also gives a little background about Langford Enterprises, the company the Home Wreckers are currently working for, and a small introduction to Harper's brothers, Jonas and Alexander.
Crushing on the Boss is a short, steamy, older man, younger woman, workplace romance with a super steamy bonus scene linked at the end of the book
Related reading:
- Jonas joins the Home Wreckers Construction crew to help with special projects on the job site.
- The Play Time Productions stage sets are all mentioned in the early Home Wreckers Construction books beginning with Vance, Finn, Sloane, and River.
- Play Time Productions plays a key to the love match in Hot Forbidden Summer.
APRIL SALES & FREEBIES
New this week: Free Steamy Romances
bookspry.com April Free for All
Thank you for scrolling to the end. I'll see you bright and early Monday morning with another first chapter from another series. Have a fabulous weekend full of happiness and books!
XOX Piper