Melanie has dreams that can't be explained by science. If she follows her heart and intuition, she can find true love. Release day is September 12 for this paranormal, contemporary, sweet romance. Here is an excerpt...
In just a few moments she'd find out
whether he was the man in her dreams.
If he was...
Melanie's heart thudded so hard, she
felt as if it were going to jump out of her chest as Flo Briggs led her through
a spacious living room, then down a hall.
There the housekeeper motioned to an open door.
Melanie stepped inside and came
face-to-face with Zachary Morgan. Her
organ donor's husband was sitting at his desk, his oxford shirt sleeves rolled
up, deeply involved in his work and seemingly oblivious to her presence.
This is the man,
everything inside of her screamed. She felt almost dizzy with the realization that her dreams had been much more than
dreams.
As he stood to greet her, their eyes
locked and Melanie's heart lurched.
"Ms. Carlotti?" he asked,
his voice deep and rich, striking a chord inside of her. He extended his hand, and for a moment she
was afraid to take it.
Then she did. His grip was strong, his skin warm, his hand
tanned, and she was so relieved when she didn't feel anything strange. "Yes.
It's good to meet you."
Releasing her fingers, he leaned away
and nodded to the black leather chair in front of his desk. "Tell me why you'd like to decorate my
offices."
After she took her seat, he lowered
himself into his chair but kept his gaze on hers. She still couldn't believe she was finally
face-to-face with the man she'd been dreaming about for months—a man she'd
found so very compelling. Yet she knew
if she told him her real reason for being here, he wouldn't believe her or
worse yet, he'd think she was crazy.
Smoothing her hand down the rose
skirt of her two-piece dress, she gave a logical explanation for wanting this
job. "The way I understand it, this
is a large project—four floors of offices.
I'd enjoy working on a job that size, starting from scratch and choosing
everything from wall coverings to furniture."
He glanced down briefly at the papers
on his desk. "You've mostly
decorated homes. Why do you feel you
have the qualifications to do this
job?"
"I'd expect you'd want your
offices to reflect something about you and your business and how you run
it. It's really not so different from
decorating a house to match a client's personality as well as likes and
dislikes."
"I suppose that's so." Keeping his gaze steady on hers, he noted,
"There's almost a two-year gap in your work history, and you've only
finished a couple of minor jobs in the past few months. Can you tell me the reason for that?"
She could lay it all out on his desk
right now—tell him about the fire and her cornea transplants and the keening
ache that had brought her to him. If she
did that, he might escort her out of his building, lock the doors and never let
her back in. She'd be left with dreams
and no explanations. "I had some
health problems," she explained.
"Now they're resolved and I'm ready to get back into the swing of
my career again."
He seemed to think about that. "Why here in Northern California rather
than back in L.A.?"
"I need a change. I've heard that Santa Rosa is a particularly lovely place to
live. I have a good reputation that I
can take with me anywhere, so I decided to start fresh. If I get this job."
He arched a brow. "And if you don't?"
"I might stay in the area for a
while and see if there are any other opportunities."
After another long, silent appraisal,
he asked, "Do you have a place to stay?"
"Not yet. I checked into the motel at Cool Ridge last
night." Cool Ridge was about
forty-five minutes outside of Santa
Rosa and consisted of little more than a main
street. She'd been fortunate to find a
room in the one motel there. A
country-music festival was being held at nearby Clear Lake
this week and vacancies were hard to find anywhere in the area.
As her gaze held Zachary Morgan's,
there seemed to be more than words between them. Something akin to electricity. She wondered if he felt it, too.
His brows furrowed as he once again
looked down at the papers on his desk, and she suspected he was buying time as
he made a first impression of her.
"Your résumé is certainly complete.
I phoned—"
Suddenly a toddler came running into
the office. From Jake's background
report, Melanie knew Zack's daughter was eighteen months old. The little girl made a beeline straight for
Zack and held onto his knee, looking up at him with a beatific smile.
Melanie's breath caught at the wave
of feelings that washed over her. Zack's
daughter had dark brown eyes and his dark brown hair.
"Da-Dee. Up," she said gleefully.
Flo Briggs came tearing into the
office, breathless. "I'm so sorry,
Zack. She got away from me. Right after her nap, she's got more energy
than ten of me."
Zack laughed and lifted his daughter
onto his lap. "How's a man supposed
to conduct business with a distraction like you around?" His voice was teasing and warm and altogether
loving.
"Da-Dee, Da-Dee," she said,
as if that explained absolutely everything.
He shook his head. "I can't play right now. Maybe Flo can find a cookie or two for
you."
As if telling her dad that was a fine
idea, the child wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a tight squeeze.
He hugged her back, and looking over
her tiny shoulder, he said to Melanie, "This is my daughter, Amy. Since we moved here and I often work out of
the penthouse, she takes advantage of any time she can find me."
Amy suddenly let go of her dad's neck
and turned to look at Melanie.
Melanie had felt an almost-hum when
her gaze had first connected with Zachary Morgan's. Now as she looked at his daughter, there was
that same feeling of connection. Was it
her imagination? Truth be told, if she
hadn't already been dealing with strange things since her operation, she might
think she was going crazy.
Her heart told her another
story...especially when Amy blinked twice at her, broke into a super-wide smile
and scrambled from her dad's lap. She
ran to Melanie and looked up at her with wide brown eyes.
"Hi, there," Melanie said
almost reverently, feeling like a mother again.
Joy and sadness and an unfathomable yearning filled her.
Amy held her arms up, never taking
her gaze from Melanie's. Instinctively,
she lifted the toddler to her lap. The
little girl touched Melanie's cheek, her soft baby fingers leaving an imprint
on Melanie's heart.
USA TODAY Bestselling Author Karen Rose Smith is an only child who delved into books at an early age. She learned about kindred spirits from Anne of Green Gables, solved mysteries with Nancy Drew and wished she could have been the rider on The Black Stallion. Yet even though she escaped often into story worlds, she had many aunts, uncles and cousins around her on weekends. Her sense of family and relationships began there. Maybe that's why families are a strong theme in her novels, whether mysteries or romances. Her 95th novel will be released in 2016.
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| Karen and Paddy |
Readers often ask her about her pastimes. She has herb, flowers and vegetable gardens that help her relax. In the winter, she cooks rather than gardens. And year round she spends most of her time with her husband, as well as her four rescued cats who are her constant companions. They chase rainbows from sun catchers, reminding her life isn't all about work, awards and bestseller lists. Everyone needs that rainbow to chase.
Karen looks forward to interacting with readers. They can find her at the links below.
