THIS SWEET STORY IS FREE
JULY 14-18, 2020
Blurb:
Contemporary Romance Novella
June 25 was supposed to be the best day of Jessica Blackstone's life, but a family accident sends her perfect life into a tailspin. Trying to cope with the tragedy, she retreats to the family beach cottage for some much needed solace.
John Smith has been burnt by love, and is not interested in another relationship, that is, until he meets the beautiful and fragile Jessica. Can these two lost souls find love and heal their fractured hearts?
June 25 was supposed to be the best day of Jessica Blackstone's life, but a family accident sends her perfect life into a tailspin. Trying to cope with the tragedy, she retreats to the family beach cottage for some much needed solace.
John Smith has been burnt by love, and is not interested in another relationship, that is, until he meets the beautiful and fragile Jessica. Can these two lost souls find love and heal their fractured hearts?
Amazon link:
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Excerpt:
June 25.
It was the best and worst day of her
life. It was an ordinary day that started like any other.
Jessica Blackstone concentrated on the
spreadsheet splayed across her computer screen. She was almost finished entering
the data and then she’d start running the models. This project was the most
complicated one she’d worked on, and she had to admit she was excited to get close
to the end. She had spent the better part of six months perfecting the numbers and
wanted to get everything right for the client.
Her boss, David Fletcher, stuck his
head out of his office. “Jess, can you come into my office? There’s something I
need to discuss with you.”
Jess looked up from her monitor and
inwardly groaned. She was so close to finishing this project and the last thing
she wanted or needed at the moment was another one. Whenever David wanted to
see her in his office, it usually meant more work. She considered herself an ambitious girl, but even she had
to admit that she worked way too many hours--days, nights and weekends--to
prove her worth.
She worked in Boston’s prestigious financial
district and had thought herself lucky when she first landed the job. Right out
of college, and hired by one of the biggest accounting firms in town was
impressive, even if she said so herself. It was a dream job, and when she first
started, she’d stroll around the high-rise buildings of chrome and steel with
wide-eyed wonder. She couldn’t quite remember when she had lost sight of the
area’s magnificence, but these days she walked straight from her stop on the ‘T’
at South Station to her office. About the only thing she did notice was how
crowded her favorite coffee shop was in the morning. When it was too busy, she
often skipped it and drank the office coffee, which paled in comparison.
She was hoping to cut back on her hectic
schedule after this project was finished and get a little ‘me’ time. Her
apartment was minutes away from her train stop in Cambridge’s Porter Square,
and it would be nice to get home at a reasonable hour for a change. Her routine
had been work, home, eat, shower, collapse into bed, and repeat. She had been
doing this day after day for so long that she couldn’t remember the last time
she went out with any of her friends, never mind had a date.
A real date – it had been a long while
for her. Jessica was an attractive woman – petite with auburn hair and a splash
of freckles across her cheeks and nose. She had plenty of interested men
approach her, but none had caught her attention enough to distract her from
work. She had slipped into an almost hermit-like existence for far too long.
She had even been ignoring her parents’
pleas lately. They had been asking her to come to the cottage since they opened
it up on Memorial Day. They owned a quaint little place along the southern coast
of Maine, mere steps from the beach. She had many fond memories of the cottage
from her youth, but had still begged off taking the trip up there, blaming her
busy work schedule. She could still hear her Dad trying to convince her to
come.
“You know, sweetie, all work and no
play makes Jane a dull girl.”
“Isn’t that supposed to be Jack?” she
replied back jokingly.
They both laughed, but she still had
not gone to see them. She promised herself that this weekend would be different
no matter how she had to free up the time. She would not disappoint them again.
Now looking at her boss, that promise seemed as fleeting as all the others she’d
made to herself in recent months. She pushed her chair back. “Sure,” she said, following
him to his office.
David ran his hand through his
gray-flecked hair. “Please close the door, Jess.”
A lump formed in Jess’s throat. This
wasn’t starting out well. David never closed the door when talking to any of
the other analysts. She closed the door and sat down in one of the chairs located
in front of his desk. She folded her hands in her lap to keep them from
trembling and waited.
David sat down and cleared his throat. “Look,
this isn’t easy for me.”
A sick feeling started in Jess’s belly.
This was going to be bad. She could feel it. Whenever anyone started a sentence
that way, it usually meant bad news. Was she being fired? What had she done to
deserve that? Yes, the economy still had not recovered fully, but their firm
seemed to be on solid ground. She hadn’t heard about any clients leaving their
firm, but then again, she wasn’t privy to everything. Perhaps the firm had lost
some important clients. She was afraid that if there was going to be any
layoffs, she was the last one hired and would be the first one let go.
“Oh?” she said, as a wave of nausea hit
her. Her hand flew to her mouth and she swallowed continuously trying to keep
her lunch down.
David didn’t seem to notice her sudden
anxiety and looked down at his folded hands. “Your dedication and long hours
have not gone unnoticed.”
Jess didn’t know what to say. Would he
praise her right before he laid her off? Her answer was barely above a whisper.
“Thank you.”
“Yes, well, I want you to know that I
did go to bat for you,” David looked up with surprising sincerity in his eyes. “I
hate losing you”.
“Oh, no. Am I being fired?” she asked
in a trembling voice.
“Fired? Oh God, no. Where would you get
that idea? Your expertise and dedication means too much to this company. We
aren’t thinking about firing you, but we don’t want any of our competitors to
snatch you away from us either.”
Jess furrowed her brow. “Then, what are
you talking about?”
David stood and extended his hand. “Congratulations.
Jessica Blackstone, you’re our new Senior Analyst.”
Relief flooded through Jess and her
nausea subsided. Thank heavens she wasn’t being fired after all.
Senior Analyst.
It had a nice ring to it. She jumped to
her feet and grasped David’s hand. “I am? Senior Analyst?”
“Yes, you are. I haven’t seen anyone
work as hard as you do, especially the last few months. You deserve this
promotion and it comes with a nice raise.”
“Thank you, David. That’s great news. I
won’t let you down.”
David’s face broke into a huge grin. “I
know you won’t.”
Jess floated back to her desk. She didn’t
remember her feet touching the carpet at all. She slumped into her chair and
stared at her monitor, not really seeing anything.
She was the new Senior Analyst. It was
the last thing she expected when she woke up this morning. She pushed her hair
behind her ears and prepared to turn her attention back to the spreadsheet still
open on her computer.
And then the call came in.
Her cell phone vibrated. She reached
into her blazer pocket and looked at the caller ID. Dad. How perfect. He would
be the first one to hear her good news.
“Hey, Dad. How are you doing?”
“Miss Blackstone?”
“Yes?” For the second time in less than
an hour, dread seeped into her gut.
“This is Officer Leo Grant. There’s
been a car accident and your parents are at St. Mary’s Hospital.”
“Oh, my God…” Jess said, panic starting
to rise in her chest. “Are they okay?”
“The accident was pretty serious and
you should get here as soon as you can.”
Jess nodded to the unseen officer. “Yes,
okay.” The line went dead, but she felt numb at the news.
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Reviewer’s Comments:
5 stars: I read this whole book in 2 hours. I couldn't put it down. I would
recommend this book to anyone who love's a good romance and quick read. Snuggle
up with your favorite blanket and enjoy! Amazon Customer
5
stars: In the mood for an evening of emotion and
caring? This is a wonderful story, runs from heartbreak to true love. Very
satisfying ending. Make a cup of tea and relax with this sweet story. Amazon Customer
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