Beneath Southern Skies
by Terra Little
About
The Author:
Terra Little is a native of Missouri, where she currently resides and
works as a secondary English Literature teacher. She is a critically
acclaimed contemporary, romantic, and women's fiction author, and
also an avid reader. In 2009, "Where There's Smoke",
Terra's sophomore literary effort, was named a Best Book by Library
Journal.
Prior to this honor, as well as in the aftermath of it, Terra's work
has been recognized by numerous book clubs and book reviewers,
including Kirkus
Reviews,
The
San Francisco Book Review,
Fresh
Fiction and
The Romantic Times.
Website | Blog | Facebook Fan Page |
PUBLISHER:
Harlequin Kimani Press
PUBLICATION
DATE:
April 1, 2013
GENRE:
Romance
BACK
COVER BLURB:
A
little Southern comfort goes a long way…
To
the world she's Vanessa Valentino, the poison-penned gossip columnist
and blogger, but back in Georgia, she's just Tressie Valentine. After
digging up one scandalous secret too many, she's forced back home to
the sleepy town she thought she'd left behind forever. And now she
must face Nathaniel Woodberry, who became her sworn enemy when one of
her stories hit too close to home. Yet for some reason, Tressie can't
turn off her longing for the irresistible investigative journalist.
Nate
can't believe Tressie's back to wreak havoc on the close-knit
community they both grew up in, and he can't help holding a grudge
against her past deeds. But soon the commitment-wary bachelor
discovers that the Southern belle is still a compassionate, loving
woman. Nate finds himself drawn to her and he can't stop thinking
about seducing her with a healthy dose of down-home passion. But can
he stop Tressie from making a mistake that could destroy their
hometown—and their blossoming love?
Excerpt
#1
The
shower.
It
was going full blast and she was singing along with the water’s
spray. No, that wasn’t quite right. Actually she was
singing—horribly—over and above the water’s spray.
The
sound of her voice scraped across his nerves like fingernails on a
chalkboard, spiking his irritation level into orbit. Without stopping
to think about what he was doing, he barged into the steamy bathroom
and snatched the shower curtain back.
“What
the hell are you doing here?” he bellowed.
She
turned just as a blast of cool air slammed into her skin, and then
visions of warriors rushing in for battle flashed before her
eyes—big, strapping men with bulging muscles, bloodthirsty
expressions on their faces, and mighty swords slicing through the
air. She saw herself being impaled to death and then buried in a
shallow grave deep in the woods, where no one would ever find her.
She saw, as plain as day, the likelihood that no one would even
bother to look for her because the sad fact was that she wasn’t the
most popular person in the world and she had no real friends to speak
of. Every questionable deed that she’d ever done played before her
eyes like a movie. Her killer would go unpunished and her death would
be in vain. The public would probably celebrate once her true
identity was revealed. They would—
Oh
God. She was going to die.
Partially
blinded by soap bubbles and completely on the verge of hysteria,
Tressie opened her mouth and did the only thing she could think to do
under the circumstances. She screamed at the top of her lungs.
It
seemed like an eternity, but it really took only a few seconds to
wipe the soap bubbles from her eyes and focus. When she did, the
first thing she saw through the steam was a pair of gorgeous hazel
eyes staring into hers. Expanding her gaze to a wide-screen view, she
took in a pair of perfectly shaped lips and a dimpled chin, thick
eyebrows and smooth pecan-brown skin. Something in her brain
eventually clicked and she recognized Nate Woodberry, but that didn’t
stop her from continuing to scream like a banshee. The only
difference was that this time the sounds she made were intelligible.
“What the hell,” she shrieked frantically as she snatched the
shower curtain from his grasp and wrapped it around her body, “are
you doing in here?”
“I
rang the bell. You didn’t answer.” He was the epitome of calm.
“So
you just walk right on in and make yourself at home?” She slung her
wet hair back and out of her face and shut off the water. “Idiot!
Hand me a towel from over there, would you?” She snatched the towel
he handed her and only released her death grip on the shower curtain
long enough to make the trade. The fact that he had undoubtedly seen
more of her naked body in the past thirty seconds than her doctor had
in years burned her skin to a cherry-red crisp, especially since he
hadn’t so much as given it a second glance in all that time. So
much for cutting back on sweets and working out like a demon.
Giveaway:
2 $10 Gift Cards To Winners Choice of Amazon or Barnes and Noble
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