Fortuna
by Elaine
Cantrell
GENRE: Romantic
comedy
BLURB:
Aimee
Sherwood never dreamed that following her fiancé into the witness protection
pro-gram would land her in a haunted house in a town that’s downright creepy.
She’d have laughed if she had been told the guy who lives down the road might
be her soul mate, not the man whose ring she’s wearing. Life in West Virginia
is nothing like life in Los Angeles, but between bean ball battles with Marilyn
Monroe, remodeling a crumbling farmhouse, and starting a new online business,
life in the country is anything but boring.
EXCERPT:
Cade held out his arm to Aimee.
“Ma’am, I would be delighted to show you the gazebo. Do take my arm. The ground
is rather uneven.”
“Why, thank you, sir.”
As they strolled toward the gazebo,
Aimee allowed the setting to mesmerize her and capture her imagination. What
would it have been like to attend this party in the year 1860? Would the threat
of war have lent a spice of excitement to the festivities that made ordinary
activities like visiting the gazebo seem new and romantic?
Cade indicated a built-in bench,
which circled the inside of the gazebo. “Would you like to sit down?”
Aimee sat and gathered her skirts
around her, admiring the rustle of her long, crinoline petticoat. She patted
the space beside her. “Sit beside me.”
Cade bowed. “You honor me, Miss
Sherwood.”
“You may call me Miss Aimee, sir.”
“Miss Aimee, then.” He raised her
hand to his lips and kissed it.
Aimee’s heart took off in a mad
gallop. She felt heat rising from her chest and knew it colored her face an
inconvenient shade of red. Oh! My! Goodness! All he’d done was kiss her hand,
and she was melting. If only she hadn’t left her fan at Miss Gladys’ table.
Cade kept hold of her hand even
though she’d expected him to let go of it. His calloused fingers felt so male,
so strong, so warm that another wave of heat washed over her and almost took
her breath away.
“You look beautiful tonight, Miss
Aimee. There’s not a woman at the party who can touch you.”
Was it her imagination or had he
moved a bit closer to her?
“Your eyes sparkle like blue
diamonds, and I love those curls of yours. You’ve captured the sunshine.” He
reached for her ponytail and bounced her curls in the palm of his hand.
Breathe. She mustn’t forget to
breathe.
Guest
Post:
10 favorite places to visit:
I’ve
been thinking a lot lately about places I’d like to visit. I retired last year,
and my husband and I hope to do a little traveling. So, here are ten places
we’d love to go.
1.
Garden City Beach in South Carolina. This isn’t a new place for us. We go to
Garden City every summer. The beach isn’t as big as its neighbor Myrtle Beach,
but we like that. We love to go to the Garden City pier, which is a landmark of
the beach. If you go on July 4 you’ll find one of the best fireworks displays
on the entire beach.
2.
Williamsburg, Virginia. If there’s one place I love it’s Williamsburg. When I
go there, I feel such a sense of tradition and history that it thrills me.
History was made in Williamsburg, and of course many of our Founding Fathers
walked those streets.
3.
New York City. I’m a small town girl who lives in the South, but I have a big
desire to see New York. I’d love to go at Christmas so I could watch people ice
skate in front of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center and see all the
Christmas decorations.
4.
Have you ever been to Arizona? I went there a few years ago, and it was
absolutely fantastic! I was like a child bouncing in the seat and pointing from
one side of the road to another. Every cactus, every road was like a visit to a
new world.
5.
Pony Penning Day on Chincoteague Island near Virginia is an amazing event that
you don’t want to miss. If you ever read the book Misty of Chincoteague you
know exactly what’s going on, but if not, here’s a link that explains
everything. If you love horses, you should definitely check this out.
6.
One of my favorite cities is Seattle. A few years ago my sister and I met in
Seattle and spent a week together. She lives in Alaska, and I live in South
Carolina so we had a lot of fun. We went up in the Space Needle, saw some
wonderful Japanese gardens, toured the Pike Street fish market, saw a temperate
rain forest, and many other wonderful things.
7.
You shouldn’t miss Alaska. It’s big, wild, beautiful, and amazing. We drove as
far as we could go until we reached the ocean, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen
anything more beautiful. You don’t want to miss the wildlife and Mt. McKinley
either.
8.
Another place I’d like to go is Los Angeles. We flew over it on the way home
from Alaska, and it was so big it seemed to go on forever. I’d like to do all
the usual tourist things and maybe take the Pacific Coast Highway and drive up
to Seattle.
9.
Another place you’d love is Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. If you love
outlet shopping, music shows, great restaurants, and driving through some truly
beautiful landscapes, you really do need to check this place out. It isn’t far
from the Cherokee Indian Reservation, which you also shouldn’t miss.
10.
Last but not least, I really love Great Britain. We went there some years ago
and found it to be a delightful experience. I love history, and you can’t tour
Britain without getting a sense of history. The one thing I didn’t like was the
food, but if you love good food, I suggest Paris. I never ate anything I didn’t
like in Paris
AUTHOR BIO:
Elaine
Cantrell was born and raised in South Carolina where she obtained a master’s
degree in personnel services from Clemson University. She is a member of Alpha Delta Kappa, an
international honorary society for women educators and Romance Writers of
America. Her first novel, A New Leaf,
was the 2003 winner of the Timeless Love Contest. When she’s not writing or teaching, she
enjoys movies, quilting, reading, and collecting vintage Christmas
ornaments.
Find Elaine
at the following locations:
Giveaway:
$20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC
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your chances of winning.
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