Today on First Kiss Friday, we welcome romance author, Iris Blobel,
and an excerpt from the Contemporary Romance novel, “More Beginnings.”
Zach Taylor, an escort in Sydney, living
in Hobart, enlists the help of Natasha Peterson when his teenage friend, Mia,
runs away. He soon finds out that the ‘dragon’ is really more of a kitten. And
although Natasha, Mia’s teacher, is attracted to him as well, she has her own
problems to deal with, not to mention her initial reaction to Zach’s
occupation.
Will Zach’s job keep him from a chance
to be with Natasha?
Life is good for teenager Mia Levesque.
But when Darren Schuster shows up in Hobart, she knows something is up once
Sophie and Mark cut their weekend away short and rush home in the middle of the
night. When Sophie won’t answer Mia’s questions, emotions run high, and Zach
confirms Darren’s identity to Mia. Disappointed, angry, and feeling alone, Mia
runs away.
Will life settle back into a routine for
Mia once she finds out about the stranger in her life?
New Beginnings have given the Levesque
girls a new start in life, will “More Beginnings” be another chance for them?
First Kiss Excerpt
Zach reached for his mobile in
his pocket and flipped it open. First ring. Second ring. Third ring. No answer.
“Mark. Zach here. Call me with an
update. Cheers.”
“Not answering?” Natasha
enquired.
“What was your first clue?” Zach
asked, tossing the phone onto the dash.
She shot him a glare. “Don't be a
smart arse.”
He pulled in his lips and clamped
his jaw shut, before he muttered an apology. “It’s been one bad day. I suppose
my nerves are as tight as a drawn bowstring.”
A quick glance at her told him
she understood. She placed her hand on his leg causing him to flinch in
surprise. A sudden jolt went through his body, and the hairs on the back of his
neck started to rise.
He turned to her as he stopped at
the red light.
“I understand.”
Zach gulped.
“So let’s focus. Not Mark either.
Would she have gone to the man who says he’s her father?”
“He is her father.”
“Does Daddy have a name?”
Trying to focus on the problem at
hand, Zach gently placed his hand over hers, their fingers entwining playfully.
Staring at their hands, he replied, “Darren Schuster.”
She was quiet, and he turned his
gaze to Natasha and met her eyes dead-on. He leaned in close and spoke softly,
“Once this is sorted, I really need to take you out to dinner.”
Equally quietly spoken, she
replied, “It’s against our rules to date family members of our students.”
“I’m the babysitter,” he told her
as he touched her lips with his own.
“Well, lucky me.”
But their tender moment was interrupted
by a cabdriver honking his horn. Zach jerked, cursed, and drove on. Still
stirred by the kiss, he rummaged through his jeans pockets for Darren’s card.
Once he had his number in front of him, he dialled and waited for an answer.
“It’s Zach here.”
“How’s Sophie?” Darren asked.
“No news, yet.” Zach sighed.
“Have you seen Mia by any chance since this afternoon?”
He heard background noises and
assumed Darren was in an eatery or similar.
“Yes. In fact she left only a few
minutes ago.”
“Fuck, isn’t anything going right
today?” He pulled over to park near the pavement. “Did she say where she was
going? Was she upset?”
There was the pinging noise of a
lift in the background, and Zach hoped that Darren wasn’t stupid enough to
enter. The phone connection would be dead instantly.
“I wouldn’t call it upset, more
overwhelmed. And sorry, no, she simply left.”
Zach was about to hang up when he
heard Darren repeat his question. “How’s Sophie?”
He flipped the phone closed, not
caring about Darren.
Sophie! Damn it.
Zach’s emotions were in an
overdrive. Never had he experienced anything like this before. He worried about
Sophie and about the little unborn baby. Yet, he was still annoyed with her for
not coming clean with her sister.
And he was worried about, as well
as angry with Mia for running away!
He shook his head and noticed
Natasha moving next to him. Such bad timing, he thought. He rested his head on
the steering wheel, eyes closed. The memories of their brief kiss poured back
like a movie running in his head, rushing warmth through his body.
Concentrating to stay focussed on his search for Mia, he tried hard to think
where she could’ve gone now. It had been a bad move to hang up on Darren.
He should’ve asked what they’d
talked about, what he had told Mia, and whether he’d offered her to take her
home. Was she on her way home? Alone?
“Zach?”
“Uh-huh?”
“Your phone.”
His phone was buzzing. Mark! With
his fingers flicking all the buttons, he answered but was too late.
“Crap! Someone tell me this isn’t
happening.”
Mark had left a message. All was
okay. Sophie was okay, considering the circumstances. Still in labour and more
than exhausted. The doctors were keeping a close eye on her in regard to her
fatigue and were hoping the baby wouldn’t start to stress.
He inhaled deeply, but without
looking at Natasha, he sighed. “One problem under control. Sophie is okay
considering all, but the baby’s not behaving and still snuggled up inside. Must
be the Levesque gene.”
“More Beginnings” is available through:
Thank you, Bonnie, for sharing Zach's first kiss to your readers ♥
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your wonderful excerpt!
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