Today on First Kiss Friday, we welcome romance author, Iris
Blobel, and an excerpt from her Contemporary Romance novel, “Fresh Beginnings.”
Jared Fraser, a landscape
business owner in Hobart, Australia, sets out for a holiday to the USA to
travel along the Route 66 in a motorhome. Looking
forward to his first holiday overseas, he’s excited as he prepares himself for
the journey. But little could’ve prepared him for crossing paths with a
beautiful hitchhiker.
Will he
be able to put his past aside and grab onto happiness?
Ivy Bennett thought leaving her
boyfriend would be the hard part. It doesn’t take long to figure out how wrong
she was. As she struggles with making a new start in her life, the last person
she expects to lead her to happiness is a laid-back Australian on vacation.
But she will have
to say goodbye again? And not only to Jared.
First Kiss Excerpt
Her cheeks coloured a soft pink, and he
watched her trying to hide it by looking away. There was no denying he was
attracted to her, but wanting her was taboo.
They walked back to the motorhome and
prepared a couple of simple sandwiches. With a beautiful day, Jared retrieved
some chairs, and they ate outside. In silence.
He couldn’t believe he was sitting in America
having lunch with this gorgeous girl who he’d met only a day earlier.
“A penny for your thoughts.”
Ivy’s question hauled him back into the
moment.
He winked. “Sittin’ in America with a nice
girl.”
Her laugh was music to his ears. “Do you have
a girl at home?”
“Would I be sittin’ here with you?”
She tugged a stray strand of hair behind her
ear.
“Nah, no girl. Haven’t got time for that.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Jared choked back a chuckle as he stood. “Ya
think you know me?”
“I think deep inside this Aussie bloke wants
a girl.”
He spun around to answer, finding her right
in front of him. She’d followed him inside with her dishes. Her cheeks were
slightly pink from the sun, and her chocolate brown eyes were staring up at
him. There was hardly any space between them, and it would have taken only the
slightest move for his lips to be on hers. The idea played in his mind for a
moment and, the way her breath came out in shallow gasps, he could tell she was
having the same thought.
“Once burnt, twice shy,” he said faintly.
“She left you?”
Ivy was still close, and her posture told him
she wasn’t uncomfortable at all with the situation.
As he leaned in a little bit more, he
replied, “Yup.”
“Why?” Her voice was so quiet he nearly
missed the question.
“I snore.”
Ivy snorted and burst into laughter, and his
mouth curved upwards. He’d averted the situation nicely. There was no way he
was going to kiss her. No way to start a little flirt and hurt her even more.
Or even hurt himself. He could see himself falling for her. To him she was a
beautiful woman, both inside and out. Her brown eyes drew him in, made him wish
there could be so much more between them. He imagined his fingers entangled in
her wild, curly blond hair. And he would have loved to taste her skin with his
tongue.
Letting out a small sigh, he stepped back and
grabbed a soft drink.
“Thanks,” she said.
He met her gaze, not knowing what the thanks
had been for.
“For being a gentleman and not taking
advantage of the situation.”
Her comment made him pause. And, quite to his
surprise, she stepped closer and touched his lips with hers. Damn, she tasted
even better than he’d imagined. Sweet. Sexy.
“What are you doin’?” he asked against her
lips.
She blinked a couple of times and increased
the distance between them. “I… I’m—” A heavy sigh escaped her.
He stepped closer, gently cupped her face,
and studied her through a haze of desire. “Never ever apologise for a kiss,
mate.”
Her eyes were like an open book, telling him
she worried about being stuck in a National Park far away from the nearest
town.
“I… I don’t—”
He leaned in and kissed her. Slow and easy.
Her warm lips against his own and a soft moan as he parted for her and took the
kiss deeper. He savoured the moment, especially as it’d been years since a kiss
had stirred so many emotions in him. Emotions that had lain dormant somewhere
so far inside and hidden away he had often contemplated whether he’d ever find
them again.
Yet, Ivy didn’t have any problems locating
the direct route.
“Fresh Beginnings” is available through:
thank you, Bonnie, for sharing Jared and Ivy's first kiss with your readers. I hope you all enjoyed the little teaser ♥
ReplyDeleteWonderful teaser. Thanks so much for sharing!
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