Today on First Kiss Friday, we welcome romance
author, Ginger Sharp, and an excerpt from her Contemporary Romance, “Stalemate.”
Tony Verducci is a single father with a
brooding Jersey-sized chip on his shoulder about life, love, and women. Cassi
York is a trusting California Girl who expects the best out of everyone and is
slowly becoming disillusioned about romance and men.
When these two lost neighbors meet, sparks fly, tempers flare, and both learn to deal with the baggage in their mutual lives. Stalemate is a modern-day story about how opposites attract regardless of their rocky pasts and present situations.
Can Tony and Cassi prove that love can always find a way, or will they lose each other in the rough waters of New Jersey?
When these two lost neighbors meet, sparks fly, tempers flare, and both learn to deal with the baggage in their mutual lives. Stalemate is a modern-day story about how opposites attract regardless of their rocky pasts and present situations.
Can Tony and Cassi prove that love can always find a way, or will they lose each other in the rough waters of New Jersey?
First Kiss Excerpt
Driving
home with urgency from work, I park my car. Running up the stairs to discover
there’s a note taped to the door of my apartment that I tear down as I am going
inside. My apartment is free of my daughter and Cassi.
I
go back to the note and read it out loud,
‘Tony,
I
had an emergency at work. Please come to NJVH for Izzy. The address is 19 Essex
Street, Neptune City, NJ.
Hopefully,
we get home before you see this note,
Cassi.’
Pacing
in my kitchen, I’m shocked and angered that Cassi took my child to this NJVH
place in the middle of the night. I try to call her cell phone, but she’s not
answering. Entering in the location address to my phone and I see that it is
less than two miles away. I race down the stairs, leaving to go pick up my
daughter.
Angrily
driving and locating the building, I don’t waste time as I hastily move through
the doors. A tired receptionist behind the welcome desk perks up in her place.
Glaring
her down, very agitated. “I’m looking for Cassi York?”
The
receptionist grins as she stares down at my chest, and then back up to my face.
She plucks up her phone and makes a call. After a few minutes, Cassi appears in
front of me wearing hospital scrubs.
She
gestures for me to follow her. Cassi walks to an employee lounge where Izzy is
sleeping on their sofa.
Crossing
my arms into my chest, I’m about to reprimand Cassi for taking my daughter out
in the middle of the night. I can see the weary look on Cassi’s face. I bend
down, picking Izzy up from the couch.
Cassi
jerks her head, motioning for me to follow her. She directs me out a back door
into the parking lot. She opens my car door for me, so I can place Izzy down on
the seat. I seatbelt her in and lightly close the door.
Spinning
around and glaring, “You had no right taking Izzy from my apartment. I trusted
you to watch her.”
Cassi
closes her eyes squeezing them shut, “Tony, I’m very sorry. I received an
emergency call and I had to bring Izzy with me. My staff loved having her and
she was well cared for by all of us. You know this is the nature of my job.”
Shaking
my head, “No, I don’t know. What do you do and why was that woman calling you
doctor?”
Cassi
sharply inhales, “Tony, I ‘am’ a doctor, a veterinarian. I specialize in exotic
animals, mostly reptiles and amphibians, but all other animals as well.”
Crossing
my arms, leaning on my car, I speak sternly, “You’re telling me that this
emergency could not wait until the morning for a stupid animal?”
She
shakes her head, sighing as she speaks, “No Tony, the lizard would have died. I
had to diagnose and operate immediately. I must be getting back inside. I may
stay here until my shift starts. Again, I’m very sorry.” She turns and walks
away from me.
I
call out to her, “I can see that you’re tired. We’ll discuss this later.”
Cassi
stops short, harshly speaking out, “Tony, there’s nothing to discuss. Just let
it go and find yourself a new babysitter. Your daughter was safe the entire time
and never put in harm’s way. Please get over your arrogant brooding self.”
Opening
my eyes wide, “Wow, someone’s being a bitch.”
Cassi
takes a few steps toward me, and then angrily points, “Tony, I think I have
known you for a little over a week, and you do nothing but play games with my
head. You try to push me around and you also try to control me. I’m not yours
to control. If I want to cheat on Jason with some guy at a bar, then I will. I
don’t need you to protect me. As you can see, I’m a very big girl and if I want
to make mistakes, then I will. Our friendship ends right now and our favors
have been squared away.”
She
turns away from me again moving hastily toward the building.
My
brain is calling me a stupid-ass, but my emotions are disagreeing. I run after
her. My heart screams to be careful, but to go for it. Catching up to her,
grabbing her, and I spin her around to face me. I curl my fingers around the
nape of her neck, leaning in, and forcefully placing my lips to hers.
Cassi
tries to resist, but only for a moment. Pushing through her lips to get my
tongue into her mouth, I explore her tenderly.
Her
warm hands come up to my chest and slowly glide upwards, caressing me. After a
prolonged minute, she moans into our kiss. Breaking away slow, I then rest my
forehead to hers and listen to her accelerated breathing.
Whispering
to her, “There you go, you just cheated on Jason. I promise to never bother you
again, since we are no longer friends. Goodbye Cassi.” Rapidly moving away from
her to my car, climb inside and start the engine. As I drive away, I look in my
rearview mirror to see that Cassi hasn’t budged.
I
chuckle to myself wondering what Cassi must be thinking right now. Hopefully,
that was a kiss of a lifetime for her. Silly, stupid kid that she is for
messing with me. Cassi sure likes to play with fire. Well, it is over now this
little game that we both have been playing. I’m relieved, I think. That one
kiss shouldn’t get me into any trouble with Melinda, but she’ll not find out
about it anyway.
I
keep thinking about Cassi. That girl has a real job, a career. She maybe a
sexy, smart ass doctor, but she has no common sense. I really must turn off
these feelings that I have for her. I’m heavily attracted to the girl living
and sleeping just two doors down from my apartment. Things will improve for her
later today when she sees her boyfriend. We can move on from this little
attraction that we have. No harm done, since it was only one kiss.
“Stalemate” is available through:
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