Today on First Kiss Friday, we welcome romance author, PE Kavanagh, and an
excerpt from her Steamy Contemporary Romance, “Collecting Secrets (Friends & Lovers Book 1).”
A grieving heiress.
A celebrity psychologist.
A decade of friendship.
UNDONE.
When Camille first met Jackson
she was too young.
Too innocent.
Too traumatized.
Friendship was less than what she
wanted, but all she could handle.
Ten years later and she’s a
different woman. Strong, successful, brave.
At exactly the wrong moment, one
bold move threatens everything.
The safe harbor of Jackson’s
family.
The unconditional commitment of
his friendship.
The collection of secrets she
never knew existed.
Claims and confessions come hard
and fast as Jackson and Camille navigate all that has never been said.
With each step they
take, closer to the truth and each other, another layer of secrets must fall.
First Kiss Excerpt
This was not the first time Camille had looked
foolish, but it might have been the first time she didn’t care. Unable to find
her room key or hold back the torrent of tears, she plunked down onto the ugly
hotel carpet in front of her door and sobbed, loud and hard. With nothing but
the back of her hand to wipe away the tears and snot, the scene quickly
escalated from tragic to gruesome.
Heartbreak was no stranger. But this break-up was
beyond humiliating. How dare he? She had given him everything and he claimed it
wasn’t enough. He’d stood in the cold marble lobby and yelled at her. Accused
her of cheating. In front of everyone.
Humiliation mingled with anger and desperation,
halting any effort to pull herself together. They’d flown across the country to
attend this wedding and now she’d be conspicuously dateless in a room full of
happy couples. She tried to take a breath and choked on a new wave of tears.
A soft crush of footsteps stopped in front of her,
but Camille had no interest in lifting her head off her knees to look.
“Hey, Cam. What’s wrong?”
She knew that voice, as well as the gentle stroke of
his hand in her hair.
“Camille. You’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
His worry pierced through her pain and, with great
effort, she tilted her head up to see her best friend’s face inches from hers.
His eyes flashed to fear. “Camille! What happened?
Are you okay? Talk to me!”
It took so much energy to form words. “Calm down,
Jack. I'm okay.”
“You don’t look okay. Did something happen with
Charlie? Where is he?”
The questions were coming too fast for Camille’s
throbbing, blurry head. “He dumped me.” There, she said it. Out loud.
The line of his lips flattened and his breath
growled. Rage filled his expression. “That mother fu-”
Camille shook her head, trying to regain her
composure. “We flew all the way here and that bastard couldn’t even wait one
more day.”
Jackson’s mouth softened. “I'm so sorry.” He rubbed
his thumb across her cheek.
She looked into the warm brown eyes of her closest
friend, the man who’d been like a brother for the past ten years. This was how
she knew him best – kind, caring, and sweet. She didn’t care how the world saw
him. She had gotten to know the real man.
“Let’s get you up and into your room.” He slipped
his long arms under hers and stood her up. She fell into his broad chest,
melting into the arms that enveloped her.
“Where’s your key, love?” he whispered into the top
of her head.
She mumbled into his chest. “I couldn’t find it.”
Keeping a firm grip around her with one arm, Jackson
dipped down to pick her purse up off the ground. “Can I take a look?”
“Of course.” She had no secrets from him.
She winced when he had to unlock his arm from her
waist to search through her purse. Of course, he knew exactly where she would
have put the key: in the smallest zippered pocket.
He waved it in front of the magnetic pad and the
loud click confirmed his success.
As expected, the room had been cleared of all
Charlie’s belongings. His compulsiveness would have prevented him from
forgetting anything. Camille stepped away from Jackson to look around, hoping
to find a belt, or a tie, or even a tube of shaving cream. Any excuse to
contact him again. But there was nothing, not even a stray hair.
Charlie had almost snuck out without her knowing. If
she hadn’t had to leave the restaurant to go to the bathroom, she would never
have seen him, bags in hand, striding across the lobby.
Jackson stepped in front of her, halting her
examination of the room, and began wiping her eyes and nose with a tissue.
“I'm a mess.” Only the slightest tinge of
self-consciousness colored the moment. This was who they were and had always
been. He pressed the tissue across her nose and she blew, like a small child.
“No, Cam. You’re just hurting.” He balled up the
tissue and flicked it into the small metal bin to his right. “I know you’re
upset, love. But, personally, I'm glad he’s gone. He was never good enough for
you. And he reinforced his complete lack of class by doing this here. I mean,
he couldn’t have ended it before flying to Chicago with you?”
Camille dropped her head, another rush of tears
pressing against her eyes.
His broad palms cupped her face, tilting her up to
look at him. “Hey, hey, Cam. He has no idea what an amazing woman you are.
There are better things in your future. I know it.”
His shoulders lifted as he took a deep breath.
Something about the look on his face locked her attention on him. When he
touched his lips to hers, a first in their relationship, a tiny spark of
surprise jolted her awake. When he pressed in, more deeply, passionately and
deliberately, gripping her and parting her lips, there was no question a line
had been crossed.
A column of heat filled Camille’s
body as his mouth explored hers. She could not have imagined anything as
wonderful as that kiss in that moment. Until she remembered to whom that mouth
belonged.
“Collecting Secrets”
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