Lucky Charm
by Marie
Astor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Twenty-eight-year old Annabel Green is about to tie the knot with her
college love, an aspiring author Jeremy Blake, but her plans for an ideal
wedding are rudely interrupted when she catches Jeremy kissing his gorgeous
book agent.
Shell-shocked by Jeremy’s betrayal, Annabel retreats into the quiet
routine of TV dinners and solitary evenings. It is then that Annabel’s best
friend, fashion designer Lilly Clayton, sets herself on a mission to draw
Annabel out of her shell. In an attempt to persuade Annabel to keep an open
mind on dating, Lilly takes Annabel for a stunning makeover, but after Annabel
passes on a date with a dashing entrepreneur, Lilly decides that more drastic
measures are needed. Lilly invites Annabel to see a palm reader who gives
Annabel a lucky charm that is supposed to help her find true love.
A few weeks later, Annabel meets a new love interest, and as the two
embark on a whirlwind romance, she starts to believe in the power of the talisman
the palm reader has given her. But what Annabel doesn’t know is that Lilly is
hiding a secret that could unravel her faith in her newly found luck in love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
It was almost eight o’clock when
Annabel heard the key turn in the front door lock. She had dozed off without
realizing it. The noise startled her, and she jumped off the couch, hastily
adjusting her now slightly crumpled outfit in place. The candles had almost
burned down to the core, and she blew them out, thankful that she woke up in
time. She straightened up and, feeling a sudden jolt of adrenaline, hurried to
greet Jeremy as the front door began to open.
“Well, hello there.” Annabel leaned
against the wall, doing her best to strike a seductive pose, praying all the
while that she did not look ridiculous.
“Wow, babe!” Jeremy’s jaw dropped
as he stepped inside. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a corduroy jacket
with leather patches on the elbows. It was his attire of choice: polished and
presentable, without trying too hard, as he liked to describe it. However, this
time he did not look as collected as usual. His jacket was creased and his hair
was tousled. “You did all of this for me?” Jeremy slid his hefty laptop case
off his shoulder and placed it on the floor as he leaned over to give Annabel a
quick peck on the lips.
Well,
whom else? Annabel wondered, taken aback by Jeremy’s reaction. It was far
from the response she had been expecting.
“You don’t like it? It’s too much
isn’t it?”
“No, no! I love it! You look great.
Turn around, let me have a look at you.” Jeremy plopped himself on the couch.
“Ah, Ann, you got Hine too! You are too good to me, you know that?”
“Yeah, well, I wanted to surprise
you.” Annabel perched herself next to Jeremy.
“And you lit candles, too.” Jeremy
motioned at the blown out candles. “I’m sorry for being so late. There was some
kind of outage with the Metro-North and we were stuck for over two hours. I
tried to call you, but there was no signal on my cell.”
“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry about
it. The night is still young.” Annabel slid closer to Jeremy and nuzzled his
neck.
“Hey, Ann, can I take a rain check?
Don’t get me wrong. You look great. It’s just that I’m dead tired.”
“Yes, sure. No problem. I should
have thought about that.” Annabel rose from the couch. Suddenly, she felt
incredibly ridiculous and could not wait to get the itchy, uncomfortable lace
off of her.
“Hey, baby, I’m sorry! You are not
mad, are you?” Jeremy rushed after her as she ducked into the alcove of the
studio that was their bedroom, drawing the curtain that served as a makeshift
door. “Come out and let’s have some of that cognac.” Jeremy resumed his place
on the couch. “Ah, Ann, you got Hine too! You are too good to me, you know
that?”
“Yeah, well, I wanted to surprise
you.” Annabel perched herself next to Jeremy.
“And you lit candles, too.” Jeremy
motioned at the blown out candles. “I’m sorry for being so late. There was some
kind of outage with the Metro-North and we were stuck for over two hours. I
tried to call you, but there was no signal on my cell.”
“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry about
it. The night is still young.” Annabel slid closer to Jeremy and nuzzled his
neck.
“Hey, Ann, can I take a rain check?
Don’t get me wrong. You look great. It’s just that I’m dead tired.”
“Yes, sure. No problem. I should
have thought about that.” Annabel rose from the couch. Suddenly, she felt
incredibly ridiculous and could not wait to get the itchy, uncomfortable lace
off of her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Marie Astor
is the author of contemporary romance novels This Tangled Thing Called Love,
Lucky Charm, On the Rim of Love, romantic suspense, To Catch a Bad Guy, and a
short story collection, A Dress in a
Window. Marie is also the author of young adult fantasy adventure novel, Over
the Mountain and Back.
If you would
like to learn more about Marie’s writing, please stop by her website:
www.marieastor.com or visit her on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection
Books by
Marie Astor:
This Tangled
Thing Called Love – a contemporary romance about overcoming one’s inhibitions,
learning to tango, and finding one’s true love match.
Lucky Charm –
a humorous contemporary romance about love, luck and friendship.
On the Rim of
Love – a contemporary romance about the unexpected power of love.
A Dress in a
Window – a collection of short stories about love, coincidences, and fate.
http://www.amazon.com/A-Dress-Window-ebook/dp/B004E112TO/ref=pd_sim_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2
Over the
Mountain and Back – young adult fantasy adventure novel about a boy who takes
his snowboard for a ride and finds himself in a magical, hidden world he never
knew existed.
Social Media
Links:
Website:
http://www.marieastor.com/
Twitter:
@marieastor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY:
Marie
will be awarding to five randomly drawn commenters at the end of the tour (US
ONLY), one of the following five custom-designed jewelry prizes:
Prize 1:
Smoky quartz necklace with sterling silver flower clasp
Prize 2:
Lapis and labradorite necklace with sterling silver clasp
Prize 3:
Kayanite and turquoise sterling silver necklace
Prize 4:
Onyx and red agate sterling silver bracelet
Prize 5:
Jade, amber and red agate necklace
Follow the tour and comment; the more
you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found
here:
I love the name Annabel. I don't have any kids, but I had a dream that if I had a daughter, I'd name her Annabelle and she's be Annabelle Lee. Marie...I love your spunky, real heroines but you do write a lot of male JERKS. Is there something to that? I get the sense that maybe you've known your share of jerks?? Happy Friday.
ReplyDeletecatherinelee100 at gmail dot com
Nice excerpt, though is it supposed to repeat like that?
ReplyDeletetiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com
I'm enjoying reading these different excerpts from the book. Thank you & I'm looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDelete