Jinxed (26 page)

About the Author

Inez Kelley writes what she reads, which is pretty much anything with a romantic flair. Deep in the boonies of Appalachia, she lives with her hero, three school-age sequels and two cats. Following the logic of her scattered mind, she took her honors-level advertising degree and became first a restaurant manager and then an E911 dispatcher. Finally the voices in her head became too loud to ignore.

She now divides her time between creating stories that touch your heart and picking up piles of dirty underwear and socks off the floor, since no one in her family has the ability to actually hit the clothes hamper. The NBA is safe from her genes.

Stop by
www.inezkelley.com
and drop her a note! Or you can check out one of two blogs:
www.chicks-n-scratching.com
or
http://talesfromthecrit.wordpress.com/

Look for these titles by Inez Kelly

Coming Soon:

Myla by Moonlight

She’s got the heat. He’s got the kitchen. Together, they’ve got trouble cookin’.

Let’s Dish

© 2009 Catherine Wade

Maggie Donnely has problems no Food Network star ever had to deal with. Her coffee shop is running in the red, her EPT just turned pink, and keeping her business partners in line is making her blue in the face. A run-in with her old cooking school nemesis is the last thing she needs.

Kevin Best is a blast from the past with more than Maggie’s mouth-watering recipes on his mind. He knows he made one big mistake with her, but she’s got no idea just how far he’ll go to put her heart back on the menu.

When Maggie loses her shop to a fire, and her partners to a stupid mistake, she’s forced to turn to Kevin to help her win a contest that could save her bacon. Friendless, desperate—and with the proverbial bun in the oven—it’s a choice that could change the rest of her life. If she can learn to love again.

What’s the old saying about too many cooks? Maggie’s about to find out…the hard way.

Warning: This book contains graphic depictions of baking, gratuitous bread-kneading, Oreos with lemonade, smart women with smarter mouths, and the occasional flying squid.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Let’s Dish:

That afternoon, the doctor confirmed everything I already knew. I was pregnant. Oh, joy. In my pocket was a crumpled piece of paper. It was a simple prescription for prenatal vitamins, but to me it represented so much more. It was a commitment.

Or a sign I needed to be committed. I wasn’t quite sure which.

I headed to the supermarket with the least nosey pharmacist and proceeded to weave my way through aisles and aisles of jarring reminders. Baby food, baby bottles, diapers. Why couldn’t the pharmacy be near the chips and ice cream section?

Just as I was getting comfortable with the sinking feeling of impending doom, I turned a corner and came face-to-face with a familiar leather jacket. Face-to-back, actually, so he hadn’t spotted me. Kevin was hovering over the coffee section, five different cans in his cart. I froze in my tracks, wondering if I could somehow slip unnoticed back the way I’d come. My hesitation, however, turned out to be fatal.

He must have sensed me behind him, because his head swiveled around and he caught my eye. “Maggie. Hi.” There was surprise in his voice, but I noticed his shoulders droop a fraction of an inch. Wasn’t he glad to see me? I mean it wasn’t like I was going out of my way to be nice to him or anything, but he was the one who insisted on stalking me. A chance meeting should be a happy thing. For him.

“Uh, hi.” I was too busy trying to figure out how to extricate myself to think up a snappy retort.

He scrutinized me, perhaps surprised that I hadn’t bolted the second I saw him. It’s not that I didn’t want to, but I seemed glued to the spot. “You okay?” he asked.

“Why?” My hand made its way into my pocket, self-consciously fingering the prescription.

“You look a little pale. And when Lyla said you were out this afternoon—”

“You talked to Lyla? What did she say?”

Kevin stared at me. “Nothing. Just that you weren’t feeling well.”

“Yeah.”
Paranoid much
? I scolded myself. Lyla hadn’t outed me. She’d promised not to say anything, but she had an insane streak when it came to Kevin. Still, if this was the way I reacted to a simple question, I’d soon out myself.

“Nothing serious, I hope.”

Oh, if he only knew. “Don’t think this is your big break or anything. We’re not going anywhere. Flu or no flu, we’re still in business.”

“I didn’t say you weren’t.” He was putting on his innocent look again, his bright eyes calm and clear like a forest lake. I wasn’t buying it.

How dare he catch me trying to sneak to the pharmacy?
“What are you doing tracking me down at the grocery store, anyway?” I asked. “Don’t you own a business? Or do you ever actually cook there?”

He grinned. “Hard to find time to cook, what with all the time I devote to
tracking you down
.” He made little quote marks in the air and tilted his head from side to side as he imitated my tone.

“Ha ha. Very funny.”

“But a wise woman once told me there are bakeries in grocery stores.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and bounced on the balls of his feet. He looked like a little kid waiting for a treat.

“This is the coffee aisle.”

“Uh oh. You’ve discovered my secret.” He leaned close and I felt his breath on my cheek. “Sometimes I drink coffee with Danishes.”

My eyes rolled back and I shook my head. “Whatever. I have to go.”

I took a step backward and turned to leave, only to hear from behind me, “Don’t you want to know why I called?”

Despite my better judgment, I turned to face Kevin again. “Not really.”
What a liar.

Kevin’s smile waned. “Listen, I’d love to stand here and mess with you all day, but the truth is I felt bad about how things ended this morning.”

“Ended is right. I’m happy to live the rest of my days without listening to any more of your malarkey.” My tone was sharper than I’d intended, and my mother’s guilt-trip tapes played in my head. But Mom never planned on Kevin Best coming along. He wasn’t exactly getting the hint that I wanted him out of my life and, if possible, the galaxy. Being polite was not going to cut it.

“Maggie, I know we don’t have the best history, but I’ve never lied to you. In fact, I may have been too honest in the past and pointed out something you weren’t ready to see yet.”

Immaturity as self-defense kicked in and I crossed my arms to pout. “I have no idea what you’re babbling on about.”

“Yes, you do. But I don’t want to drag up the past. I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry about this morning. I shouldn’t have come to see you so early. Before either of us had had our coffee.” He shot me a wink, and I clenched my fist.

“And here I thought I’d finally gotten rid of you.” I was still pouting. It was working for me. I wasn’t ready to give it up yet. “After all, I’m not worth it.”

“Maybe I decided I’m not ready to give up on you yet.” One side of his mouth slid upward. “You’re worth a whole mess of trouble.”

That’s when the floor dropped out from under me. Or at least my stomach, because it felt like it plunged fifty feet and landed with a wet thwack. There I was, mute, with a million things running through my head. And I couldn’t say a damned one of them. Instead I just stood there, and it only occurred to me after what felt like a million years to pick up my damned jaw to shut my mouth.

Kevin’s gaze pierced me, and the goofy grin diminished. “I know you’re at a vulnerable place in your life right now.”

“You don’t know the half of it, mister,” I mumbled.

Kevin cocked an eyebrow. “I’m sorry?”

I was at a crossroads. He was trying to reach out. He was trying to make things right. Then I realized he was also trying to run my business into the ground and came back to my senses.

“You’re damned right you’re sorry,” I said. “What’s it going to take to convince you I don’t like you? I don’t want your sympathy, and I don’t want you.”

Kevin pursed his lips. He seemed to be trying hard to be patient. And I was trying hard to be trying. But his expression shifted, his gaze turning intense. “You will.”

If we hadn’t been in a public place where there’d be witnesses, I probably would have decked him. Knocked out his teeth until he had to gum his freaking Danishes. “Why are you such a jackass?”

He let out a laugh that sounded half amused, half exasperated. “A jackass? I’m trying to make nice.”

“I don’t need your nice. Go make nice with Angela.”

Kevin moved a step closer, his expression darkening. “Is that the real problem? You have some idea about Angela and me?”

“I don’t care what you and Angela are doing,” I said. But I couldn’t convince my knees, which were threatening to wobble.

He frowned at me a moment, seeming to debate with himself just how far to push me. Discretion being the better part of valor, one would think he’d start arguing again. But he didn’t. “I hope you feel better soon. Have Armand make you some chicken soup. You need your strength.”

“To kick your ass.”

“If you need to.” He moved even closer, his body mere inches from mine. Something in my belly flickered as he leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Here’s a secret, Maggie. I’m not the enemy.” He lingered a moment, letting his body heat sink in.

Out of the blue, I was dizzy and the world swam around me. The air between us was filled with the scent of his leather jacket and blazed with intensity. I couldn’t drop my gaze from his, and my cheeks burned red hot.

“I need cereal,” I said.

Kevin’s brow cocked. “Cereal?”

In desperation, my eyes landed on a box of Fruitie Ohs and I grabbed for it. “For Jack. Lyla sent me to get cereal for Jack.”

“Good. Cereal’s good.” Kevin wasn’t backing down, and I could see in his eyes he was mentally chalking up a victory.

At last, I broke the magnetic field that had formed between us and looked into his cart. “That brand of coffee is crap.” I shot him a defiant stare and stomped off in the opposite direction. Ha! Chalk one up for me.

I am so pathetic.

Bypassing the pharmacy, I got the hell out of the store as fast as I could. “You might not be the enemy,” I said to myself. “But you sure as hell are the devil.” I pulled the slip of paper out of my pocket and stared at it. “I wonder if you can take a lethal dose of prenatal vitamins?”

An unforgettable man. Irresistible temptation. One last chance to get it right.

Kiss Me Again

© 2008 Dee Tenorio

Magazine layout artist Kira Weston knows all about frustration. She wasted three years loving Ethan Roarke, a man who played her body like a fine instrument—but wouldn’t let her anywhere near his heart.

She doesn’t believe for a second that Ethan needs her to pretend they’ve reunited in order to deflect his boss’s carnal advances. Once Kira realizes he thinks she’s dating a gigolo, however, the urge to teach him a lesson is more than she can resist.

She only meant to torment him with seduction without fruition, but suddenly revenge is the last thing on her mind. This could the one chance she long dreamed of when they were together—to finally break down Ethan’s emotional walls.

Or get over him once and for all.

Warning: Includes sensuous torture of a guy who seriously has it coming…or would like to!

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Kiss Me Again:

“Who are you and what have you done with my ex?” Kira asked.

“Stuffed him in a box and shipped him to Timbuktu?”

She could really go for this cocky side of him. It made her feel a little reckless. A little wild.

“But if you’re not interested, I understand,” Ethan said, taking her from her mental warfare right as she was setting her cross-hairs. “It was a crazy idea. You go back to dating your new boyfriend and I’ll see if someone else around here might be able to help me out.”

“My…my what?” Someone else? Wasn’t it bad enough he had Rita pawing the blood out of him? And what did he mean her new boyfriend?

Oh, God, had he talked to Charley?

“I heard about you and Devin Hanson the other night.”

The Sicilian was toast. “You think I’m dating another man? Already?” How could he think that? How could he even imagine? The urge to smack him was nearly as strong as the urge to blow him sky high with his own idiot plan.

“No.” He crossed his arms, making the muscles in his still exposed chest flex beneath the open shirt. Totally illegal use of physical attraction.

She ground her teeth and waited for him to continue.

He didn’t disappoint. “I think you’re sleeping with one.”

Why the smug sonofa— “I am
not
sleeping with Devin Hanson,” she growled, tightening her hands into fists that itched to throttle him. She’d been without sex for six aching months, and if Betsy’s desperation to pair her off with Devin was any indication, most people could tell. “Don’t you think if I was sleeping with him I’d
look
like I was sleeping with him?”

“Well…” He took a second to look her up and down, his lips twitching as he considered. “You do look a little sour.”

“Because I was saving your ass from the Wicked Witch of the Sixth Floor!” He better not have any plans for his testicles because they were going to be kicked up to his throat in a minute.

“Seventh floor.”

“Whatever!” she snapped, pushing against his chest so she could take a deep breath without having to touch him. Then she pushed again until he gave her a whole foot of space. “Who I sleep with is none of your business.”

“I know it’s not.”

“All you need to know is that I’m not sleeping with
you
.”

“Duly noted.”

She could happily kill him. String him up and kick him until he begged for mercy. Except he wasn’t even arguing. Typical Ethan. Rile her up, then leave her there alone. And he wondered why she wouldn’t share her ice cream after an argument.

She should go home and be perfectly capable of moving on after this. Hell, she should call Devin and tell him she wanted numbers one, two, twenty-seven and fifty-two on his weird little menu, and see how long it took to do all the others.

But all she wanted to do was crack that smooth veneer of his and get to the man beneath—if only to strangle him.

“As long as that’s clear, then I don’t think we’ll have a problem.”

He frowned, his eyes darting to the side as he most likely tried to figure out where his train jumped the tracks. “Does that mean you’ll do it?”

“Oh, I’ll do it.” She brought a fingertip to the edge of his collarbone and dragged it down the middle of his chest. Then pressed herself against him like a kitten to the sunlight. His eyebrows disappeared into his hairline and it was all she could do not to laugh. “But I want something out of this arrangement, too.”

She could tell the instant he thought he knew what she meant. His eyes warmed and his smile widened with an “I knew it” grin. “Maybe we could come up with a workable situation for both of us. I doubt Devin knows how to take care of your needs the way I do. You deserve more than some pointless rebound relationship based on nothing but sex.”

When she spoke, breathy against his cheek, it was in a voice she knew could get his eyes rolling in his head. “Are you offering to rebound me, Ethan?”

He nodded, slowly. “You could call it that.”

She smiled, already back in her panzer, flicking the protective cover from the brightly glowing “Fire” button. “Would you give me everything I ever wanted in a lover?” she asked, as if she were still ruminating.

“Anything.” His voice sounded the way it did when they were in bed, his body nestled deep inside hers while he asked questions just to hear her scream
yes
.

He wouldn’t hear that today.

“You’ll be my rebound and I’ll be your what? You don’t need me to tell Rita to go to hell.” She allowed their bodies to rub close, sensitizing every vulnerable nerve ending.

“You’ll get me past the Wicked Witch and in to see the wizard. If I can’t get this business off the ground by the new year, that’s my problem.” He moved his hips gently against hers, taking her earlobe between his teeth to nip lightly. “We both know I can give you what you need.”

When he did that, she wanted to pull him closer or, better yet, to the floor, but she was a woman on a mission. “If I do this,” she continued, smoothing her hands up his chest, feeling his lungs expand beneath the warm, rippling muscle. She held the words in a moment longer to enjoy the sensation of blowing him out of the water. There was a solid ka-boom as she opened her mouth and pushed the mental “Fire” button. “No sex.”

He let go of her ear, pulling away like he’d swallowed her earring and got it lodged in his throat.

“For the next month or so you’d have to be the lover you weren’t when we were together. Attentive, exciting and passionate
outside
the bedroom. You’d have to take me out and make me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. Satisfy my every desire…which is to be wanted, by the way. Not had. It’s to be talked to. Openly. Honestly. In return, I’ll play your adoring fiancée until you can get Rita to leave you alone or the year plays out.”

“That’s not even six weeks.”

She nodded. “Still have those enviable math skills, I see.” She moved past, turning him at the shoulders and allowing her body to graze his with a little return torture before heading forward to the door with the switch to her hips that had never before failed to make him ache.

“The deal’s over after New Year’s. Take it or leave it.” She didn’t want to give him time to think about it. She wanted him working on instinct. Impulse. Need. Ethan with time to think was an Ethan with time to escape. So, she kept her back turned and no matter what he said, she had every intention of leaving.

He actually managed to hold out until she opened the door to his office, just like she knew he would.

“I’ll take it.”