Discover the world of Jennifer Shirk in their new release, From Fake to Forever and remember to enter the giveaway at the end of the post for a chance to win an Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card from the author. The tour is sponsored by Goddess Fish and you can find all the stops HERE
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Sandra Moyer’s preschool is
struggling, so she reluctantly agrees to let super-famous actor Ben Capshaw
research a role there. Ben’s always joking around, never serious, but there’s
something about the buttoned-up, beautiful Sandra and her young daughter that
makes him want to take life more seriously. But Sandra won’t trust him—what if
it’s all an act, research for the role? As the lines between make-believe and
reality blur, Ben will have to decide if love is worth casting aside the role
of his life for a new role…that could last a lifetime.
Excerpt:
From
the corner of her eye, Sandra Moyer noticed a tall, bearded man leaning against
the playground fence and automatically tensed. Because she was a single mom and
alone, her paranoid nature already labeled him a felon, although technically he
was doing nothing wrong. In fact, come to think of it, he had a pretty nice
body with those real-life Hulk arms and broad chest. She didn’t know what that
made her for noticing something like that about a man she assumed was on some
Family Watchdog list, but the phrase “cheap and desperate” came to mind.
Since
when did I start ogling the physiques of strange men?
Her
shoulders wilted as she brooded over that question. She obviously needed to get
out more. She needed to just get out. The problem was she didn’t see herself
doing that any time soon. Her self-esteem had hit rock bottom and hadn’t been
able to locate its way back up since the day she’d found Steve cheating on her
with one of his costars.
An
unpleasant picture of her ex-husband lip-locked with a Julianne Moore–type redhead
popped into her mind, and she shuddered.
Actors.
Did their profession ever mesh with reality?
The
answer to that was a resounding no. Unfortunately, she’d learned that one the
hard way. Steve had even thought she’d understand the main reason he had the
affair was for the publicity and what it could do for his career and income.
Like that was supposed to make her feel so much better about it.
“Mommy,
I want to play in the sandbox.”
Her
daughter’s voice pulled her from those depressing thoughts, and she gratefully
looked down. “Okay, honey. Just five more minutes, though.”
Hannah
squealed and dashed through the playground as fast as her little legs could
run. Sandra couldn’t help but smile. Life was so simple when you were four. The
little things kept you happy. And why not? Four-year-olds didn’t think about
paying the rent or overdue bills. Things that were constantly on her mind ever
since she’d opened the preschool with her sister. No, the only thing you
worried about at that age was whether Mommy would give you ice cream if you
didn’t eat your string beans.
She’d
kill for that kind of stress again.
Unfortunately,
the thought of homicide had her eyes traveling back to the well-built man she’d
been ogling earlier. He was tossing around a football with a young boy now.
Nothing illegal, but something was off. She had a sixth sense when it came to
protecting her daughter, and right now it was telling her something big. Like
he’d just gotten out of prison. It must have been a whopper of a sentence, too,
judging from the long, scraggly hair and the kind of beard and mustache Santa
Claus would envy. She never made a habit of associating with men who looked
liked convicts, but there was something familiar about him…
She
doubted he had a child enrolled in her preschool. Story time at the public
library? She highly doubted that, too. He didn’t exactly look like the loving
Father Knows Best type, considering that fire-breathing skull on his calf
wasn’t designed to instill tenderness. At least he was out spending time with
his son, which was a lot more than what her daughter was getting from her own
father.
As
if her thoughts had been telepathically sent out, the man in question cast a
lingering gaze over in her direction. And he smiled.
Oh.
My. Goodness.
Oh,
no, don’t even think about it. Don’t you dare come over here. She fumbled to
put her sunglasses back on and almost punched out a lens. Please stay where you
are. He’d better be a jolly person being his usual overly friendly self and not
just leering at her. But she laid odds on the latter.
What
was it with her? She could attract a creep from the next state over without
even trying. A talent she’d gladly relinquish.
She
flopped down on a bench. Opening her purse, she yanked out a book and hid her
face behind it. If she pretended to be engrossed in reading, maybe the man
would reconsider trying to strike up a conversation. Yeah, that’s all she
needed—some ex-con cozying up to her.
Confident
her glasses hid her eyes, she lowered the book a half inch and sneaked another
peek. Tall, Dark, and Scraggly had his back to her now. Relief enveloped her.
Thank goodness, she thought, slowly letting out a breath.
One
deadbeat per lifetime was enough.
Buy at:
https://www.amazon.com/Fake-Forever-Jennifer-Shirk-ebook/dp/B01F1YMJNK/
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jennifer Shirk has a
bachelor degree in pharmacy-which has in NO WAY at all helped her with her
writing career. But she likes to point it out, since it shows
romantic-at-hearts come in all shapes, sizes, and mind-numbing educations.
She writes sweet (and
sometimes even funny) romances for Samhain Publishing, Avalon Books/Montlake
Romance and now Entangled Publishing. She won third place in the RWA 2006 NYC's
Kathryn Hayes Love and Laughter Contest with her first book, THE ROLE OF A
LIFETIME. Recently, her novel SUNNY DAYS FOR SAM won the 2013 Golden Quill
Published Authors Contest for Best Traditional Romance.
Lately she's been on a
serious exercise kick. But don't hold that against her.
Author Website:
www.jennifershirk.com
Author Blog: http://jennifershirk.blogspot.com/
Author Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JenniferShirk
Author Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/authorjennifershirk
Author Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/jennifershirk
Newsletter: eepurl.com/Q6TH1
3 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Thanks so much for having me! <3
I really enjoyed the excerpt. Thank you for sharing. I can't wait to read more.
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