Trust with Hearts - An Exclusive Excerpt
By Kelli A. Wilkins
Hi romance lovers!
Today
I’m sharing an exclusive excerpt from my contemporary summer romance, Trust with Hearts. The hero is a sexy cowboy-like country music
singer who gets involved with a young woman trying to put her life
together after a bad break-up.
Trust with Hearts
After
a bitter breakup, Sherrie Parker seeks refuge at her cousin Dave’s house in
rural West Virginia. Early one morning, she runs into Dave’s other houseguest,
a singer named Curtis Taylor. The last thing Sherrie wants is to share living
quarters with a country music crooner – even if he is sexy, in a cowboy sort of
way.
Thrown
together by circumstances, Sherrie and Curtis get off to a rocky start, but
soon discover they have more in common than they ever imagined. Unable to fight
their growing attraction, they give in to their desires and start a sizzling
summer romance.
Everything
is perfect between them until Sherrie discovers that Curtis is keeping secrets
from her – and his biggest secret of all will change everything. Can their
newfound love survive, or will destiny keep them apart forever?
Sherrie climbed into Dave’s red
pickup truck and settled herself in the middle of the bench seat. Her sweaty
legs instantly stuck to the leather. It was only ten o’clock, and the temperature
was already in the nineties.
She didn’t want to go to town, but
it was better than sitting around the house and getting into another argument
with Curtis. Why did he always say exactly the wrong thing to her? Maybe she
was too sensitive, or maybe he was trying to annoy her on purpose.
Curtis hopped onto the seat next to
her, and his jeaned leg brushed against her thigh. An electric ripple zapped
through her body, and her pulse surged as a breeze carried a spicy sandalwood
scent to her nostrils. She breathed in, savoring the fragrance. Curtis might
act obnoxious at times, but he sure smelled good.
“Got enough room?”
His question broke her from her
thoughts. How could someone so thin have such a deep voice? “I’m fine.”
“Okay.” He slammed the door shut,
forcing their shoulders closer together.
She focused her attention on the
dashboard and tried to ignore her thundering heart. Why did she feel so flushed
all of a sudden?
Curtis shifted his weight toward
her as he maneuvered the seat belt strap across his shoulder. He was
practically leaning in her lap, and she used the opportunity to peek under his
hat and study him up close.
Curtis had a slight bit of scruff
on his lean jaw, and his wavy, sand-colored hair hung to his collar. She
avoided looking into his hypnotic blue eyes. Yesterday, she had become
speechless when he’d turned them on her. Those eyes could bore into her soul
and strip her naked. As he latched the seat belt, his hand touched her thigh,
and a flash of heat coursed through her. She swallowed hard and closed her
eyes.
“Sorry,” Curtis purred.
“How about some music?” Dave asked
as he backed out of the driveway. He switched on the radio and a country song
blared from the speakers.
“Please, it’s too early for a
hoedown,” she said. “Find something else, if there is something else.”
“I don’t wanna start another
argument, but what have you got against country music?” Curtis asked.
“It’s all twangy banjos and
tortured violins. It’s music to cry by. Who wants to hear miserable depressed fools
pining over someone who never really loved them?” She fell silent as she
realized she had just described her life in one sentence. “I’d rather listen to
dueling chainsaws than sad songs in spurs.”
Dave drove onto an unmarked gravel
road. “You’d better get used to it, Sher. All the stations down here are
country, except for the oldies and the Christian Rock stations.”
“Put on the oldies. At least I can
listen to Elvis.”
“You don’t like country, but you’ll
listen to Elvis? Now that’s interesting,” Curtis commented.
“Why? What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothin’.” He shrugged. “’Cept
Elvis was country.”
A man singing about a train warbled
from the radio and she lowered the volume. “Please Dave, I’ll lose my mind.”
She looked at Curtis. “I hardly think Elvis would be considered country. Just
because he was born down here—”
“And got started in gospel and
bluegrass and sang for the Opry in 1954. No, not him.” Curtis adjusted his
cowboy hat. “He only had eighty singles on the country charts and was inducted
into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But he was nowhere’s near country,” he
said with a smirk.
“He’s got ya there, Sher,” Dave
said. “If I were you, I wouldn’t go up against him in the music department.
He’s a bit of an expert.”
“Whatever.” She knew when she was
defeated, and she didn’t feel like sparring with Curtis again. He might smell
good, but something about him drove her crazy.
She took in the scenery as Dave
drove down unmarked roads. There were no sidewalks or streetlights, and they
didn’t pass another car or a gas station. But what did she expect? Bluemont was
a small town, even by Southern standards.
“This is Johnson’s Road. It’s the
main road that leads to town. You take it to go anywhere, like the store, the
gas station, or over to Reilly’s Junction or Fitchburg,” Dave said.
“The store? As in only one?”
All of a sudden, Curtis leaned
across her lap and cranked up the radio. She was pinned against the back of the
seat with most of Curtis’s weight crushing her breasts. Her body throbbed as
she caught a strong whiff of his cologne.
“Do you mind?” she shouted above
the fast guitar solo.
“That’s CJ’s latest single.” Curtis
locked his gaze onto hers as he slowly slid his weight off her chest.
She closed her eyes and leaned
forward as another rush of heat filled her. This time, she recognized the
feeling for what it was—desire. No, this could not be happening. Curtis was not
turning her on—it was the circumstances. The close quarters of the truck, the
heat, and that enticing cologne would get to anyone, right?
“You ever hear of CJ Tyler?” Curtis
asked, his deep voice rumbling close to her ear.
She opened her eyes and saw Curtis
staring at her. He hadn’t sat all the way back in the seat. He was still close
enough to kiss her, if he wanted to. Did he know what he was doing to her? For
some reason, she got the impression that he was teasing her on purpose.
“Who?”
“Just checking. That’s what I
thought.” Curtis grinned and leaned back in the seat, breaking the connection
between them.
Dave burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he said, chuckling.
“This sure is gonna be one hell of a summer.”
***
Order
your copy of Trust with Hearts here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074422FHY
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/mgrK7R
Read
reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/trust-with-hearts
The
book was a lot of fun to write, and I hope you enjoy reading about Curtis and
Sherrie’s spicy romance. I welcome comments and questions from readers, so feel
free to contact me via my website, blog, or social media.
I
created a Facebook page for my contemporary romances. Visit it here:
https://www.facebook.com/Contemporary-Romances-by-Kelli-A-Wilkins-1965702023664339/
I’m posting book blurbs, excerpts, and more.
Visit my site www.KelliWilkins.com
to learn about all of my romances.
Happy
Reading,
Kelli A. Wilkins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins
is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20
romance novels, 6 non-fiction books, and 2 online writing courses. Her romances
span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror
stories.
In 2020, Kelli published Love, Lies & Redemption, a western romance set in 1877 Nebraska. This novel blends a sensual love story with mystery and danger.
She released Romance
Every Weekend: 104 Fun Ways to Express Your Love, a non-fiction guide
to romance in 2019. The book features 104 fun and easy ways you can express
your love to that special someone in your life. Perfect for men or women, it focuses on tender,
everyday gestures that let your partner know how much you love him or her.
Kelli
published Extraterrestrial Encounters, a collection of
18 sci-fi stories, in 2019. If you like horror fiction, don’t
miss her disturbing novella, Nightmare in the North.
Kelli has authored
two online writing courses: Fiction Basics: Finding Ideas and Fiction Writing for Beginners.
These courses are perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to write. Visit: https://kelliwilkins.teachable.com/
for more
details.
Not
just an author, Kelli is also an amateur photographer. Visit her pages on Shutterstock
https://www.shutterstock.com/g/kelli+wilkins and iStock https://www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/kelliwilkins to
view her photos.
Kelli posts on her
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
Visit her
website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com to
learn more about all of her writings.
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