Photographer Melodie Carr moved to New York
City to escape and make a fresh start. Her soldier fiancé was killed in a
friendly-fire incident in Iraq, and she has been struggling to come to terms
with it ever since. She still feels strongly about needless death and those
left behind, so when she sees a call for photographs for a calendar of topless
men, with profits going to the Hero Family Fund, she’s eager to help out.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t know any men that fit the profile, so she gives up
on the idea. That is, until Patrick Brogan—her late fiance’s brother—turns up
in New York. Seeing him brings up all kinds of memories, but she’s determined
to push them aside and be friends with Patrick. She also realizes he’d be
perfect for the calendar. But can she persuade him to take part?
Excerpt:
Melodie Carr reluctantly clicked delete on
the e-mail with a disappointed sigh. She couldn’t contribute to the charity
calendar for the Hero Family Fund, a cause very close to her heart, because she
didn’t know anyone suitable to photograph. Although her photography work
varied—from children to pets, landscapes to portraits, she’d done a bit of
everything—she got the impression the call for calendar models sought hunky
guys to create a collection to make women swoon. Unfortunately, she didn’t work
with professional models and therefore had to give up on the idea. A cute dog,
something she had plenty of images of, simply wouldn’t cut it.
She might not be able to contribute, but
resolved to find out when the calendar would be available and do her bit to
help by buying a few copies. Some eye candy on her wall would definitely not go
amiss, and her friends Poppy, Lola and Charis, and her grandmother, Joyce,
would no doubt appreciate it. She grinned. Joyce, always good fun, said,
there’s no such thing as too much eye candy. The saucy old broad.
Her smile faded. She missed her, having not
been back to Boston to see her friends and family for a while. She should ask
Joyce to come and visit her in New York—she hadn’t traveled much, and would
love the hustle and bustle, the endless opportunities to people watch. Maybe
Melodie and the rest of the family could buy her a ticket for her birthday.
She’d have to give it some thought. It sure would be nice see a familiar face,
other than via Skype.
Someone pressed the buzzer to her apartment
and she sighed again. It was probably a delivery driver trying to get into the
building. It wouldn’t even be a package for her.
Taking her time getting to the intercom,
she hoped whoever it was would go away. No such luck—the buzzer squawked again.
She inhaled deeply, trying to rein in her annoyance and avoid being rude or
abrupt.
“Hello?”
“Hi,” a male voice said. “Are you Melodie?
Melodie Carr?”
“I am.” A caller looking for her? Had she
ordered something and forgotten about it? “Who’s calling?”
“It’s Patrick,” the voice replied. “Patrick
Brogan.”
“Patrick….” Speechless, she laid a hand on
the wall to steady herself as the bottom dropped out of her world. Evidently,
running to New York—albeit under the pretense of a good career move—hadn’t been
enough. Her past still followed her, still tried to flood her with reminders of
what she’d lost.
“Melodie?”
Damn, the man’s persistent. She never
should have admitted her identity before asking his. She could have told him
he’d gotten the wrong place and sent him away.
Author
Bio:
Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She
writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and
has over 100 publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These
include several editions of Best Bondage Erotica, Best Women's Erotica 2013 and
Best Erotic Romance 2014. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has
edited and co-edited a number of anthologies, and also edits for a small
publishing house. She owns Erotica For
All, is book editor for Cliterati,
and is one eighth of The Brit Babes.
Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk.
Join her on Facebook
and Twitter, and subscribe to her
newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9
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