Where to find Scent of Lavender with Links

Scent of Lavender is now available at the links below. Part One is available for .99, and Part Two is 2.99, so you can get both parts and read all of Maddie and Lucas's story at one time. It has gotten some excellent reviews. I hope you enjoy it and will post a review to let other readers know.

Links to Part One: 
Amazon.com                                                               Barnes & Noble

iTunes                                                                         Google Play

Google Books                                                             Kobo

Links to Part Two:
Amazon                                                                      Barnes & Noble

iTunes                                                                        Google Play

Google Books                                                            Kobo: Awaiting Listing

Discussion Pages on Facebook

I have created discussion pages on Facebook for Scent of Lavender, Whisper of Jasmine, and Scent of Love Series. Please head on over there and join in or create a discussion about the book and your favorite scene, character, quote, etc. with others who have also read and enjoyed Scent of Lavender.

Facebook Scent of Lavender Book Discussion Page

Facebook Whisper of Jasmine Book Discussion Page

Facebook Scent of Love Series Book Discussion Page

Now available on Google Play and Facebook page update -

WOO HOO! We've reached 100 likes for the Scent of Lavender page on Facebook. I am so very happy about this. I created pages on Facebook for Book 2 in the series (which I am currently working on), Whisper of Jasmine, and for the whole series, Scent of Love. Check them out and like them for more updates on each book in the Scent of Love Series!

Facebook Page for Whisper of Jasmine

Facebook Page for Scent of Love Series

I have more good news, as well. Scent of Lavender - Parts One and Two, respectively, are available now on Google Play. I'm so happy to have finally managed to work all that out. Here are the links for the books on Google Play for those of you buying on that site.

Scent of Lavender - Part One

Scent of Lavender - Part Two

Publishing update!

Part Two has been uploaded to iBooks and I am awaiting approval and release. We should have that in a few days.

Also, after some delays and technical glitches, Scent of Lavender - Part One and Part Two have been uploaded to Google Play and I am waiting for them to be released.

I will let you know as soon as I get the releases from iBooks and Google Play.

Please remember, to go to the ebook retailer where you purchased your copy and/or Goodreads and post a review of the book and help other readers find their new book obsession.

Thanks for reading my books and I appreciate every reader who purchases my novels. I am glad you like reading my stories, and I hope these stories inspire you in some way to reach for those dreams you never thought you could achieve.

Scent of Lavender - Part Two now available!

Hey, Friends! Scent of Lavender - Part Two is now up on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It has been uploaded to iBooks and I will let you know as soon as it goes live.

The price of Part One is .99, so you can get both parts and read all of Maddie and Lucas's story at one time. I hope you enjoy it.

Links to Part Two:
Part Two on Amazon

Part Two on Barnes & Noble

Links to Part One:
Part One on Amazon

Part One on Barnes & Noble

Part One on iBooks

Inspiration and price drop

I have been asked where did you get the inspiration for Luke's stalker. The idea actually came into my mind one day when I was writing and listening to my huge music catalog on my computer and Will Smith's song, Loretta, about his stalker came on. All of sudden it clicked as I was singing along, and from there I listened to that song every time I wrote her parts because I wanted to get in the right frame of mind for her and just feel the desperation that this person would have to get close to this person that they believed they were destined to be with, if only everyone else would stop interfering. Please take a listen and let me know what you think. 

Don't forget that Scent of Lavender - Part One is now .99. Get your copy and meet Luke's stalker. I guarantee after you read Part Two, you won't forget her. 

Will Smith Loretta

Scent of Lavender - Part Two Cover Reveal

Here is the cover for Scent of Lavender - Part Two. I decided to go with a little different concept than the first cover, but I think it pairs perfectly. Don't forget that Part Two will be released Friday, February 21 and in anticipation of Part Two, Scent of Lavender - Part One is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes for .99, so get your copy and start reading. You want to be all caught up with Maddie and Lucas so you're ready for Part Two. Enjoy! 

Price Drop on Scent of Lavender - Part One

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT - As a belated Valentine's gift and in anticipation of the release of Scent of Lavender - Part Two, The price of Scent of Lavender- Part One has dropped to .99. Yep, that's right just 99 pennies will get you a your own personal copy of Scent of Lavender - Part One to read and enjoy! You can get it at the links below:

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble

iTunes

Don't forget that Scent of Lavender - Part Two will be released on Friday, February 21, and as a special treat, the cover release will be right here tomorrow. Who can't wait? I know I can't.

Blog Review of Scent of Lavender - Part One

Chicks Obsess With Fiction just posted a review of Scent of Lavender - Part One. I'm so happy that she enjoyed the first part of Maddie and Lucas's romance. Head on over to their page and check it out, then get your copy if you haven't.


Chicks Obsess With Fiction Review of Scent of Lavender - Part One

Here's a little Sneak Peek at Scent of Lavender - Part Two. Enjoy!

For those of you anxiously awaiting the release of Scent of Lavender - Part Two, here's an early Valentine's present for you. :)

Read on and I hope you enjoy this little sneaky peek!

Chapter Sixteen

Maddie couldn’t sleep. All she’d been doing for at least the last hour was tossing and turning and she still wasn’t any closer to the blessed relaxation that seemed determined to elude her. She needed to relax to get her mind to drift off to dreamland. Frustrated, she looked at the clock on her phone. It was after one in the morning, and there was no way she was going to fall asleep unless she could relax. All the information she’d taken in during the day was swimming in her head and she just couldn’t turn her brain off to get some rest. It was a problem that she frequently had when she was under stress, overwhelmed, or trying to solve a tough issue. Usually reading helped to refocus her brain, but nothing was working tonight. If she’d been at home, she would have taken a swim, but since the atriums here were so nice she decided to take a walk through the peaceful and beautiful plants and foliage in an attempt to put her mind to rest. She threw the covers back and got out of the bed. Her yoga pants and t-shirt would work for a walk through the atriums this late at night. She slipped her feet into her Croc flip flops and headed for the door to the bedroom.

She walked out into to living area of the suite and saw Neil on the couch flipping channels.

“Hey.”

He turned at looked at her, “Hey, my darling. I thought you were asleep.”

“No such luck. My brain just won’t shut off tonight. I need to walk.”

“You want me to come?”

“No. I really need to just wander and think. I doubt if my stalker knows that we’re here since we didn’t even know until two days ago. I’ll be fine.”

“Ok. But take your phone. Put my number in that phone you have with you and text me if you need me. I swear I will lose the number after we get back to the house.”

“Yeah. That’s a good idea.” She walked back into her room and snagged the phone off the nightstand and walked out to the main doors. “Later.”

As soon as Neil heard the click of the door, he pulled out his phone and his fingers flew over the keys.

Neil: She just left for a walk. See you in the Garden Conserv in about 20.

Lucas: Not a problem. I hope this works.

Neil: I’m sure it will. She has no idea.

Neil stood up and shoved his phone into his pocket then he grabbed the keycard off the table and walked out the door. He knew where Maddie liked to walk and he’d given her enough of a head start that she wouldn’t see him and get mad. He had a smile on his face as he walked out the door. He couldn’t wait to see what was about to happen.

**********

Maddie wandered the paths through the Delta atrium. She was headed to the Garden Conservatory, which was her favorite of all the gardens in the massive hotel. She loved all the little hidden paths it had and the little waterfall. There was also a beautiful gazebo that had a little pool with a fountain under it. She could find a bench there and get lost in the foliage while she thought through everything and tried to relax.

She walked down the path next to the Old Hickory Steakhouse. In all of the times that she had Ellie had come here and walked these paths during the Christmas holidays, she had always wanted to eat there. The building and foliage reminded her of a miniature Old South Mansion. As a history teacher, she’d always loved the antebellum period. The entire period just seemed larger than life with ladies wearing dresses that were fitted on the bodice with skirts that seemed to swirl out widely from their bodies creating the illusion that they were bell shaped while their hair was put up in ornate curls and coiffures that defied gravity and simpering with their fans while well-dressed gentlemen always acted with courtly manners and gentility. It seemed such a chivalrous façade to hide the simmering tensions and debauched deeds that were a part of the Old South that simmered just beneath the surface. She could picture all the nastiness encased in fine glass that when cracked would explode with all the seething, boiling cruelty and malice ready to seep out.

It was amazing to her that if you looked into anyone’s life, it was almost the same. People could only see what was on top of the frosted glass in her world. She only allowed them to see the surface. She never allowed anyone to crack the glass and see what existed on the other side. All her fears, insecurities, and untouched desires were hidden there and she was afraid that anyone who saw them would turn and leave her in a flat second. She was tired of being left, and it seemed as if everything that she kept inside was coming up to a roiling boil and it was just a matter of time before the glass shattered and everything was exposed.

She wanted to be with Lucas, but she was scared, almost terrified, to let him see all of the crap that she kept locked up tight inside. All of those things, good and bad, that had such a profound effect on her life since childhood and she never let them out for fear of what would happen if she did. Scared of getting involved and watching him walk away like everyone else in her life had seemed to do over time. Mostly scared of letting go and releasing all of the feelings and emotions she had buried so deep inside her for so long that she had managed to convince herself at times that they no longer existed. She wasn’t a person who took a lot of risk. Hell, Ellie was right when she said that Maddie didn’t even spend much of the money she earned. She didn’t. After doing without for so long and struggling to keep her head above water, she couldn’t take the risk and have it all disappear, but the situation with Lucas  was different. Was she ready to give him a chance and take a risk on a relationship with Lucas? Could she open herself up to him and put away her fears? Would she be able to survive when he inevitably walked away like everyone else?

She wandered into the Garden Conservatory and walked down one of the paths that led to the small waterfall that was her favorite to sit under and think. Her mind was still whirling. She meandered around the trail and took a seat on the bench beneath the rock outcropping and watched the water fall from the ledge above her. She leaned forward and put her head in her hands. He had made some mistakes, but after talking to Mark, she believed she understood his motivations better. If she was honest with herself, it had been obvious that he liked her three years ago and still felt the same when they met again.

She was drawn to him like a moth to a flame, but was she willing to risk being burned? She was really afraid of dying in the flames, but the incredible thing was that the flame that she was drawn to when she was near him was not purely sexual, but something much deeper and profound. She had never experienced anything like it.  However, she was not going to ignore that the sexual craving she experienced when they were together was potent and she was more than willing to get singed just to have a taste of him.

She wanted to be with him because he made her feel desire and passion, along with feeling safe, warm, and cherished. Those were feelings she had never felt around a man before. No man had ever made her feel so desired and wanted, and she felt that so intensely every time Lucas touched her, kissed her, and looked at her. There was a part of her that knew she could let down her guard with him and let go, but the deep seated fear that existed in her heart kept that part reigned in. She wanted to let go of it completely and somehow, she instinctively knew he would catch her if she fell. She did feel that sense of peace, safety, and comfort with him and she realized that she had to give him a chance. What if it turned out that he was different from all the others? There was only one way to know for sure, and she was just going to have jump in and give a relationship with him a chance. What if he was the one person that could be that partner she spent a lifetime longing for? Neil was right when he asked if she was willing to let that possibility walk out the door and watch as it disappeared forever?

She was sitting there for a while lost in her own thoughts and listening to the beautiful guitar music wafting through the sound system. All of a sudden the notes became clear and she instantly knew the tune. The song was Lost Love. She tilted her head and realized that the music had changed and was getting louder. She stood up and walked down the path toward the back of the garden conservatory where the gazebo was.
The music was getting louder the closer she got to the open area. She wandered around a corner in the path and the gazebo came into sight.

She was overwhelmed and utterly speechless at what she saw in front of her. She blinked to be sure he wasn’t a mirage her eyes and mind had created while she was thinking about him. Nope, Lucas was here – sitting on the edge of the pool under the gazebo playing his guitar. He slowly looked up and as she once again gazed into those stunning blue eyes, she knew she was lost. The moment he saw her, he flashed that megawatt smile and she melted inside. He was really here, and after a week of not seeing him, she felt her heart lift and begin to beat madly in her chest.

She couldn’t help staring at him. He looked so wonderful sitting there playing his guitar. He looked just like he had when she met him three years ago and her heart did a funny little flip flop. He was wearing a dark blue t-shirt that stretched enticingly over those broad shoulders outlining that amazingly etched chest and his fingers moved fluidly as he played the notes on his guitar. His faded jeans were almost white at the knees they were worn so much. His dirty blonde hair was shaggy with those loose curls she longed to run her fingers through again and he was clean shaven. He was the Lucas that existed in her most cherished memories from that night so long ago and now he was here….waiting for her.

**********

Lucas felt her presence as soon as she walked around that last corner in the path, but he kept playing the song. He looked up and smiled when he saw her. She was classic Maddie with her royal blue yoga pants with a Gator head and Florida going down her left leg and a faded orange t-shirt with that same Gator logo prominently displayed across the front. Her long curly brown hair was pulled up in that sloppy ponytail she preferred when she slept. Her whiskey brown eyes were gazing at him with excitement and confusion. She looked as if she didn’t believe that he was in front of her. God, she was breathtaking every time he saw her, especially when he saw her like this, and like a punch to the gut it hit him just how much he had missed her. He knew it, he just hadn’t realized how badly until that second when he saw her again. He instantly knew he had found everything he had ever wanted, and he was willing to do whatever it took to keep her with him. As he watched, her eyes lit up and those beautiful full lips broke into a huge smile while she moved into the clearing, getting closer to where he sat and played the song he had created for her after they first met.

He finished the song and sat his guitar in the case at his feet before he stood and slowly walked over to her. When he stood in front of her, he realized how nervous he actually was. He wasn’t even this nervous on a stage in front of 60,000 screaming fans, but they didn’t have the power to crush him if they walked away like this one woman did. His heart was thumping so hard that he thought it was going to break free from his chest and run off. All of a sudden, the light scent of lavender floated around him and he just breathed in the wonderful scent that was the essence of Maddie. It was like she was encircling him in a soft, warm, sweet hug. Almost instantly he felt a calm come over him, and he knew he had the strength to get through whatever came next, as long as she was here with him.

Her brown eyes were wide and questioning as she looked up at him, “What are you doing here?”

He gave her a slight smile as his weary eyes took in the beautiful face of his angel, his Maddie. He knew he could spend the rest of his life looking at her and it would always be like that first time he saw her. She was entrancing, an enigma that he knew he would willingly spend as long as it took to learn all the facets that were his Maddie. “I came here to see you. Angel, I’ve missed you so much. You have no idea. I just want you to know that I’m so incredibly sorry for everything that happened and the role I had in all of it, now and three years ago.” He took her shaking hands in his. The urge to kiss her came over him in a wave, but he knew that timing was everything with Maddie, so he could wait.

“I know. I have a better understanding now of why you did what you did, but it doesn’t take away the simple fact that it hurt…terribly. It felt like you didn’t care and couldn’t trust me.”

He shook his head. “No, oh God. No, absolutely not! Never. That was never the reason. I care about you so much, but I understand how it all looked and I take the blame for that…for all of it. I know that I hurt you deeply, and I want you to know that I would never do that on purpose.”

“But you didn’t give me a chance. Why didn’t you just come to me as yourself? I would have listened to you. Yes, I was upset, but it was also three years ago, and honestly, I wanted to see you again.” She looked up at him with her eyes filled with tears and he felt the pain of her words reach his heart.

“I never should have started the whole thing, but I didn’t think that you would talk to me because of everything that happened the last time. That’s why I didn’t try to find you sooner. I wasn’t thinking when I came up with that ridiculous plan. After I found out exactly who you were and where you were, I just wanted to see you again, but as we spent more and more time together, I was in so deep I simply couldn’t figure out how to tell you. I just got scared….really scared. I didn’t want you to leave, not after I finally found you again and was given the chance that I thought I lost three years ago when you walked out of that pub. I kept telling myself I was waiting for the right time, but the truth is that I just got scared and couldn’t face the situation I had created. However, when I did finally decide to do it, damn if Mark didn’t walk in and open his mouth. All of a sudden, everything I never wanted to happen was transpiring right in front of me and I couldn’t help but watch as everything blew up in my face.”

“I know should have stayed and listened to you, but my brain just began to replay what happened in that pub….”

“I know. What Mark said that night was cruel and totally uncalled for, and I told him that after you left. I wish you’d never heard any of it….I just want you to know I never felt that way.” His hands dropped to her hips and he pulled her close as his voice dropped to almost a whisper. “Do you remember when we were dancing that night? Right after I kissed you on the dance floor, you whispered, ‘Have you ever felt invisible?’“

He saw a small look of shock cross her face before she said quietly, “You heard that? I said it out loud? I feel like that so much, but I don’t think I’ve ever said it out loud, much less told anyone that.” A tear ran down her cheek and he brushed it away with his thumb.

“I heard it, and I want you to know that you were never invisible to me. You captured my attention the moment I saw you, and I adore every curve you have and I liked them then.  I was drawn to you as soon as you walked in the door of that pub, and I knew I had to talk to you. When we started talking, I got an added bonus when I realized what an amazing woman I found. You are not only beautiful, but intelligent, funny, and sweet, as well. You had my attention the minute I saw you and you haven’t left my mind or heart since then. You’ve been right here for three years.” He took her hand and pressed it over his heart. “I’ve spent three years looking for you and wanting you. You need to trust me and know I will always see you. You can be invisible to other people, but my heart will always see you.” His hands came up to frame her face and he leaned down and gave her a soft, sweet kiss and whispered his words of apology as his lips hovered over hers. “I know that I hurt you deeply and made you doubt the trust you placed in me. But I promise you that I will never do that again and I intend to do everything I can think of to earn back your trust and faith in me.” He pulled back slightly and watched her eyelids flutter open and he was once again looking deep into those beautiful whiskey colored eyes that had entranced him the second he saw them. “Maddie, my sweet angel, can you forgive me?”

He watched as several more tears ran slowly down her cheeks. He felt her sadness fill him as one fell onto the hand that was still holding hers pressed to his heart. “I do forgive you, Lucas, but please don’t hurt me again. I just don’t think I could bear it. I’ve missed you so much, and you have no idea what went through my head. I’ve been hurt so many times. My heart wears every one of the scars like badges you can’t get rid of and my mind finds it impossible to let go of each betrayal. I’m really scared that I’m going to open up to you and let you in, but in the end, you’ll walk away just like everyone else has. I want to open up to you, I truly do….but I’m really afraid and it scares me to get too close to someone.”

He took his finger and lifted her chin so her beautiful eyes were locked on his before he said with all the sincerity and conviction he possessed, “My sweet Maddie, I promise I will never willingly hurt you again. I will never walk away from you. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here in your arms and that is where I want to be. I get that you’re afraid and I understand why, but I swear that if you put your faith, trust, and hope with me, I will treat it with the respect and reverence a treasured gift like that deserves. You are my angel and being with you is where I need, want, and intend to stay. I know I’ve made mistakes…big ones, and I probably will make some more in the future, hopefully none that even compare to what I’ve already done,” He smiled at her and she gave a little laugh, “but never question the fact that with you is where I’m meant to be. Right here, holding you and kissing you and just being with you.”

He watched as her features softened and a slight smile bloomed on those luscious lips, “I want you to know that I enjoy being with you so much. You can calm all my worst fears about myself and you have an ability to see me like no one else does. I want you to know that I’ve been thinking a lot about everything that’s happened between us, past and present, and I realized that there has to be a reason that we keep finding each other. Some things in life were just meant to be, and I believe that I was meant to be with you. I feel such a connection with you like there’s an invisible thread that just ties me to you. I can’t explain it any better than that.”  She looked up into his eyes and taking his hand, she pressed their joined hands against her chest. “I want us to see where this goes. I’m willing to take the risk, because I believe you’re worth it. I can honestly say I’m ready to try and open myself up to you. Lucas, I want to be in a relationship with you.” He almost came undone when he saw the tears return to her beautiful eyes, but he knew this time they were tears of relief, happiness, and joy at her expressing her decision to be with him. The magnitude of what she said was not lost on him. She just made a huge step and he treasured every single syllable. He was determined to show her how every single day how much that gift meant and how truly precious she was to him.

When the tears overflowed and slid slowly down her cheeks, he gently wiped them away and gave her another soft, deep kiss, lingering on those sweet lips that he could kiss forever. Kissing her and touching her was such an aphrodisiac to him, and he hoped he never got used to it because the feeling was so powerful and incredible. He just wanted to bury himself in her and never come up for air. “Angel, those are the sweetest words anyone ever said to me. I want to be with you so much. You really have no idea.” He looked at her with a questioning look, “Will you come back to my room with me so we can talk some more?” He looked at her with hope in his eyes. He knew that even though they’d fixed things, he still had a long way to go to earn back all of her trust, but he just wanted to be with her, to hold her, kiss her, breathe her in, and wrap himself around her.

His world lit up when a radiant smile spread slowly across her face as she looked back at him. “Yes, but I need to let Neil know. He’s waiting up and I don’t want him to worry.”

“It’s ok, my angel. I think he knows.” Lucas looked over her shoulder back toward the path that brought her to him and motioned with his head for her to look. When Maddie turned her head slightly, she saw a smiling Neil standing on the path at the edge of the walkway leaning casually against a lamp post with his hands in his pockets.

“I take it you had something to do with this?” She gave him a look with her eyebrow raised and then smiled.

“Yes, as a matter of fact I did, and I couldn’t be happier, my darling.” He leveraged himself away from the lamp post and winked at her. “You two have a nice evening. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He turned and began walking back up the path.

“Thanks, Neil.” Lucas called out and Neil waved over his shoulder.

Lucas leaned over and picked up his guitar case before he reached for Maddie’s hand. “Come on. I haven’t slept the same since you’ve been gone. You can’t leave me to sleep on my own again.” He smiled at her as he pulled her hand up and kissed her knuckles.

“I can live with that plan.” She gave him a saucy smile as Lucas pulled her next to him, wrapped an arm around her waist, and they began walking up the path to head to his room.

Scent of Lavender
 Part Two
will be available  
February 21, 2014!

Scent of Lavender – Part One

is now available 
from your ebook retailer.

Excerpt from Part One

For those of you who are still undecided about purchasing Part One of Scent of Lavender here is an excerpt from the first two chapters giving you a glimpse into Maddie's world, and I think we can all relate.

Read on and enjoy!

Chapter One

“Hot guy alert!”

“My version or yours?” Madalynn Melton said with a laugh in her voice as she attempted to see where her daughter was looking in the crowd at the mall, but she couldn’t find the hot guy in question that Elisabeth (or Ellie as everyone called her) was looking at.

“Mine, of course! Check out those tattoos!” Ellie Sealis said emphatically. She loved guys with tattoos and had several tattoos of her own decorating her body. The count was up to nine now, at least until her next trip for some ink therapy. It was something that Maddie never understood the necessity of, but if her darling daughter wanted to see her body as a blank canvas for her overly creative imagination, then she was willing to be supportive. Supportive was one thing. Understanding was completely different.

Maddie still could not tell which guy Ellie was checking out, but that’s what twenty year-olds spent a lot of their time doing, checking each other out. She smiled, vaguely remembering what twenty was like, which at forty made her happy she did not have to go back and do that age over again. Twenty had been painful for her, but not for Ellie, so she was happy. Ellie attracted guys like ice cream attracted small children. Maddie liked to say that God had put all the pieces in the right places when her daughter was created. The strawberry blonde hair she had as a child had been dyed a darker brown several years ago. Maddie wished she would go back to her natural color, but she was closer to that color now than she had ever been.  Her hair had been a rainbow of colors since the age of thirteen. She had bright blue eyes with sinfully long and full lashes that outlined them framed by a perfect oval face with freckles across her cheekbones and nose and the effect was topped off with full lips in an alluring shade of dusky rose. She wore her glasses all the time, no matter how many times Maddie bought her contacts, she refused to wear them. She was a size six or seven depending on the designer with a full C or D cup bra in a size thirty-six, flat stomach, long legs, and just enough junk in the trunk to get a guy’s attention when she was walking away in a nice pair of jeans or shorts. Maddie had witnessed some of the head turning her daughter got just walking down the street. It made her laugh almost every time. She definitely knew how to use the equipment she was given to maximum advantage, but most of the time it was with an effortless grace combined with her lack of awareness that managed to grab the attention of most guys. She honestly never even realized that they were looking at her. 

Maddie enjoyed the time that she and Ellie spent together, especially now that they didn’t live together, and Ellie seemed to be getting her life back in order.  It had been touch and go there for about a year, while Ellie lost her way, but with a lot of work, the hard partying was behind her and she was getting it together. She was scheduled to start college in the fall, and that made Maddie proud. She wanted to do retail management or be a buyer, and Maddie could see her in that.  Ellie was all about fashion. 

“Yum! I want a Cinnabon!” Ellie clapped her hands together like a gleeful ten year-old.

“You are kidding? We just finished dinner!” 

“I want dessert! I’ll share with you!”

“I was thinking more Marble Slab Creamery before we go to the movie.”

“I can handle that, but don’t get too weird with your flavors, Mom. Remember that time you mixed in all your favorite flavors and it sucked. You threw it out. It was horrible and it looked like crap.”

“Thanks for the memory. I told you that I limit myself now. Only one or two flavors. We have an hour and a half before the movie. Let’s walk. We can look in Victoria’s Secret.” Maddie knew that was Ellie’s favorite store, and she loved to look in there, even if most of the time it was just window shopping because nothing in that store would fit her and she couldn’t afford it even if it did fit.

“You know I love that store! Let’s go to Forever21 first! You know the one in this mall is huge! Definitely my favorite except that one that I went to with Dad when we were in New York City.”

Maddie sighed, “I know, you’ve told me all about it. Several times. It’s not a problem as long as I can look in the Lane Bryant outlet.”

“Why do you need to go in there? You despise shopping for clothes. You say that it depresses you like nothing else.”

“Well, shopping for fat girl clothes has never been my favorite past time. They can dress it up with all the fancy names they want like Ladies of Distinction, Plus sizes, Women’s sizes, Extended sizes, and all that other crap. Doesn’t matter how they dress it up, be real, they’re fat lady clothes. I go in those stores you shop in and see all this stuff I would like to wear and never have been able to. Not in my entire life. I also have serious issues with the fit on plus size clothing. It irritates the crap out of me. You go up one size and the pants get longer. Are you kidding me? I didn’t get taller, I got fatter. Also, no self-respecting woman with huge thighs should ever look at a mini-skirt, much less wear one, and don’t even get me started on bathing suits. They are the bane of my existence.”

“I know, but even I don’t like trying on bathing suits and I wear a six.” Ellie grinned at Maddie.

They walked to Victoria’s Secret, and Ellie looked at the thongs and other lingerie. Underwear was her weakness and Maddie knew that. Next, was Forever 21, where Ellie went from rack to rack finding all kinds of wants, but nothing worth shelling out her own hard earned money for.  She liked looking at the styles, so that she could take ideas back to the little high end consignment type clothing boutique she worked at. She really liked to dress the mannequins, and sell those ideas to the teenagers, pre-teens, and others who frequented the shop. That’s what Maddie got for dressing her in Gymboree and the Children’s Place as a kid. Lastly, they headed for Lane Bryant.

Maddie headed for the clearance racks. She always headed for the clearance racks.  She found a couple of items to try on including a really cute shirt in a mint color with small polka dots, and headed for the dressing room knowing what she was in for, but hoping something looked good.  She tried on the items, showed them to Ellie and got the smile or the grimace that told her what she wanted to know. She came out of the dressing room wearing the mint polka dot shirt she liked, and Ellie looked at her with a frown on her face.

“That is a no. You look like a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone with that on.”

“Really? I liked this one. I thought it was cute.”

“No. I don’t even know why we’re here. You never find anything that you like that you think looks good on you. You wind up hating it all and getting depressed. It really is sad, Mom. I love you, but I really hate what it does to you when you go shopping for clothes. It’s almost the same as the reason you didn’t go to your high school reunion. You didn’t like where you were in your life and just really did not want to be around a bunch of people you didn’t really like, and I didn’t want to see what it would do to you for weeks after you spent 2 hours with those people. It just wasn’t going to be pretty.” Ellie looked at her sadly.

“Yeah, You’re right. I’m done. Let me change. We’ll just go to the movie.”

Maddie never did trust her own opinion when it came to clothes, because to her eyes everything she tried on looked like crap. She was getting increasingly sick of the huge breasts, big stomach, wide hips, and huge thighs that she had spent years hiding behind. It had the desired affect for sure.  No man ever noticed her, and she really tended to blend into the background, which had been her goal for years. She had long dark brown hair that fell almost to the middle of her back and tended to show off its reddish tendencies in the sunlight or whenever she had attempted to color it. It had also recently taken to frizzing in the last five years. It had always been straight as a board and she couldn’t even get it to hold a curl whether by perm or curling iron and now she had to use smoothing serum or straightening cream to keep the frizzing under control. There were days that she considered cutting it off, but she had done that once and it was not becoming so it was relatively easy to talk herself out of it. She had brown eyes with short spiky lashes and had given up her glasses in favor of contacts. She did prefer how she looked in contacts. She had freckles that were relatively prominent on her face, neck, shoulders, arms, and across the tops of her more than ample chest, which were another nod to that red that was an undertone in her hair. She had never been able to tan. Sunshine was not her friend. It was white, burn, peel, and back to white. Her skin had no idea what to do with sunshine.  She had been blessed with a relatively cute upturned nose and full lips that were definitely her favorite feature. She knew that Ellie had been blessed with those lips from her side of the gene pool. The rest of her she tended to camouflage in the clothing that Ellie constantly referred to as the dumpy and frumpy. How did you dress a size twenty-four body that you really didn’t like that much?

However, she was getting tired of her permanent wallflower status. She had been one since junior high, and although she hated it, she really didn’t know how to change it and was scared to have attention focused on her. Ellie had told her several times that she wanted her to have a boyfriend, but she really did not want to go there until after her daughter had turned eighteen. Ellie’s father would have made her, any potential boyfriend, and by extension, Ellie’s life a recurring nightmare of being dragged into court had she even thought about dating someone, let alone having them sleep over. When Ellie was younger, his ultimate goal seemed to be revenge for Maddie not wanting him anymore.

Maddie and Ellie’s father, Todd, were never married. They met when Maddie was twenty, and he was twenty-six. He moved in to her apartment less than two months after they met. Nothing was ever completely right with their relationship and it was always just so difficult to be with him. She was young and was absolutely positive that if she loved him enough, they could work it all out. There were so many signs that she ignored. The year before she found out that she was pregnant was rocky and marked many break-ups and make-ups. It was stressful and at times exhausting to deal with him. He was almost out the door for good when Maddie found out that she was pregnant. Their problems just got worse during the pregnancy, and it all came to a head one day after Ellie was three months old, and Maddie moved out. She moved to the next town over, went to the local community college and graduated with an Associate’s Degree. She continued on to a local university, because she knew that she needed an education to take care of her daughter. It took several more years, but she did graduate with a Bachelor’s degree. She and Todd got along a lot better when they didn’t live together. That was an unqualified disaster. There was no question that Todd loved Ellie, but he needed to get his shit together to be a good father. He tried hard to be the caring dad that Maddie hoped he would be when Ellie was younger, the kind of Dad Maddie’s father wasn’t. During those years until Ellie was ten, Maddie and Todd had what she liked to call a parental friends with benefits arrangement that suited each of them for their own reasons. She did not have to go through finding a new relationship and all the crap that comes with it, and he had a willing fuck buddy and saw his daughter whenever he wanted.

That changed when Maddie realized that at age nine Ellie thought that she and Todd were going to wind up together and Maddie knew that was never going to happen. She also realized she was selling herself short the way things were. She told Todd that they needed to see other people. He was not happy and told her that she would live to regret her decision since no one else would be interested in the fat girl and she should just be happy he was willing to fuck her. She couldn’t say she was really shocked by his opinion, but the venom with which he spewed it was unexpected.  She had heard almost the same thing from him before, and he never liked going anywhere in public with her. From there ensued the court battles after he found a new girlfriend and stopped spending as much time with Ellie, and seemed determined not to deal with Maddie. He married and moved eight hundred miles away when Ellie was twelve, and it became an out of sight out of mind thing and the contact dwindled since his wife really didn’t care for Ellie. She had no children, didn’t really understand them, and they enjoyed travelling and other activities and having Ellie around would put a crimp in his wife’s lifestyle.

However, just last year, Todd and his wife divorced, he moved back to Tennessee to Knoxville and he began to work on his fragile relationship with Ellie. Now that he lived about three hours away, it made their relationship easier to maintain, and she enjoyed the opportunities to visit him. He also enjoyed using her as a subject in his photographs almost as much as he did the small dogs he had. That made Maddie smile. At least he was trying, and she had reached out to him via Facebook to offer him some encouragement during his divorce since it had gotten kind of nasty. She had no hard feelings where he was concerned and they had known each other a long time.  She knew in hindsight that she hadn’t really loved him, she had been love with the idea of being in love with someone and he came along at the right time. There was a LOT of water under that bridge, but no matter what he was Ellie’s father, and they were her parents. It would be good if they could talk and maybe be in the same room without animosity. He seemed to have appreciated her efforts, and they mainly talked about Ellie.  He was not a fan of the tattoos either, so at least they could commiserate over that.

She finished trying on the clothing and was severely depressed. She did not buy a thing, as usual. She just hated the way everything looked on her. They left the store and headed for the movie theatre in the mall, passing by the Marble Slab and each got a scoop with an add-in.  They waited in line and bought matinee tickets for the latest Neil Randall movie. They both liked him and Maddie could just listen to that Scottish accent all day long, and it also didn’t hurt that he was really nice to look at. Not that she would ever meet him, but hey, a girl could dream, right? When the movie was over, they headed to Maddie’s car, and drove the thirty minutes back home from Nashville. They sang with the CDs and laughed and talked just like they always did.

“Love you, Mom. I’ll text you later,” Ellie gave Maddie a kiss and a hug.

“Love you, too, Angel.” Maddie watched as Ellie got in her car. She could hear the music blasting sitting in her own car. Ellie smiled at her. Maddie smiled back and headed out of the parking lot.

She really did not feel like heading home. Lately, she’d been more restless and there was a local pub that had bands on the weekends. She had thought about going there several times, but she lived out in the country and really didn’t want to use the gas to drive into town to go somewhere for only about an hour or so. She thought about the fact that she was already in town, so maybe she should just go check it out, have a light meal, and maybe a drink. She headed across town to the Pig in the Potato Patch Pub, and parked in the lot, got out, and headed to the door.

 Chapter Two

Lucas Greystone looked up when the door opened. He always did that. The woman in the doorway looked a tad on the uncomfortable side. She was not a small woman by any stretch of the imagination, but that was fine with him. She really caught his attention. There was just something about her that called to him. She had a well-worn pair of jeans on over curvaceous hips and a dark green top with a draped neck with a large black sweater over it that came down past her knees. She had definitely been gifted with more than generous breasts. He had large hands and she would fill them to overflowing. She had long dark brown hair that had deep red shot through it that caught the lights. That gorgeous mane fell to rest half-way down her back. Her hair had a wave that made it fluffy, not curly, and it looked shiny and soft, just the kind to make you want to run your fingers through or see spread across your pillow in the morning. He could not see her eyes from this distance, but he could see very light creamy skin, a small pert nose, round face, and gorgeous, full pouty lips. Good God, her lips were amazing, and she was worrying her full bottom lip between her teeth and it was making him hard. He loved women with generous curves and she was blessed. Very blessed. He would not mind grabbing that ass and those ample hips while he thrust inside her and burying his face in those large breasts. If he was a betting man, he would say that they were larger than a D cup. She was walking with confidence winding through the tables to the one she wanted, but he could tell that the confidence seemed forced, almost like an armor she cloaked herself in but didn’t really believe she could carry off.

She looked around rather anxiously. Not like she was looking for someone, more like she was looking for a corner to hide in. There was a skittish look in her eyes. He knew that she was prepared to bolt like an unbridled stallion if she sensed any kind of upset or danger.

“Damn, it’s slim pickins here tonight. I’ll probably wind up going home early. Did you see the fat chick that just walked in? I’m not even that desperate tonight. Damn! This isn’t even worth staying for the music.” His friend, Mark Cassidy, said to his left. Mark was a friend and his manager, but sometimes he could be a real asshole. Most of the time, as a matter of fact, but he was an incredible manager. Lucas had known him since college so he tended to make allowances for Mark where others wouldn’t. More than once Lucas had thought that he was such a good manager because he was a total asshole, so he just let his comments fly by, but it was getting worse especially with the crap he pulled with Lucas’s sister, Casey, earlier this week and he was getting really tired of it. They really needed to talk about his attitude.

“Nah, I promised Tom that I would come and watch the band tonight, so I’m gonna stay.” Lucas answered with a frown at Mark and opting not to dignify his comments about the lovely lady he had been eyeing by answering. He had already decided that they would talk about it later.

He watched as the woman made it to the table she wanted toward the back and in a corner. Mark had berated her, but he found her very interesting and beautiful.  She wasn’t making eye contact with anyone. She had her chin up which seemed to lend to that air of confidence she was trying to exude, except that she was clenching the sleeves of her sweater repeatedly. She was anxious, but attempting to fake that she wasn’t, and the skittishness was still present but she was attempting to control it. Clearly this was not her scene, and he knew he had never seen her in here before. He would have remembered that. She was memorable, just what he liked, and definitely the kind of woman that caught his interest.

“Whatever, Mr. Country Music Star”, Mark answered sarcastically. “Don’t forget you have an interview for Good Morning America in the morning, and it’s early. Really early! I’m glad it’s not my ass getting up that early. You got everything ready?”

“Yeah, I know. I saw it on my calendar. Alarm’s already set and I’ll be at the front of the Bridgestone Arena at six-thirty with my smiling Luke “I’m so happy to be up this early to talk to you about my new tour” face on. I’m gonna use my back-up stuff. Casey’s staying at the house tonight to help me with it in the morning, and then I’ll have everything else ready for the start. I can call you when I get there, so you know I made it on time.” He grinned at Mark. 

“Hell, no, man. Don’t even think of doing that! Your sister must really love you to help you get ready that damn early. There’s no way I’m getting up at the ass crack of dawn. Well, enjoy yourself tonight, ‘cause the promotion for the new album and tour starts with that interview, and it hits high gear in two weeks, and you won’t have time to breathe for the next six months.”

“I know. The older I get, the harder it is. I think I may take a little time off after this tour.”

“Yeah, man. You say that every time.  I have yet to see it happen.  I’m going to the back to talk to Gary and the guys before I go.”

“Ok, man. Later.”

Lucas was getting tired of the touring and the relentless schedule. It had cost him a marriage, kids, and lots of other things in his life, the least of which being free time. It was hard to maintain a marriage and have children, when you went months without seeing your wife and she didn’t want to travel with you. It was no shocker to him when she found someone else. He was so busy that when she left, it barely even registered with him. At thirty-eight, he was thinking that it just might be nice to stop the touring and the relentless schedule.  He was getting too old for the back-to-back concerts in different cities. He was beginning to think it might be better to nurture young talent, and put out CDs when he wanted, stay at home, and only travel for media stuff for a new album. He was beyond established now, and competition to be the number one country star just wasn’t there anymore. Everybody knew who he was and he really had nothing left to prove. There was no real reason he had to keep working this hard. He loved the music, just not all the other crap.

At least he could move through life with a little anonymity. When he originally started his career, he was persuaded to use a stage name, Luke Grey, and he had created a stage presence with the name, which allowed him anonymity when he wanted it. Only those really close to him knew his real name and look, and he preferred to keep it that way.

He attention went back to watching the pretty lady across the room, who was still looking nervous, but talking to the waitress. He decided it might be nice to introduce himself, buy her a drink, and see if she’d like to talk. Now, that was an idea that he could get behind. He stood up and headed across the room to her table.

**********

Maddie knew the amazing guy across the room at the table near the stage had been watching her since she walked in. She could feel it the minute she came through the door. She could feel his stare on her and it was disconcerting. She tried not to be too conspicuous in looking at him, but as Ellie would say, “Hot Guy Alert!”

He had a baseball cap on, but she could see the sandy dark blonde hair that came out from underneath it and fell almost to his shoulders. She wondered what he would look like without the cap. She couldn’t see the color of his eyes, but she could see his chiseled features and amazing mouth that she thought would be so soft when he kissed her.

Oh. My. God! What the hell was she thinking?  There was no way on God’s green earth that guy was going to talk to her let alone kiss her. Geez! She needed to get a grip. And fast. Maybe she should just get up and leave. She could feel her anxiety level rising. Leaving would probably be for the best, but she found that her legs didn’t really want to get up.

The incredibly hot guy was wearing a faded t-shirt, well-worn loose jeans, and scuffed cowboy boots. Broad shoulders with a lean build, and well-muscled biceps rounded out his sculpted body. Those broad shoulders stretched his t-shirt so nicely across his chiseled chest, and she was nearly positive he would have six-pack abs under there as well.  He looked like he had gotten his body from hard work, not a gym. He was lightly tanned, and it was obvious that he had gotten it with his shirt off. That was no farmer’s tan. He looked like sex on a stick country style.  Although she couldn’t see it before because he was seated, she was pretty sure he had a nice looking ass in those well-worn jeans, especially if the rest of him was any indication. His jeans looked aged and comfortable. They hugged in all the right places, were slightly loose, and they definitely made him look good, not that he wouldn’t look good in just about anything. The only way he would look better was naked and preferably stretched across her bed. Damn! She needed to stop this. All of sudden the room was getting hotter. If there was one thing she loved, it was a man with a nice ass in a pair of well-worn jeans. She was drifting. Look at the menu. Decide on food. You came here for food and some music. Food and music. Not a staring session at a hot guy you have no chance with. She should have learned that lesson as the nerd girl in high school, but apparently not. Ellie would be having a field day right now watching her get flustered over a guy.

The waitress arrived and she ordered a burger with no onions, mayo, or lettuce, add pickles, cheese, and bacon, preferably not too overdone, with fries and an unsweet tea with extra ice.  She was driving so she decided to pass on the alcoholic drink, even though she could really use one right about now. She picked her Kindle up off the table and turned it on to begin to read or at least attempt to read. She had at least an hour and a half before the music from the band started, and reading was always a good way to pass the time. She was trying to look casual and she wasn’t sure if she could really pull it off. She had a hard time when someone paid her attention and really preferred to be a wall flower that people overlooked.  In her life, she had found that attention was not a good thing, and as much as she wanted to break out of her shell, it was hard when she had gotten so comfortable being safely inside it. Her brain tended to shut down when someone paid her any attention and finding a coherent thought became extremely difficult which made her feel like an idiot thereby only making the situation worse. She was an educated woman and relatively smart, but her social skills were sorely lacking due to a lot of time spent with books and in classrooms, and not with people in social settings. She saw a movement out of the corner of her eye that caught her attention.

Holy Crap! Mr. Hottie was headed her way. No way! She looked around. He was heading to the bathroom or someone else’s table. No way was he walking over to her table. No chance. Nope. None at all.

He walked with a smooth rolling gait with not even a bit of arrogant swagger. He knew he looked good, but didn’t give off the vibe that he was overly concerned about it like some guys did. God, what she wouldn’t give to run her hands down that chest and grab his perfect ass, preferably without the jeans on. He was yummy! She shook her head to clear her addled brain. Mind out of the gutter, Maddie, she scolded herself.  

To her great consternation, he stopped next to her table and said, “Hello. My name is Lucas. Are you expecting someone or do you mind if I join you?” His voice was a lovely sound somewhere between a tenor and a baritone. She decided instantly that she could just sit here and listen to him talk all day. She just sat there letting his voice wrap around her.

She hesitantly looked up into his smiling face and saw absolutely beautiful almost iridescent blue eyes under that ball cap with the longest, thickest lashes she had ever seen on a guy. Ellie would kill for those lashes. He seemed to be looking at her expectantly, like he was waiting for a response. Wait! What had he said a second ago?

For a minute, her tongue forgot how to work. Literally forgot, and she could feel the heat rising to her face.  My God! I have a college degree and taught high school government and history to exasperating teenagers with raging hormones for a few years, and my brain is now functioning as if I was back at the first day of freshman year and the hot senior quarterback said hello in the hallway. Damn! Say something! Hello. My name is Maddie.  I’m not waiting for anyone and I’d be happy for you to join me. Please have a seat.

“Umm…Hi. Thanks. You’re welcome.”

Ooops! That is so not what her brain had said to her mouth. Apparently her brain and her tongue had decided that they were not going to work together right now. Crap! She decided to go for non-verbal communication and save herself the visit to stupidityland. She raised her hand to the chair, hoping that it indicated to him to have a seat. She then dropped her eyes to the table hoping to be able get her brain and her mouth in sync – and fast! Please, God, help me out a little here or this was going to get really embarrassing in a matter of seconds. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Apparently, he could understand idiot starstruck female sign language, because he pulled out the chair next to her and sat down in it, relaxing back as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He took the chair next to her, not across from her. Oh my gracious! His proximity did not help her brain kick into gear, not at all. She could smell some really nice cologne, the scent of leather, soap, and an undertone that had to be just his scent and altogether it was enough to knock her senses on their ass then kick them up into overdrive. My God, he was dangerous to sit next to. The worst part was that he did not even seem to be affected at all or even notice the affect he had on her now raging libido and recently departed brain. That thought began to snap her brain back into functioning. He was merely being nice and friendly and she needed to get a grip.

“Thanks, and your name is?” He smiled again. She was momentarily blinded. No one should have teeth that perfect and white. It should be illegal or something just for the distraction factor alone.

“Ummm….Madalynn…Maddie Melton.” Well, at least she knew her name. That was getting somewhere.

“It’s nice to meet you, Maddie.” He held out a hand to her.

She took it and felt an electrical current go up her arm, flash through her body, head straight to her pussy, and it refried her brain cells. His hand was so big and warm. She really liked a man with large hands. Her grandfather had been a large man, and as a child, she always felt safe when he held her hand in his large work roughened ones.

“Thanks.” Her eyes dropped back to the table and she began to blush furiously again. Did she revert back to high school, because she was pretty sure that was the last time she had blushed this much?

Thank God, the waitress chose that moment to bring her drink, and to ask Lucas if there was anything that he would like to eat. 

**********

Lucas noticed her blush again and thought it was the most adorable thing that he had seen on a woman.  He rarely met women who blushed. Batted their eyelashes. Yes. Were unnecessarily complimentary to him. Yes. Asked him to autograph their breasts. Yes. Blushing with a simple compliment. Nope. He found it very refreshing.

“I’ll have what the lady’s having, Ashley.” He said to the waitress and grinned at Maddie when she looked up with a startled expression.

“Are you sure? You usually have a steak,” Ashley replied with mild confusion.

“Yep. Unless it’s a salad, I don’t do lettuce. That’s for rabbits.” Ashley walked away writing on her little pad. He looked at Maddie and was stunned.

She was looking right at him with the biggest grin on her face. It lit her whole face up and it was stunning. He felt like he was slammed in the chest with a fist. He wanted to kiss her right then, decided that he would do whatever it took to have more of those smiles bestowed upon him.

He had already taxed his brain to remember what he wanted to say to her. He actually had to think about it all the way to the table. Then she looked up at him with those beautiful, wary whiskey colored brown eyes and he had forgotten what he wanted to say. He didn’t just walk up to random women and invite himself to sit down. He was not interested in winding up in a tabloid, so he really didn’t like to chance being recognized and preferred to be discreet when meeting a lady that interested him. However, it seemed that Maddie had not a clue at all about who he was. He liked that as well. Another point for the lovely lady.

“I say that all the time. I don’t like lettuce. I’ll eat just a bowl of tomatoes before I’ll ever eat a salad. I love tomatoes.”

“Well, I like that we have something in common. Do you mind if I ask what I just ordered?”

She looked at him with a twinkle in her entrancing eyes. Her eyes were brown but they had the coloring of a nice aged whiskey, like Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Whiskey with a darker ring of almost black at the edges of her irises and they were eyes that he could lose himself in very easily. Someone had once told him about bedroom eyes. This bewitching woman had bedroom eyes. They were big and very expressive, and he sure as hell wanted to see them looking at him in his bedroom.

Sitting next to her, he could smell the soft scent of lavender. It was such a fresh, clean scent. No heavy perfumes for this lady. He noticed that she also wore very little makeup, and her skin was almost an ivory color with no tan to speak of, and he could see freckles dotting her small nose and cheeks. The freckles merely added to the natural appeal of her. He had no interest in women who used a lot of makeup. He always thought that they looked better the more natural they were. Last, but definitely not least, were those beautiful, full pouty lips that were a natural cranberry color. He could tell that she wore some kind of shiny gloss, but the color was natural. He would be dreaming about those tonight. He was pretty sure that he would lose himself as soon as he kissed those full lips. He almost groaned when his mind began to conjure images of how amazing they would feel wrapped around his cock. Crap! He was now hard as a rock. These thoughts needed to stop now or he would never be able to stand up again.

She looked at him with a thoughtful look and said, “I think I’m just going to wait and let you be surprised. But I’ll give you two clues. It’s not a steak and it’s not a salad. Does that help you narrow it down?”

He threw his head back and laughed. She was smiling at him again.

She was sassy, smart, cute, and a tad sarcastic. A winning combination in his book. He liked that. Liked it a lot.

“I guess I’ll just have to be surprised then. I’ve never been good at guessing. Is this your first time here?”

“Yes. I’ve been meaning to come for a while. I just decided to come tonight. I thought I would listen to some music and have dinner.”

“The band starts playing in about an hour and a half, but there’ll be some other music in about a half hour. They usually wait until more people are here. What kind of music do you like?”

That question started the conversation and he was glad that she was relaxing and didn’t seem so uncomfortable and on edge anymore. He also found that he was enjoying the conversation and was interested in her answers.  He wanted to learn more about her. A lot more.

**********

Maddie was enjoying the conversation and found that she was relaxing more and more the longer they talked. The waitress brought their meals, and he seemed pleased with the burger and fries, but asked that she bring him a sweet tea. She was ecstatic that her brain had started working. Thank God. She was beginning to feel like a total idiot.

They talked about a myriad of subjects with the topics tending to jump rapidly. They talked about their families, education, previous jobs, musical interests, who had the worst boss ever. He laughed when she told him that she had won a contest for the worst first date. He laughed even harder when she told him about the date. They talked about their childhoods, and what they had wanted to be when they grew up. She liked his easy smile, and had not enjoyed herself so much in a long time. He was smart, funny, and actually seemed interested in what she had to say. Then the music started and people began to get up and dance. She watched the couples dancing. She always liked to people watch.

She glanced back and saw Lucas looking at her with a heated gaze.

“Would you like to dance?”

Her mind slammed to a stop, happy mood gone. “Ummm…..I’m not really good at dancing. I’m a little uncoordinated.”

“Come on. You just need to relax and let me lead.  I’ll even let you step on my feet three times for free.” He stood up and held his hand out to her and beamed that beautiful smile that made her insides melt straight into a puddle of mush and leak slowly from her core to her cotton underwear. If he kept it up, her jeans would be soaked.

She looked at his hand for a second and was at war internally. She really couldn’t dance, and she hated to be embarrassed and look like a fool. Not that she had ever managed to avoid it, she just hated it when it happened. However, she had been enjoying Lucas’s company, so maybe she should give him a chance.

“Ok.” She stood up and tentatively took his hand. There was that warm safe feeling again. She walked behind him to the dance floor holding his hand. She hadn’t danced with anyone since the sixth grade. Not even at prom. She went by herself and if you didn’t have a date then you were relegated to your seat with the other wallflowers. She’d decided that it would have been hard to dance in her hoop skirt anyway since the theme was the Old South and she went for the whole Scarlett O’Hara look, so it had been fine with her and her fear of embarrassment had helped to keep her butt in her seat. It had been hard enough for her to find a dress, and she had been satisfied to sit back and watch everyone else dancing. 

Lucas took her in his arms as one song ended, and the next one began. It was Open Arms by Journey. She felt herself beginning to flow with the music, and she looked up into Lucas’s eyes. She saw the warmth and desire looking back at her and got lost in those beautiful blue eyes. She wasn’t sure how to process that look since no one had looked at her like that in years and with nowhere near the intensity he was throwing her direction.

He leaned over to her ear and whispered, “Put your arms around my neck, close your eyes and relax. Just enjoy the music.” She felt the sound of his voice reverberate through every part of her body and it left a delicious warmth in its wake. She hesitantly put her arms around his neck, and closed her eyes. She felt him begin to rub small circles low on her back, and felt herself relax into his amazing body. It just felt so nice and she felt those touches sending tingles throughout her body.

The next song up was Wanted by Hunter Hayes. She laid her head on his chest. His scent was intoxicating. She breathed him in deeply, taking in the full effect of the scent of him that had tickled her nose earlier. His masculine scent was making her pussy get even wetter. She was afraid she was going to leave a puddle on the floor where she stood, and her whole body felt like warm honey was running in her veins. It was a heady feeling. She decided that maybe she needed to take a chance, order a drink, and see where all of this with Lucas was going. Maybe he was just what she needed to break out of her safe comfortable shell. She didn’t realize that she had begun to hum and sing softly with the song. Her thoughts drifted, they were getting along and she was sure he liked her if the rock hard bulge pressed against her abdomen was any indication. She just felt so comfortable and so right in his arms. She heard the song finish and Lovesong by Adele began to play softly through the sound system. It was one of her favorites, and in seconds she was again letting her mind drift as she began humming along with the tune.

**********

Lucas could hear her softly humming with the songs. He could smell the scent of lavender even stronger with her head tucked below his chin. He wanted to bury his nose in her hair and just breathe her in. He was pretty sure that it was her shampoo, but the scent just seemed to waft around her like she dipped herself in it. The feeling in his chest was something he had never felt before and then he heard her softly singing with the words. He was almost positive that she didn’t even realize she was doing it. He closed his eyes and smiled gently, the soft singing was beautiful and haunting, coupled with the scent of lavender surrounding them, it felt like a spell was being woven around the two of them. He felt like he was getting lost. She felt so warm and soft in his arms. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, her fingers were stroking the hair at the back of his neck, and it just felt so right. It was obvious that she was a tactile person who craved contact, but tried to deny it by keeping herself away from people. All of the thoughts and feelings were working to make him hard as a rock and he knew she could feel it. Damn, she just felt so good!

He took his hand from her back and brought it up to lift her chin, and slowly leaned down and brushed his lips back and forth over hers softly, like a whisper. Her lips were so soft, and he felt like they were the only two people in the room. He pressed his lips lightly to hers. In that moment, he was lost in her and the spell that they had created. She pulled away slightly and he opened his eyes to see her beautiful whiskey eyes staring into his with a slightly dazed look.

Softly he heard her whisper, “Have you ever felt invisible?” Her voice was so soft, he almost didn’t hear her.

He wasn’t sure how to answer that and he wasn’t quite sure what she meant, but he felt that it was important to her. Before he could answer, the song ended and he really didn’t want to break the spell around them, but the next song was faster than he really liked and the dance floor was getting increasingly crowded, so he took her hand and led her back to the table.

When they got to the table, she picked up her purse, smiled that beautiful smile at him and said “I need to go to restroom. I’ll be back in a minute. Can you order me a Jack and Coke?”

“Sure. I’ll be right here when you get back.” She smiled again as she walked away. He called Ashley over and ordered a Jack and Coke for her and a beer for himself.

Ashley had only been gone for a minute when Mark walked up to the table and demanded his attention as only Mark could.

“Hey, dude. The night turned out better than I thought it would. I found us a couple of chicks. They’re definitely up for a good time. Promises to be fun. Come on, they’re waiting to meet you.”

“Thanks. I’m fine. I found someone interesting all by myself.”

“The fat chick? The one you were dancing with? Have you lost your mind? What is it with you?”

“I like her, Mark. I really like her.” He looked up at Mark. Sometimes Mark was a complete ass. Lately, it was a lot more than sometimes. Lucas’s sister, Casey, had already ripped him a new one earlier in the week for a particularly crass comment about her impending divorce and her weight. If a woman wasn’t skinny with big boobs, a short skirt, and stilettoes with only air between her ears then Mark wasn’t interested. Brains didn’t even enter into the equation for him. Every woman he took home and fucked looked the same, like a bunch of cookies cut from the same mold. Lucas wasn’t interested and never had been. He never went with Mark or even showed any interest in his preferred choice of female. Lucas had told him several times that he liked women with curves and brains. She had to be able to carry on a conversation. Real women, not vapid toothpicks or Barbie Dolls. Mark had never paid attention to that or just didn’t care, and the Barbie parade continued.

“Seriously, dude, you did the pity sit with the fat girl. Are you going for the fat girl pity fuck? Are you that hard up? Come on. I have two hot blondes waiting for us. Just leave, she’ll never know. I don’t get….”

Lucas heard the gasp the same time Mark did, and they both turned around to see Maddie standing behind Mark. HOLY SHIT! OH GOD! NO! He hoped that she hadn’t heard everything Mark had said, but his heart knew she had. Maddie stood there staring at him wide eyed with a shocked look on her face and her hand covering her open mouth.

**********

Please purchase your copy of

Scent of Lavender – Part One

from your ebook retailer and enjoy the first part of

Maddie and Lucas’s unconventional romance.

Look for Part Two on February 21, 2014! 

P.S. There will be a sneak peek of Part Two posted tomorrow! Come back and check it out! 

Scent of Lavender - Part One is up on iBooks

I am so happy to say that Scent of Lavender - Part One is now up on iBooks! For the readers who were awaiting the iTunes release, you can now get your copy and start reading. I hope you enjoy it and will post a review. Thanks.

iBooks - Scent of Lavender - Part One