#MFRWhooks Blog Hop - An Excerpt from BURNING LOVE - My New Roommate
It's Book Hooks Wednesday and I have an excerpt from BURNING LOVE, my paranormal/contemporary romance novella. Firefighter Riley helps rescue Iris and her cat Whiskers after a cooking fire in her apartment. He can't stop thinking about her. Enjoy!
Excerpt:
For the past week he’d thought about her, worried about her, and had come perilously close to searching for her. Riley liked to be in control. The fact that he had no control where Iris was concerned scared the hell out of him. He cleared his throat and looked pointedly at his watch. “It’s been nice talking to you Iris, but if you’ll excuse me I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
He started to shut the door.
“No, wait.” Iris stuck her foot in the door, wincing when the heavy wood met her sneaker-clad foot. “I need to talk to you about the room you have for rent.”
Finally it made sense. He’d placed an ad in the paper offering a room for rent, hoping to bring in a little extra cash to finish renovations. So far he’d had no takers and he was getting a little desperate. But not that desperate. The idea of living with Iris, her bedroom just across the hall from his, made Riley break out in a cold sweat.
“You’re kidding, right? You want me to rent you a room? You caused three fires at your last place. I’d have to be out of my mind to let you anywhere near my house.”
“Look, I know I’m not ideal roommate material.” She took a step closer, her gaze imploring. “I just need a place to sleep and store my things for the next six weeks and then I’m leaving Portland.”
He couldn’t think with Iris so close. Hell, he could barely form a coherent sentence. The light floral scent of her perfume tantalized his senses, intoxicating him. Riley drank in the sight of her, from the bright turquoise scarf holding back her dark hair to the colorful skirt in shades of blue and green that swirled around her ankles. She reminded him of beautiful, exotic gypsy.
A gypsy who could steal his heart without a second thought.
“I don’t think so. Goodbye, Iris.” He started closing the door again.
“No! Please, listen!” This time she managed to wedge the plastic cat carrier in the door. Whiskers howled in protest as the door made contact. Buddy’s ears stood at attention.
“Iris, I really don’t have time for this.”
“I don’t have any place to go!” Her chin trembled and tears rolled down her cheeks. Riley’s heart squeezed painfully at her distress.
Blurb:
After causing three cooking fires in her apartment, Iris Jensen finds herself evicted and homeless. She lands on Riley Benson's doorstep, looking to rent a room in the beautiful old home he's restoring. It's only for six weeks until Iris leaves Portland, Oregon for her new job on a cruise ship. Firefighter Riley knows firsthand what a bad tenant she can be. But he needs money to finish the work on the house he loves. And something about Iris pulls at his heart…
Meanwhile, in Heaven, two angels watch over the young lovers. Angelica and Hildegard work in Heaven's Relationship Division, where angels match mortals with their soul mates. The angels believe so strongly in Iris and Riley’s love that they break Heaven's rules to help them. Can the angels convince them their love will last a lifetime?
Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/Burning-Love-by-Jana-Richards
And this month I'm promoting my new Victorian Mansion Boxset in a Bookfunnel promotion. This boxset features my sweet romances RESCUE ME and TAKE A CHANCE ON ME. Click on the banner to check out the promo!
MFRW BLOG HOP!
I’m participating in MFRW Book Hooks—browse the current hop here:
I'm sure it will all be fine, as long as he keeps her out of his kitchen! Loved the humour and attraction in this excerpt.
Poor Iris! Three fires? Yikes. But I can alreadsy see that Riley is going to give her a chance.
Reading along, coffee in hand, then " ...three fires." LOL, good thing I was so enthralled I did not sip! A fire-starter and a fireman living together. What could go wrong?
She doesn't exactly come with the best references!
Great scenario, Jana.
Great except!