#MFRWhooks Blog Hop - An Excerpt from RESCUE ME - A Picnic in the Hallway
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
I hope you're having an awesome Wednesday. Today I've got an excerpt from RESCUE ME, my humorous contemporary romance novel. In this snippet, new neighbors, Matt and Chelsea, meet at the front door after work. Matt has just subletted the apartment across the hall from Chelsea and she's still wary of him since they had an unorthodox first meeting. Enjoy the excerpt!
Excerpt:
She pointed to the bags in his arms. “Something smells good. Did you bring home take-out?”
“No, not exactly. Just some leftovers from the restaurant where I work. The pay’s lousy but at least I don’t starve.”
She sniffed the air as she led the way up the stairs. “Judging from the wonderful smell, I’d say you have a pretty good deal. I wouldn’t mind a job that fed me so well.”
“The food is pretty terrific, if I do say so myself.”
She turned to stare at him. “You mean you cooked that?”
Matt grinned at her startled expression. “Sure. Our restaurant serves the finest authentic Irish dishes. Don’t tell me you’re chauvinistic enough to believe men can’t cook? Some of the greatest chefs around are men. Haven’t you heard of Wolfgang Puck? Gordon Ramsey? Bobby Flay?”
“Of course.” She continued up the stairs. “But they’re famous. I guess I never think of regular guys cooking. In my family, my mother did all the cooking. My father was very adamant that cooking was ‘Women’s Work’.”
Matt heard a note of bitterness in her voice. Did Chelsea have Daddy issues?
What made her tick, what were her dreams, what made her laugh? Maybe he could begin to find out by being neighborly.
“I’ve got way too much food here for one. Why don’t you come over and help me get rid of all this?”
Chelsea reached the top of the stairs and looked back at him in surprise.
“You mean, you want me to come over for dinner? In your apartment?”
Matt felt her reluctance, as well as an undercurrent of fear. She still didn’t trust him, and he couldn’t say he blamed her, considering the way they’d met. “Unless you want to meet out in the hall. I could bring my picnic basket.”
She blinked at him. Then she grinned, her smile transforming her face. The cool, solemn-faced young woman was replaced by a vivacious, charming girl. Matt nearly dropped his bags in surprise.
“Actually, a picnic in the hallway sounds like fun. At least we won’t have to worry about ants.”
It was Matt’s turn to blink. The Ice Princess had a sense of humor. There was a real human being under all that frost.
Blurb:
Chelsea Andrews can’t decide who’s more dangerous—the creep on the Toronto city bus, or the handsome stranger who rescues her. Was he acting as he claimed, or is he that weird in real life? She doesn’t stick around to find out. Fate intervenes when her rescuer, out of work actor Matt Malone, sublets the apartment across the hall. Chelsea soon discovers the most dangerous thing about her charming new neighbor is the damage he’s inflicting on her heart.
Matt is at a crossroads. He’s given up a lot for his acting career and it’s given him little in return. Should he continue? When he moves in across the hall from Chelsea, he begins to believe he could have it all, love and career. But she’s keeping secrets that could end their relationship.
Chelsea must decide if Matt is worthy of her trust. And Matt has to decide what, and who, is truly important to him.
Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/Rescue-Me-by-Jana-Richards
Buy Direct from Author: https://www.curios.com/c/VN6BK5
I’m participating in MFRW Book Hooks—browse the current hop here: