Lucky Charm
by Marie Astor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Twenty-eight-year
old Annabel Green is about to tie the knot with her college love, an aspiring
author Jeremy Blake, but her plans for an ideal wedding are rudely interrupted
when she catches Jeremy kissing his gorgeous book agent.
Shell-shocked
by Jeremy’s betrayal, Annabel retreats into the quiet routine of TV dinners and
solitary evenings. It is then that Annabel’s best friend, fashion designer
Lilly Clayton, sets herself on a mission to draw Annabel out of her shell. In
an attempt to persuade Annabel to keep an open mind on dating, Lilly takes
Annabel for a stunning makeover, but after Annabel passes on a date with a
dashing entrepreneur, Lilly decides that more drastic measures are needed.
Lilly invites Annabel to see a palm reader who gives Annabel a lucky charm that
is supposed to help her find true love.
A
few weeks later, Annabel meets a new love interest, and as the two embark on a
whirlwind romance, she starts to believe in the power of the talisman the palm
reader has given her. But what Annabel doesn’t know is that Lilly is hiding a
secret that could unravel her faith in her newly found luck in love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
It was hard to believe that it had been six years since they
had graduated college together. There was no denying that their relationship
had changed over the years. Jeremy was busy with his book, and she was busy at
work, so, inevitably, they got sucked into a routine. But then, wasn’t that the
natural progression of things? Besides, there was comfort in routine, a
reassuring stability. Of course, there were also drawbacks. The changes felt
more palpable as of late. They did not have sex as often as they used to when
they first met, but then who did? Annabel frowned, trying to remember when she
had last worn lingerie, but drew a blank. That was not a good sign. Perhaps it
was time to shake things up a bit. She would surprise Jeremy tonight. She
remembered seeing a lingerie shop a few blocks away. Right after she finished
vacuuming, she would run over there and pick up something special for tonight.
Annabel had been so intent on vacuuming that she barely
heard the doorbell ring. It was not until she heard loud pounding that she
rushed to open the front door.
“Hey, Lilly!” Annabel made a conscious effort not to sound
disappointed. For a brief moment, she had hoped that Jeremy had arrived early.
“Is this a bad time?” Lilly asked, walking inside without
waiting for Annabel’s answer.
“No, no it’s fine. I was just doing some cleaning. The place
is a mess.”
“I think I’m in love,” Lilly announced as she plopped
herself on the couch, stretching dreamily.
“You are? With whom?” This was surprising news, especially
given the fact that for the past ten years, Lilly had maintained that all men
were cheating, lying scoundrels, and that she would never entrust her heart to
any of them.
“A man I met last night.”
“Spill.” Annabel threw aside the vacuum cleaner and took a
seat next to Lilly.
“Last night, I was at this nightclub event that my friend
Alex was hosting. By the way, I sent you the invite, but you said you couldn’t
make it,” Lilly added accusingly.
“I was busy.” Annabel looked away. Lilly was always sending
her invites to lounge and nightclub openings, but it just was not her scene.
“So there I was, drinking my drink, shooting the breeze with
Alex, when this hot, gorgeous guy comes up and asks me if he could buy me a
drink. And when I say gorgeous, I mean gorgeous. An Oliver Martinez look-alike:
dark brown eyes, jet-black hair, tan skin, six feet tall, and best of all, he
is French. I mean, this guy could make ice sizzle! I have to stop here. I’m
beginning to sound like a porno ad!” Lilly giggled. “So, we start dancing and
talking and before long he tells me that he’s been in New York for a year on
assignment for his job, but of course, as my luck would have it, his term is
ending, and he’ll be going back to Paris in a little over a month.”
“What’s his name?”
“Simon, Simon Barnette. Even his name sounds perfect! Too
bad that he’s leaving so soon.”
“Well, you’ll be going to Paris in three months.”
“Yeah, but who knows what will happen then.” Lilly waved her
hand dismissively.
It was just like Lilly to fall in love with someone who
would be moving halfway across the world in a month. This way she could be sure
to have an expiration date on her feelings.
“So, what are you doing for the rest of the day? Do you want
to grab some lunch, or maybe go for a walk? I feel like I could use some air.”
“Yes, sure,” Annabel agreed, guessing that what Lilly really
wanted was to dish about her new love interest. “I have a few errands I need to
run, but I’m up for lunch.”
“Can I help?”
“I wanted to go shopping…” Annabel stalled, deliberating
whether she should disclose her plans. Inviting Lilly along would most
definitely result in an extravagant shopping spree.
“Shopping for what?” Lilly prodded.
At times Annabel thought that if Lilly had not become a
designer, she would have made an excellent detective.
“Lingerie. I wanted to get something special for when Jeremy
gets home tonight. You’re welcome to come with me if you’d like.”
“Count me in. I could use a few new things myself.”
Annabel raised an eyebrow, wondering what Lilly had in mind.
She had once seen Lilly’s arsenal of lacy undergarments, and it had every
possible thing imaginable.
Lilly insisted that they head to Bloomingdale’s, flatly
rejecting as amateurish Annabel’s idea of checking out the neighborhood
lingerie shop.
“So, what did you have in mind?” inquired Lilly as she
picked out a lacy black bra and a matching black silk thong for herself.
“Oh, I don’t know. Something pretty, but not too crazy. I
kind of like this.” Annabel picked out a pale blue slip with lace trimming.
“It’s pretty, to sleep in,” Lilly conceded. “But if you want
to get Jeremy all hot and bothered, I would go with this.” She thrust a black garter
belt with red lace trimming at Annabel. “And these.” She handed Annabel a
matching corset and thong.
“Don’t you think it’s a bit much? It looks like something a
stripper would wear. I don’t think I could carry off something like this.”
“I thought you wanted to surprise Jeremy. Try it on.” Lilly
pushed Annabel into the fitting room.
“Are you ready to come out yet?” Lilly called out several
minutes later. “And don’t even try telling me that it did not fit. I know your
size.”
“I can’t get it to close,” Annabel panted. Getting into this
contraption required more work than she had realized. Finally, she hooked the
last clasp and cautiously parted the dressing room curtain.
“Let me see,” demanded Lilly, shoving the curtain open.
“Wow, this getup makes me hot and
bothered. Poor Jeremy. He might have a heart attack.”
“Do you really think it looks good?”
“That mousy slip you picked looked good. This little number
looks hot. You should definitely buy it, and I’m not taking ‘no’ for an
answer.”
“How much is this thing anyway?” Annabel fumbled with the
price tag and gasped. “This is crazy. You could buy a suit for this price.”
“A suit won’t get you laid,” Lilly observed flatly. “Do you
have a pair of black stilettos?”
Annabel nodded. The word “stiletto” was not in her
vocabulary, but she did own a pair of black pumps and thought that they should
do just fine.
“Perfect. Wear black stilettos with this tonight, and Jeremy
will be all over you.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Marie Astor is the author of
contemporary romance novels This Tangled Thing Called Love, Lucky Charm, On the
Rim of Love, romantic suspense, To Catch a Bad Guy, and a short story
collection, A Dress in a Window. Marie
is also the author of young adult fantasy adventure novel, Over the Mountain
and Back.
If you would like to learn
more about Marie’s writing, please stop by her website: www.marieastor.com or
visit her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection
Books by Marie Astor:
This Tangled Thing Called
Love – a contemporary romance about overcoming one’s inhibitions, learning to
tango, and finding one’s true love match.
Lucky Charm – a humorous
contemporary romance about love, luck and friendship.
On the Rim of Love – a
contemporary romance about the unexpected power of love.
A Dress in a Window – a
collection of short stories about love, coincidences, and fate.
http://www.amazon.com/A-Dress-Window-ebook/dp/B004E112TO/ref=pd_sim_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2
Over the Mountain and Back –
young adult fantasy adventure novel about a boy who takes his snowboard for a
ride and finds himself in a magical, hidden world he never knew existed.
Social Media Links:
Website:
http://www.marieastor.com/
Twitter: @marieastor
Giveaway:
Marie will be awarding to five randomly drawn commenters at the
end of the tour (US ONLY), one of the following five custom-designed jewelry
prizes:
Prize 1: Smoky quartz necklace with sterling silver flower clasp
Prize 2: Lapis and labradorite necklace with sterling silver
clasp
Prize 3: Kayanite and turquoise sterling silver necklace
Prize 4: Onyx and red agate sterling silver bracelet
Prize 5: Jade, amber and red agate necklace
The more
you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found
here:
Thank you for featuring Lucky Charm today!
ReplyDeleteGood excerpt! Thanks for the spotlight on Lucky Charm - I'm looking forward to reading it
ReplyDeletemaria63303 at gmail dot com
Nice excerpt.
ReplyDeletebn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
Ooo, sexy outfit! Too bad about what happens next :(
ReplyDeletetiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com