South Beach, two chefs falling in love, and an unexpected competition to be THE CHEF featured in a local magazine! What could go wrong? Did I mention two teen nieces who each want to have the best Sweet 15 party ever? If you love sweet romances filled with flavorful food, humor, emotion, and romance, you’ll love SOUTH BEACH LOVE, coming from Hallmark in May 2021. It’s my pleasure to share a teaser from SOUTH BEACH LOVE!

Excerpt

“Chef, there’s someone out there who says he’s an old friend.”

Sara peered over the half wall that separated her restaurant’s open kitchen from the dining area. As her hostess jerked her head in the direction of the front door, Sara craned her neck to see an older, but unquestionably memorable face, at the hostess podium. A face she had dreamed about more than once as a teen.

“OMG,” she heard from beside her. “Is that Tony Sanchez? The Tony Sanchez?” said Jeri, her business partner, fellow chef, and long-time best friend. Inches shorter than Sara, Jeri had to rise on tiptoes to peer over the half-wall.

“None other,” Sara said as she grabbed a towel to dry her hands and shot a quick look at a starstruck Jeri. Her aqua blue eyes were wide with surprise in a face of flawless café con leche skin. “Can you handle things for a few minutes?”

At Jeri’s nod, Sara rushed out to greet Tony. She told herself not to make too much of how his smile widened when he spotted her, or how his eyes, those melty chocolate-colored eyes, warmed as he settled his gaze on her. But it was impossible to stop how her heartbeat picked up speed that he was here and seemingly happy to see her.

Hugs had always been freely given by the Sanchez family, but she held her hands out to him to avoid a hug, uncertain of how she’d react to the embrace. “It’s been way too long, Tony.” Nine years and eight months, give or take. Not that she was counting.

Liar, the little voice in her head chastised. Even though Tony had left Miami behind, she’d eagerly followed all his accomplishments. Even dared to wonder if he’d ever make Miami his home again.

Tony took both her hands in his and playfully wagged them. “You’ve grown up, chiquitica.”

She laughed and tried to ignore the tingle building where her hands rested in his. Slowly she eased her hands free. “I couldn’t stay ten forever. You look good,” she said and prayed it didn’t sound too much like flirting. To cover for it, she blurted out, “What brings you to Miami?”

“Family,” he said and glanced around the restaurant. “I ran into Rick the other day and he mentioned you had a place, so I decided to come by and say ‘Hello.’”

“Well, hello,” she said, feeling more and more like a tongue-tied fool with every passing second. “Monica will get you a table.” She waved at the hostess and when the young woman came by, she said, “Please seat Tony as soon as you can.”

He raised his hand in a ‘stop’ motion. “Por favor, no special treatment.”

Sara peered around the dining room. Every table was full inside and a quick look through the windows confirmed the outdoor seats were all taken. Plus there were quite a number of people milling around outside waiting to be seated.

“It may be a while,” she said with an apologetic grimace.

Tony mimicked her action, scrutinizing the restaurant and outdoor area. “I can wait. I’ve got all night. And if I’m still here when the rush is over, maybe we can grab a coffee later?”

Coffee? With Tony? Butterflies erupted in her stomach, but she somehow got the word out. “S-s-s-ure,” she stammered and without waiting for his reply, she rushed back to the kitchen before she embarrassed herself even more.

“You’re blushing. I’ve never seen you blush before,” Jeri kidded as Sara resumed the final plating of the nearly complete orders.

“It’s the heat in the kitchen,” she said, although her partner probably knew it was a lie.

“Sure, Sara. The heat and not…” Her friend paused and looked over the wall to where Tony waited outside, just beyond the entrance to the restaurant. “That hot guy you obviously have a crush on.”

“Not a crush,” she said and jerked tickets off the board to place them and the finished plates on the counter. Like clockwork her servers came over to pick up the meals and take them to their respective tables.

“Sure thing, Sara. Whatever you say,” Jeri teased as she finished up an order of sliders by topping them with slices of perfectly grilled foie gras. When she was done, she passed the plates to Sara for the final touch of caramelized onion compote before a toasted brioche bun top completed the slider and the order went up on the counter.

“Please, Jeri, leave it alone,” she pleaded and with a reluctant nod, her partner returned her focus to the new orders while Sara prayed that she wouldn’t make a fool of herself with Tony when it came time to chat with him.

She’d tried to keep her crush a secret from him and if he’d ever noticed it, he’d been gentleman enough not to mention it.

She wanted to keep it that way.

He had his restaurant and life in New York and she was here in Miami and never the twain would meet.

But in the back of her mind, she wondered, “What if?”

Order

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Ky0OwQ
Apple Books: https://amzn.to/37mQbpX
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Additional Retailers: https://books2read.com/SouthBeachLoveHallmark

Vampires. Christmas. New York City. Three of my favorite things all wrapped up into the first Holiday with a Vampire story that I did. Yes, I did a second one a year or so later – A Vampire for Christmas – but you’ll have to wait for that story which is set on the Jersey Shore and involves a Christmas angel and a vampire. Fate Calls Holiday with a Vampire features a Christmas do-gooder who is driving my cranky vampire crazy with her bell-ringing. I hope you enjoy this little teaser! In this scene, vampire Hadrian has used his powers to take Connie captive and what follows is…interesting.

Teaser

When Connie Morales volunteers to help raise money by manning a collection kettle, the last thing she expects is to be whisked away by devastatingly handsome vampire Hadrian who is upset with her bell-ringing and Christmas cheer.

Vampire Hadrian has known nothing but pain during the holidays and cannot imagine that any good can come out of them or the annoying Santa who has interrupted his rest. But as Christmas approaches, Hadrian finds it impossible to ignore the hope and joy that Connie has brought into his lifeless existence.

Connie is shocked to find out that her captor is less than human, but little by little the cracks appear in his hard exterior to reveal a man capable of great love and honor.

Can Connie’s holiday with a vampire become something more or will Fate bring yet more pain and loss to Hadrian’s undead life?

Order

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3mJ7IOn
Apple: https://apple.co/37AOiol
B&N: http://bit.ly/BNFateCalls
Kobo: http://bit.ly/KoboFateCalls
Scribd: http://bit.ly/ScribdFateCalls
Vivlio: http://bit.ly/VivlioFateCalls

Excerpt:

Warning for Mature Audiences Only

Once inside, he shut the door behind them with a sweep of his hand and faced her.
With the brisk winter wind gone, a slightly sour aroma permeated the air around her. He wrinkled his nose and motioned to the Santa suit.

“Take it off.”

Her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides and once again, he felt the pull and push of power between them as she defied him.

Interesting.

He took a step closer and raised his hand to the neck of the Santa suit, where he found the pull for the zipper. As the back of his hand skimmed the slick black shirt beneath, her body trembled.

“Don’t tell me you’re a virgin,” he said while slowly drawing down the zipper on the suit, revealing the ample curves of her breasts beneath the shimmer of the tight-fitting fabric.

He suddenly itched to touch those breasts but contained himself.

Before pleasure came punishment for her defiance.

To his continued surprise, she tilted back her head and with only a slight hitch in her voice to give away her discomfort said, “Just because I’m not a virgin doesn’t mean I’m not virtuous. I dislike being pawed by the likes of you.”

Hadrian chuckled as he completely unzipped the top of the Santa suit. “The likes of me?”

“You won’t get away with this.”

He laughed again, amused by her spirit. “Who will stop me?”

He picked up his hand and once again had to fight the urge to cup her breast. His human desire confused him. It had been quite some time since he had felt it. Instead of giving in to it, he cradled the side of her face and leaned close until his nose barely brushed hers.

“Who will stop me? You?”

“Yes, me.” Her voice exploded against his lips, the spill of her breath warm and all too tempting.

A harsh laugh escaped him this time as he met her gaze. “How will you—”

“There are laws—”

“And I suppose you know all those laws,” he said and inched his hand downward, but not to her breast. Instead, he slipped his hand beneath the fabric at her shoulder. With a forceful nudge he sent the offensive Santa suit to the parquet floor.

“I’m a lawyer,” she said, reaching for his hands as he moved to the drawstring at her waist.

His laugh this time was sharp and unrestrained. “A lawyer. There are some who might say there is not much difference between the two of us.”

Her eyebrows narrowed once again before she thoughtfully asked, “And why is that?”

He unleashed the demon, transforming into a vampire. When he spoke, his voice was tinged with the low rumble of the beast he had let loose.

“Because we are both bloodsuckers, aren’t we?”

***

The blood drained from Connie’s body, creating the chill of fear as she examined the demon who now stood before her.

The dark chocolate-brown of his pupils had bled out, replaced by an eerie neon blue-green glow. Long and lethal-looking fangs had erupted from beneath the edge of his full top lip, past his pouty lower lip, down to the middle of his chin.

She had placed her hands over his as they rested at the tie to the suit’s drawstring. Now she knew that the cold of his skin wasn’t from the weather outside.

And then she told herself she had to be dreaming or hallucinating. There were no such things as vampires. Closing her eyes, she willed herself to wake, but when she opened her eyes again, things were as they had been before. This was all too real.

Containing her fear and summoning every last bit of her courage, she said, “Then I guess you owe me some professional courtesy.”

The hands resting beneath hers jumped. He shifted back to peruse her face. Arching a lush, dark brow, he asked, “Professional courtesy?”

“From one bloodsucker to another.”

The laughter that erupted from him was full and rich as he threw his head back. His body shook with it.

Human mirth, she thought, since it lacked the earlier animal rumble she had heard. When he faced her once again, her perception was confirmed. All traces of the vampire were gone and what remained were the handsome features that had snared her attention earlier.

“You are…intriguing.”

“Let me go,” she said again even as she felt the shove of power that had compelled her to put down the bell and follow him, no matter how hard she tried to fight it.

“I think not.”

Beneath her hands, his nimble fingers worked the drawstring and loosened the waistband until the pants puddled at her feet, leaving her standing before him in the tight and rather revealing underwear.

Interest flared in his gaze as he perused her body. To her surprise, she felt herself responding.

He might be a demon, but he was a damned attractive one and he was gazing at her as if he wanted to eat her.

But then again that is what he might truly want to do, Connie reminded herself.

But not before some pleasure, her brain surmised, rocking her with the reality that the man standing before her could control her every thought and action.

Fear came again as it had before. Her body trembled as he moved his hand to her neck, but all he did was pluck the lanyard with the key to the library from around her neck.

He held it out to the side and said, “George.”

A man scurried from the shadows behind him. Connie hadn’t noticed him standing there before.

“Yes, Hadrian,” he said with an obsequious bob of his head.

Hadrian. At least the demon now had a name. An interesting one at that.

Hadrian jiggled the lanyard up and down. “Please take this key and put Miss…” He paused, waiting for her to answer.

“Connie Morales. And it’s Ms. Morales.”

A glimmer of a smile flashed across his lips before he said, “Please put Ms. Morales’s things away, would you? And do something about that Santa suit.”

“It is rather rank, isn’t it?” George quickly took the key but had to wait for her to step from the puddle of the pants before he scurried away to do Hadrian’s bidding.

“Do you always get what you want?” she asked, intrigued despite the danger of the situation.

In a millisecond the human disappeared, and the vampire emerged, his movements so swift they were a blur. And then she felt the sharp edges of his fangs at her neck.

“Always,” he said and then pain swept her away as he sank his teeth deep into her flesh.