Book Excerpt
As she entered the lobby, Amy turned around, taking it all
in. It was breathtaking—the atrium soaring twenty stories high and flowers
hanging from boxes on every floor. Clear lights twinkled on the trees in the
lobby, and water splashed in a fountain. A small shop proudly brewed Starbucks,
and she could see french pastries displayed in the window. She understood that
the hotel boasted a five-star restaurant. It was a wonderful place for the
romantic getaway that she had dreamed about so many times.
People milled around, chatting. A sign above a long table on
the right read Convention Registration,
and a crowd had gathered in front. Jack must have made the reservation a long
time ago, must have planned this, to be able to get a room, she thought.
Amy walked to the hotel’s desk. It was three o’clock, a
large group was checking in, and she waited in line for a clerk. Finally, a
young woman looked up.
“May I help you?”
“I’m Amy Barrett. My husband checked in yesterday, but I
just reached town. I need a key.” The clerk looked at her uncertainly. “Here’s
my ID.” Amy smiled.
The man standing behind Amy gave an exasperated sigh, and
the clerk glanced at him with a nervous expression. She quickly checked Amy’s
ID, located the room, and handed her a key. “Here you are, Mrs. Barrett. You
are in the Richardson Suite. Have a nice stay.”
Amy took the key and walked toward the elevator. A suite,
she thought. Nice.
She hesitated outside of the room, hoping Jack was not
inside. She wanted to surprise him.
She inserted the key and quietly opened the door. The
curtains were not drawn and sunlight streamed into the living room. As she
looked for a place to hide, she heard sounds coming from the bedroom. Now would
have to do for her big surprise.
She wanted to capture the expression on Jack’s face when he
saw her. Reaching into the pocket of her parka, she pulled out her camera,
powered it on, and switched on the flash. Portraits taken with flash were
seldom flattering, she knew, but these would not make it to Facebook. They were
for her attorney.
Amy thrust open the door, flooding the room with light as
she stepped into it. Sure enough, there was her husband, Jack, and he was
definitely surprised…as was Marci, his secretary.
He looked over his shoulder and, as Amy raised her camera, he
threw himself across Marci, as if perhaps he thought Amy held a pistol. How
chivalrous.
Amy pointed the camera and held the shutter down, firing off
several shots, the flash popping repeatedly. She stepped quickly to the side to
make sure that she could see Marci’s face and took another series.
As if finally aware what was going on, Jack jumped from the
bed. As he lunged for the camera, Amy took one last shot. He threw his hands to
his face, as if blinded by the flash at the close distance.
“Surprise,” Amy mumbled under her breath as she walked
quickly out of the room and left the suite.
She scurried to her car, then
drove uptown, pulling into the parking lot at Lenox Square to call her
attorney, to tell him that she had the photographs.
About The Book
Title: To Fall in Love Again
Author: David Burnett
Genre: Romance
Drew Nelson did not plan to talk with
anyone that morning. He did not plan to make a new friend. He certainly
did not plan to fall in love.
He resisted all of Amy’s attempts to draw
him out− at the hotel, at the airport, on the airplane− giving hurried
responses and burying his face in a pile of papers. It was only when the
flight attendant offered coffee, and a muscle in Amy’s back twitched as
she reached for it, and the cup tipped, and the hot liquid puddled in
Drew’s lap that they began to talk.
Earlier in the year, each had lost a
spouse of over thirty years. Drew’s wife had died of a brain tumor,
Amy’s husband when his small airplane nose-dived to earth, the engine at
full throttle − an accident, it was ruled.
They live in the same city. Both have
grandchildren. They are about the same age. Consciously, or not, they
both are looking to love again.
But relationships do not exist in
vacuums. Drew is wealthy, and Amy is middle class. Amy is “new” in town –
she and her husband moved to Charleston twenty-five years ago – while
Drew’s family has lived there for three centuries. Drew lives below Broad, a code word for high society, old families, power, and money. Amy’s home is across the river.
Class warfare may be less violent than it
was in the past, but when Drew invites Amy to the St Cecelia Ball,
battle lines are drawn. In a city in which ancestry is important, the
ball’s membership is passed from father to son, and only those from the
oldest families attend.
Family, friends, co-workers all weigh in
on their relationship and choose sides. Allies are found in unexpected
places. Opposition comes from among those who were thought to be
friends. Though they are gone, even their spouses − through things they
have done and things they have said − wield influence in the conflict
that follows.
Amy begins to suspect that Drew is one of them,
the rich snobs who despise her, while Drew concludes that Amy neither
trusts him nor cares for him. As each questions the other’s motives,
their feelings for each other are tested, and Drew and Amy are
challenged to consider if they truly want to fall in love again.
Author Bio
I
live in Columbia South Carolina, with my wife and our blue-eyed cat,
Bonnie. I enjoy traveling, photography, baking bread, and the Carolina
beaches.
We have traveled widely in the United
States and the United Kingdom. During one trip to Scotland, we visited
Crathes Castle, the ancestral home of the Burnett family near Aberdeen.
My photographic subjects have been as
varied as prehistoric ruins on the islands of Scotland, star trails, sea
gulls, and a Native American powwow.
I went to school for longer than I want
to admit, and I have graduate degrees in psychology and education. I was
formerly director of research for our state education department.
We have two daughters and three grandchildren. To Fall in Love Again is my third novel.
Links
Giveaway
There’s a giveaway for a $20 Amazon gift card on the release day! Follow the link below to participate.
Go here to participate in the giveaway.
0 reacties:
Een reactie posten