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Sandra Moyer’s
preschool is struggling, so she reluctantly agrees to let super-famous actor
Ben Capshaw research a role there. Ben’s always joking around, never serious,
but there’s something about the buttoned-up, beautiful Sandra and her young
daughter that makes him want to take life more seriously. But Sandra won’t
trust him—what if it’s all an act, research for the role? As the lines between
make-believe and reality blur, Ben will have to decide if love is worth casting
aside the role of his life for a new role…that could last a lifetime.
Excerpt:
From the corner of her eye, Sandra Moyer noticed a tall,
bearded man leaning against the playground fence and automatically tensed.
Because she was a single mom and alone, her paranoid nature already labeled him
a felon, although technically he was doing nothing wrong. In fact, come to
think of it, he had a pretty nice body with those real-life Hulk arms and broad
chest. She didn’t know what that made her for noticing something like that
about a man she assumed was on some Family Watchdog list, but the phrase “cheap
and desperate” came to mind.
Since when did I start ogling the physiques of strange men?
Her shoulders wilted as she brooded over that question. She
obviously needed to get out more. She needed to just get out. The problem was
she didn’t see herself doing that any time soon. Her self-esteem had hit rock
bottom and hadn’t been able to locate its way back up since the day she’d found
Steve cheating on her with one of his costars.
An unpleasant picture of her ex-husband lip-locked with a
Julianne Moore–type redhead popped into her mind, and she shuddered.
Actors. Did their profession ever mesh with reality?
The answer to that was a resounding no. Unfortunately, she’d
learned that one the hard way. Steve had even thought she’d understand the main
reason he had the affair was for the publicity and what it could do for his
career and income. Like that was supposed to make her feel so much better about
it.
“Mommy, I want to play in the sandbox.”
Her daughter’s voice pulled her from those depressing
thoughts, and she gratefully looked down. “Okay, honey. Just five more minutes,
though.”
Hannah squealed and dashed through the playground as fast as
her little legs could run. Sandra couldn’t help but smile. Life was so simple
when you were four. The little things kept you happy. And why not?
Four-year-olds didn’t think about paying the rent or overdue bills. Things that
were constantly on her mind ever since she’d opened the preschool with her
sister. No, the only thing you worried about at that age was whether Mommy would
give you ice cream if you didn’t eat your string beans.
She’d kill for that kind of stress again.
Unfortunately, the thought of homicide had her eyes
traveling back to the well-built man she’d been ogling earlier. He was tossing
around a football with a young boy now. Nothing illegal, but something was off.
She had a sixth sense when it came to protecting her daughter, and right now it
was telling her something big. Like he’d just gotten out of prison. It must
have been a whopper of a sentence, too, judging from the long, scraggly hair
and the kind of beard and mustache Santa Claus would envy. She never made a
habit of associating with men who looked liked convicts, but there was
something familiar about him…
She doubted he had a child enrolled in her preschool. Story
time at the public library? She highly doubted that, too. He didn’t exactly
look like the loving Father Knows Best type, considering that fire-breathing
skull on his calf wasn’t designed to instill tenderness. At least he was out
spending time with his son, which was a lot more than what her daughter was
getting from her own father.
As if her thoughts had been telepathically sent out, the man
in question cast a lingering gaze over in her direction. And he smiled.
Oh. My. Goodness.
Oh, no, don’t even think about it. Don’t you dare come over
here. She fumbled to put her sunglasses back on and almost punched out a lens.
Please stay where you are. He’d better be a jolly person being his usual overly
friendly self and not just leering at her. But she laid odds on the latter.
What was it with her? She could attract a creep from the
next state over without even trying. A talent she’d gladly relinquish.
She flopped down on a bench. Opening her purse, she yanked
out a book and hid her face behind it. If she pretended to be engrossed in
reading, maybe the man would reconsider trying to strike up a conversation.
Yeah, that’s all she needed—some ex-con cozying up to her.
Confident her glasses hid her eyes, she lowered the book a
half inch and sneaked another peek. Tall, Dark, and Scraggly had his back to
her now. Relief enveloped her. Thank goodness, she thought, slowly letting out
a breath.
One deadbeat per lifetime was enough.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jennifer
Shirk has a bachelor degree in pharmacy-which has in NO WAY at all helped her
with her writing career. But she likes to point it out, since it shows
romantic-at-hearts come in all shapes, sizes, and mind-numbing educations.
She writes
sweet (and sometimes even funny) romances for Samhain Publishing, Avalon
Books/Montlake Romance and now Entangled Publishing. She won third place in the
RWA 2006 NYC's Kathryn Hayes Love and Laughter Contest with her first book, THE
ROLE OF A LIFETIME. Recently, her novel SUNNY DAYS FOR SAM won the 2013 Golden
Quill Published Authors Contest for Best Traditional Romance.
Lately she's
been on a serious exercise kick. But don't hold that against her.
Author
Website: www.jennifershirk.com
Author Blog: http://jennifershirk.blogspot.com/
Author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenniferShirk
Author
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjennifershirk
Author
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jennifershirk
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