What will happen when dark secrets
threaten a perfect recipe for happiness and newfound love?
Left on her own, Carrie Ann
decides it is time to escape her past, empower herself and overcome her
confidence issues by turning her secret hobby of erotic cake design into a
business. Her world is then turned upside down when she bumps into dynamic and
sexy Dominic. Unwittingly, Carrie Ann sows the seeds of disaster from day one,
weaving a web of deceit, and before she knows it the lies are multiplying.
As news of her baking brilliance
spreads, romance grows. Now, only one thing can ruin their happiness and that
is Carrie Ann’s dark deceptions and the battle she is fighting within herself.
Will she be strong enough to overcome a past that is set to destroy her dreams
for the future and tell Dominic the truth, or will she lose him forever?
Sweet Secrets is available on
Kindle, ebook and print from:
and all good book suppliers
Excerpt
The sun warmed Carrie Ann Jude’s
face as she glanced through the large plate glass windows of the airport.
Planes rose into the sky like silver birds, their metal bodies transporting
people all over the world on adventures. She tightened her grip on the straps
of her handbag. She had been one of those people embarking on an adventure only
two weeks ago, except her journey had not started just with feelings of
excitement, but trepidation. She pushed her sunglasses up over her head and
took out her paperback to flip through. It was hard to concentrate with so many
thoughts dancing in her head.
Carrie Ann was so deep in thought
she hadn’t noticed the stunning youth about to sit down beside her. Wanting to
be alone and not have anyone invading her space, she’d put her large bag on the
chair next to her. Before she could say anything, he’d had his hand on it and,
much to her consternation, had dropped it unceremoniously onto the floor. Then,
not giving her time to move out of the way, he dumped a considerably weighty
backpack on her foot.
“Ouch. Watch it!” she cried out,
as he bumped against her, slopping his coffee over her hand. “That was hot.”
She angrily snapped her book closed, noticing spots of coffee marking the
pages.
“Oh, my God, I’m so sorry. Hi.” He
had an American accent. “I ought to have asked if you minded if I sat here, but
that’s me.”
She looked up to make a rude
retort and found herself glaring into an impossibly green pair of eyes. She
flushed. It was so embarrassing to be trapped by his compelling gaze.
“I’m so clumsy, everyone says it.”
He held out his hand. “I’m truly sorry. My name’s Dominic, and you are…?”
How could she resist those eyes
and his flirtatious expression? Carrie Ann took hold of his proffered hand and
shook it unenthusiastically. “Carrie Ann.” What she could only describe as an
electrical charge danced up her legs and ended with a pleasant fizz in the tips
of her fingers and toes. He was very good-looking and his mop of shaggy blond
hair that flopped into his face seemed to remind her of…
“Great.” He flashed her a grin.
“I’m sorry. Let me get you another coffee.”
“No thanks, I don’t want one.” She
was attempting to be more assertive, but it was harder than she’d thought.
Actually, everything was so much harder out in the big wide world as she tried
to cut ties to her past. Rommy, her father, so named because when he was
younger he’d looked devilishy like a true Romany gypsy, had often criticised
her for her submissive stance, which was ridiculous since that was what he’d
wanted from her. The thought of him sent a creepy crawly shiver down her spine.
No one should feel like that about
their father, but she did and she couldn’t help it. On occasion, she wondered
if she would ever be able to get over him, shake loose all the hang-ups and
phobias he had given her. It had not been abuse, but he had been good at
keeping her under. She realised now she shouldn’t have put up with it for so
long, she should have fought more for her independence when she’d had a chance
to. But that was easier said than done.
The young guy hefted his bag and
again knocked her. The nerve of it. She studied him angrily out of the corner
of her eye. She had keen powers of observation—it was another one of the little
skills she’d developed from being alone so long. Not having a lot to occupy
her, she had become exceedingly observant. His arms were bare and muscular and
covered in a frosting of tight blond hair. He also had strong, capable hands.
Rommy would have said the man’s thighs were those of a rugby player. She had a
thing about blond men, she reflected. Perhaps that was why she was instantly
captivated by him. That came as a surprise and an interesting one, since anger
and desire had a potent effect on her newly liberated self. It would be hard to
be immune to his charms and it might be fun to test her boundaries yet again.
She was woefully inexperienced with men. In a way, stepping out into the world
was like learning to drive, and shy girls like her had to approach it slowly
and cautiously and be prepared for any sudden unexpected turns in the road or
emergency stops. She smiled to herself. She might have been confined to the
house for years and had no experience of love first-hand, but she was living
and breathing and had the same desires other women had.
For some reason she was shamefully
hot and crossed her legs. It was utterly ridiculous being affected like this
since Dominic was sexy and because of that was the kind of guy who wouldn’t
flirt with her, well, not seriously. She tugged her skirt down over her knees.
When she glanced up, he was watching her with a wry twist to his lips, as if he
found her faintly amusing.
He gestured to the terminal board.
“I guess you’re heading back to England.”
“Naturally,” she said. Carrie Ann
wondered if she had a sticky label on her forehead, stamped ‘England’.
Nervousness made her feel
hysterical. She would much prefer to be left alone with her thoughts, besides
which it was distinctly embarrassing to have a man’s leg pressed against hers.
He kept staring at her and she self-consciously stroked her lip. Why did he
keep peering at her, like that? Besides the invisible label, there was nothing
else that could make her seem even remotely interesting…was there?
At that moment a stunning girl
strolled by and Dominic sized her up with interest, his gaze rippling up and
down her from the tips of the high heels she was tottering in, to her
layer-cut, multi-toned hair. Carrie Ann’s spirits sank further. She only had to
dissect some of the women around her to realise she was at a distinct
disadvantage where flirting was concerned. Let’s face it, she wasn’t even
dressed for seduction. She was draped in her shabby comfortable skirt and she
hadn’t even bothered with her appearance. As for what Rommy would have rather
rudely termed ‘slap’—that was like attempting a recipe that was way out of her
comfort zone. She’d only recently ventured down the makeup trail and she still
didn’t like wearing it, although that might soon have to change, if her career
plans took off. Makeup was weird stuff. It never looked right on her—the
eyeshadow she’d tried made her dark brown eyes seem to retreat backwards so
they seemed far too small, her freckles overwhelmed her complexion and her
riotous mousy curls defied brushes, combs and tongs.
Any makeup she had used, she’d
mistakenly plastered on to cover the freckles, and red lipstick—as Myra, the
girl she had met at the ranch had pointed out—made her appear garish. Myra had
given her a stick of lipstick termed nude and that did help, teamed with a
tinted moisturiser. Myra was a brick, she thought grimly, pity she lived
halfway across the world in Australia. She was also into baking, which had been
a plus. It had been great to actually have a kindred spirit to talk with, to
enthuse about her dreams to. Her heart soared and dipped. If anything was
guaranteed to lift her spirits, it was the prospect of the new plans waiting
for her when she got home.
“I don’t bite.” He touched her.
She jumped. He was smiling at her and trying
to be funny by dipping his head and making puppy dog eyes at her.
She laughed, she couldn’t help it.
“No, I guess not.”
He stretched out his long legs,
settling back in his chair. “Did you enjoy it?”
“Enjoy what?”
“Your stay over here in the
States. What were you doing? Was it business or pleasure?”
She was still guilty that she’d
splurged a considerable amount of Rommy’s nestegg on the short holiday. It was
the kind of thing her father, with his thrifty ways, would have termed
profligate.
“All pleasure. Something trivial
actually. I just had the Arlem experience.” She stared him in the eye, seeing
if he got it or not. Most people knew about Arlem or they didn’t.
He broke into a grin. “Wow! You’re
kidding. The Arlem experience, that’s way cool. I read about it in a Sunday
supplement.” Brow creased, he seemed to be thinking.
“But that’s where the weird people
go isn’t it? You a teacher? You don’t strike me as weird.”
She felt a short sharp violent
stab of indignation. “The people at Arlem are lovely. They specialise in
helping people. People with problems.”
“Yeah, but it’s mostly mental
problems isn’t it?”
“Not always,” she snapped.
Goodness, he had no tact whatsoever. “And no. I’m not a teacher, I was a
visitor.”
He shrugged and looked away. It
was as if he hadn’t noticed her sharp tone. “I’ve just been to visit my
mother,” he explained. “She lives in California and he—my dad—still lives in
England. After that ordeal, there were a few things I wanted to stop off and
see here before I headed back. I don’t know why I come back to see her because
it winds me up so much. Dad’s worse though, so it’s the lesser of two evils. In
case you wondered. They’re divorced although it’s a sham since neither of them
abide by the rules. They frequently visit one another to have passionate
interludes.”
“Really.” Carrie Ann was
intrigued, as in her estimation, romantic folk like that only seemed to exist
between the pages of novels. “How modern of them. They must like it and be very
much in love to be like that. To want the continual spice.”
He didn’t seem to have heard her.
“It’s not like a divorce. It’s like playing at a divorce. In fact, I reckon
you’re right. They rather like it. It seems to add something to their love
life.”
“I think it’s romantic. Fancy
still loving a person when you’re half a world apart.”
“Yes. Quaint. A grown-up kind of
game. My father’s version of Viagra. I often wonder if that’s why I’m so messed
up. It would be hard not to be, with two parents like that.”
Carrie Ann fell silent. Dominic
didn’t look messed up. He seemed the most confident and together person she’d
met. Besides being wickedly good-looking. Come on. You deserve a slap on the
wrist. He’s so young for one thing. Let’s face it, there’s no way on earth a
guy like him would ever want to date you.
About Constance Munday
Constance is nearly always to be
found with a pencil in her hand making notes for a new story. She has led a
varied life and done many jobs from cup washer, lecturer, to new age healer but
has always written since she was a child.
A major health scare recently
though, made her see life differently, and after years as a part-time writer,
she turned full-time, because as she says - life is too short not to do what
you love. She has literally climbed a mountain and made many sacrifices to pen
her novels and now builds on a fund of wonderful encounters with intriguing
people, plus her imagination, to write stories with strong characters and
determined and adventurous women.
When asked what kind of genre is
her favourite, romance is always the answer because to Constance, romance -
whether hot and steamy or sweet and emotional is always at the heart of a good
story. She hopes her stories reflect all of life’s facets from the struggling
mother at home who finds a way out of poverty, the ardent and often disappointed
dieter, to the girl who triumphs over sickness or has the courage to embrace
her rather naughty side.
Constance loves listening to
snatched conversations, which often gives her a seed to start a story, taking
walks, revelling in the mysteries of life and baking and dancing, when she
isn’t tapping away at her latest novel, of course.
She loves her fans and their
comments, so invites you to please drop a line and if you have a second, pen a
review.
Find Constance on: http://msnc62.wordpress.com/author/constancemundayromance/
And at her Facebook launch party
on the 21st July. Come and join the evening fun…
Lily's note…Mmm I adore the What's Her Secret line, and if you like man love check out What's His Passion. I have a novel, Wild Warrior, due out on 10th April 2015!
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