Black Ties and Lullabies, page 33
“Have you thought about letting somebody else pick one out for you?”
“No,” Alison said with a wave of her hand. “No way. I’ve had enough bad blind dates to last me a lifetime.”
“I’m not talking about letting your aunt Brenda fix you up. That was a disaster.”
Alison cringed at the memory. She’d never met a man before who wanted a sex change operation so he could become a lesbian.
“I’m talking about a professional,” Heather said.
“Huh?”
“A matchmaker.”
“Matchmaker? You mean, like one person who decides who you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life with?” Alison screwed up her face. “Sorry. That’s just weird.”
“No, really. I work with a woman who went to this matchmaker in downtown Plano, and she set her up with a really great guy. She was engaged four months later and married within the year.”
Just the words “engaged” and “married” in the same sentence made Alison’s heart go pitty-pat. But she knew the truth. Nothing was ever that simple.
“Pardon my skepticism, but what’s this friend of yours like? Tall? Skinny? Blond? Ex-cheerleader? Trust fund?”
“Short, a little overweight, brown hair, ex–debate team, good job.”
Now Alison was listening. Minus the debate team thing, Heather could be describing her.
Alison pulled out her phone. “What’s this matchmaker’s name?”
“Uh… I can’t remember. Rosie… Roxanne… something like that.”
Alison Googled “matchmaker” and “Plano.”
“Oh, my God,” she said. “Did you know there’s a matchmaking service dedicated to finding you somebody to cheat with?”
“You’re kidding.”
“I guess that one’s for later. Before I can cheat on a man, first I have to find a man.” She flipped to another site. “And here’s one called Sugar Daddies. They match rich old men with hot young women.”
“How young?”
“Judging from these photos, barely legal.” Alison flipped her thumb across the screen. “I’m still not seeing… wait. Rochelle Scott? Matchmaking by Rochelle?”
“Yeah. I think that’s it.”
“Hmm. Says she’s been in business for thirty-five years. Nobody stays in business that long if they’re not successful, right?”
“Oh, she’s successful, if you judge by what she charges.”
“How much are we talking?”
“That’s the downside. She charges fifteen hundred dollars for five introductions.”
Alison winced. Three hundred dollars per man?
Then she thought about the thousand dollars she’d once paid to spend a week at a singles resort in Florida. Instead of coming back with a man, she’d returned with a horrible sunburn and so many mosquito bites she looked like flesh-colored bubble wrap. She wasn’t one to throw money around indiscriminately, but if the woman could actually deliver, it might be worth it.
She looked back at her phone and clicked through the website. “Listen to this,” she said, reading from the woman’s bio. “Rochelle Scott has a degree in psychology. She’s been matchmaking for thirty-five years. Out of more than three hundred marriages, there have been only sixteen divorces.” She looked at Heather. “That blows the national average out of the water. I’m going over there Monday.”
Heather’s eyebrows shot up. “Now, wait a minute. I just threw that out there as something to think about. You need to let the sting of tonight wear off a little before you hop right back out there.”
“Nope. I’m thirty and alone, and it’s bad. I imagine forty and alone is even worse.”
“Doing anything on the rebound is usually a mistake. Forget about it for tonight. Come up to my place. Tony’s working late at the bar, so we can trash-talk men all we want to.”
“Right. You have nothing to bitch about where Tony’s concerned.”
“Yeah? That’s what you think. He still hasn’t grasped the concept that dirty underwear goes in the hamper and that onion rings aren’t health food. And don’t get me started on his collection of Sports Illustrated swimsuit editions. You’d think they were the Dead Sea Scrolls the way he—”
“Heather,” Alison said, “right about now, I’d kill for a messy guy eating onion rings while he’s staring at hot women in bikinis. Particularly if he looked like Tony.” Her eyes teared up again, and she hated it. “You know, when we were both single, it wasn’t so bad. But now… now you have Tony, and…” She sniffed a little. “I’m happy for you, Heather. I really am. But I’m really starting to feel like the odd woman out.” She let out a painful sigh. “It sucks to be me.”
“Don’t you say that,” Heather told her. “Don’t you dare say that. You already have a good life. You have a great job. A nice place to live. Good friends. Money in the bank. That’s more than some people can say. And you’re a good person who does nice things for other people. So it does not suck to be you.”
Alison sighed again. “Is it really so wrong to want the last piece of the puzzle?”
“No. Of course not. I’m just saying that maybe you need to give the husband hunt a rest for a while.”
“I would, except for that damned clock ticking inside my head.”
Heather smiled. “He’s out there, you know.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Right. Your knight in shining armor. Your forever guy. You just have to be patient. One day, when you least expect it—”
“Don’t try to cheer me up. I’d rather wallow in my misery.”
“No problem there. I have a really nice bottle of vodka I’ve been saving for an occasion like this. And did I mention I also have a gallon of Blue Bell Cookies ’n’ Cream?”
“Perfect. That’s why I can’t find a man, you know. My hips aren’t big enough.”
Heather pulled into the condo complex where they both lived. Alison ran to her place, got out of the big-butt dress, and put on sweatpants, a T-shirt, and a pair of flip-flops. By the time she was climbing the stairs to Heather’s condo, she was feeling marginally better.
She decided she was going to eat enough ice cream to get brain freeze, then warm her head back up with half a dozen vodka shots. And through it all, she intended to obliterate everything Randy from her phone, her Facebook page, and her e-mail. If she got inebriated enough, when she got home, she’d head over to the forums at the Knot and spam them with love sucks messages, then grab a couple of issues of Modern Bride from her magazine rack and shred them.
Now, that was wallowing in misery.
Then Monday on her lunch hour, she’d head over to see Rochelle and pray the woman could work miracles.
THE DISH
Where authors give you the inside scoop!
From the desk of Vicky Dreiling
Dear Reader,
While writing my first novel HOW TO MARRY A DUKE, I decided my hero Tristan, the Duke of Shelbourne, needed a sidekick. That bad boy sidekick was Tristan’s oldest friend Marc Darcett, the Earl of Hawkfield, and the hero of HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL. Hawk is a rogue who loves nothing better than a lark. Truthfully, I had to rein Hawk in more than once in the first book as he tried repeatedly to upstage all the other characters.
Unlike his friend Tristan, Hawk is averse to giving up his bachelor status. He’s managed to evade his female relatives’ matchmaking schemes for years. According to the latest tittle-tattle, his mother and sisters went into a decline upon learning of his ill-fated one-hour engagement. Clearly, this is a man who values his freedom.
My first task was to find the perfect heroine to foil him. Who better than the one woman he absolutely must never touch? Yes, that would be his best friend’s sister, Lady Julianne. After all, it’s in a rake’s code of conduct that friends’ sisters are forbidden. Unbeknownst to Hawk, however, Julianne has been planning their nuptials for four long years. I wasn’t quite sure how Julianne would manage this feat, given Hawk’s fear of catching wife-itis. After a great deal of pacing about, the perfect solution popped into my head. I would use he time-honored trick known as The Call to Adventure. When Tristan, who can not be in London for the season, proposes that Hawk act as Julianne’s unofficial guardian, Hawk’s bachelor days are numbered.
In addition to these plans, I wanted to add in a bit of fun with yet another Regency-era spoof of modern dating practices. I recalled an incident in which one of my younger male colleagues complained about that dratted advice book for single ladies, The Rules. I wasn’t very sympathetic to his woes about women ruling guys. After all, reluctant bachelors have held the upper hand for centuries. Thus, I concocted The Rules in Regency England.
Naturally, the road to true love is fraught with heartbreak, mayhem, and, well, a decanter of wine. Matters turn bleak for poor Julianne when Hawk makes his disinterest clear after a rather steamy waltz. I knew Julianne needed help, and so I sent in a wise woman, albeit a rather eccentric one. Hawk’s Aunt Hester, a plain-spoken woman, has some rather startling advice for Julianne. Left with only the shreds of her pride, Julianne decides to write a lady’s guide to seducing scoundrels into the proverbial parson’s mousetrap. My intrepid heroine finds herself in hot suds when all of London hunts for the anonymous author of that scandalous publication, The Secrets of Seduction. At all costs, Julianne must keep her identity a secret—especially from Hawk, who is determined to guard her from his fellow scoundrels. But can he guard his own heart from the one woman forbidden to him?
My heartfelt thanks to all the readers who wrote to let me know they couldn’t wait to read HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL. I hope you will enjoy the twists and turns that finally lead to happily ever after for Hawk and Julianne.
Cheers!
www.vickydreiling.com
From the desk of Jane Graves
Dear Reader,
Have you ever visited one website, seen an interesting link to another website, and clicked it? Probably. But have you ever done that about fifty times and ended up in a place you never intended to? As a writer, I’m already on a “what if” journey inside my own head, so web hopping is just one more flight of fancy that’s so easy to get caught up in.
For instance, while researching a scene for BLACK TIES AND LULLABIES that takes place in a childbirth class, I saw a link for “hypnosis during birth.” Of course I had to click that, right? Then I ended up on a site where people post their birth stories. And then…
Don’t ask me how, but a dozen clicks later, my web-hopping adventure led me to a site about celebrities and baby names. And it immediately had me wondering: What were these people thinking? Check out the names these famous people have given their children that virtually guarantee they’ll be tormented for the rest of their lives:
Apple Actress Gwyneth Paltrow
Diva Muffin Musician Frank Zappa
Moxie Crimefighter Entertainer Penn Jillette
Petal Blossom Rainbow Chef Jamie Oliver
Zowie Singer David Bowie
Pilot Inspektor Actor Jason Lee
Sage Moonblood Actor Sylvester Stallone
Fifi Trixibell Sir Bob Geldof*
Reignbeau Actor Ving Rhames
Jermajesty Singer Jermaine Jackson
No, a trip around the Internet does not get my books written, but sometimes it’s worth the laugh. Of course, the hero and heroine of BLACK TIES AND LULLABIES would never give their child a name like one of these….
I hope you enjoy BLACK TIES AND LULLABIES. And look for my next book, HEARTSTRINGS AND DIAMOND RINGS, coming October 2011.
Happy Reading!
www.janegraves.com
From the desk of Paula Quinn
Dear Reader,
Having married my first love, I was excited to write the third installment in my Children of the Mist series, TAMED BY A HIGHLANDER. You see, Mairi MacGregor and Connor Grant were childhood sweethearts. How difficult could it be to relate to a woman who had surrendered her heart at around the same age I did? Of course, my real life hero didn’t pack up his Claymore and plaid and ride off to good old England to save the king. (Although my husband does own a few swords he keeps around in the event that one of our daughters brings home an unfavorable boyfriend.) My hero didn’t break my young heart, or the promises he made me beneath the shadow of a majestic Highland mountain. I don’t hide daggers under my skirts. Heck, I don’t even wear skirts.
But I am willing to fight for what I believe in. So is Mairi, and what she believes in is Scotland. A member of a secret Highland militia, Mairi has traded in her dreams of a husband and children for sweeping Scotland free of men who would seek to change her Highland customs and religion. She knows how to fight, but she isn’t prepared for the battle awaiting her when she sets her feet in England and comes face to face with the man she once loved.
Ah, Connor Grant, captain in the King’s Royal Army and son of the infamous rogue Graham Grant from A HIGHLANDER NEVER SURRENDERS. He’s nothing like his father. This guy has loved the same lass his whole life, but she’s grown into a woman without him and now, instead of casting him smiles, she’s throwing daggers at him!
Fun! I knew when these two were reunited sparks (and knives) would fly!
But Connor isn’t one to back down from a fight. In fact, he longs to tame his wild Highland mare. But does he need to protect the last Stuart king from her?
Journey back in time where plots and intrigue once ruled the courtly halls of Whitehall Palace, and two souls who were born to love only each other find their way back into each other’s arms.
If Mairi doesn’t kill him first.
(Did I mention, I collect medieval daggers? Just in case…)
Happy Reading!
www.paulaquinn.com
From the desk of Kendra Leigh Castle
Dear Reader,
It all started with the History Channel.
No, really. One evening last year, while I was watching TV in the basement and hiding from whatever flesh-eating-zombie-filled gore-fest my husband was happily watching upstairs, I ran across a fascinating documentary all about a woman I never knew existed: Arsinöe, Cleopatra’s youngest sister. Being a sucker for a good story, I watched, fascinated, as the tale of Arsinöe’s brief and often unhappy life unfolded. And after it was all over, once her threat to Cleopatra’s power had been taken care of in a very final way by the famous queen herself, I asked myself what any good writer would: what if Arsinöe hadn’t really died, and become a vampire instead?
Okay, so maybe most writers wouldn’t ask themselves that. I write paranormal romance for a reason, after all. But that simple, and rather odd, question was the seed that my book DARK AWAKENING grew from. Now, Arsinöe isn’t the heroine. In fact, she’s more of a threat hanging over the head of my hero, Ty MacGillivray, whose kind has served her dynasty of highblood vampires for centuries, bound in virtual slavery. But her arrival in my imagination sparked an entire world, in which so-called “highblood” vampires, those bearing the tattoo-like mark of bloodlines descended directly from various darker gods and goddesses, form an immortal nobility that take great pleasure in lording it over the “lowbloods” of more muddied pedigree.
Lowbloods like Ty and his unusual bloodline of cat-shifting vampires, the Cait Sith.
Now, I won’t give out all the details of what happens when Ty is sent by Arsinöe herself to find a human woman with the ability to root out the source of a curse that threatens to take her entire dynasty down. I will say that Lily Quinn is a lot more than Ty bargained for, carrying secrets that have the potential to change the entire world of night. And I’m happy to tell you that it really tugged at my heartstrings to write the story of a man who has been kicked around for so long that he is afraid to want what his heart so desperately needs. But beyond that, all you really need to know is that DARK AWAKENING has all of my favorite ingredients: a tortured bad boy with a heart of gold, a heroine strong enough to take him on, and cats.
What? I like cats. Especially when they turn into gorgeous immortals.
Ty and Lily’s story is the first in my DARK DYNASTIES series, about the hotbed of intrigue and desire that is the realm of the twenty-first century vampire. If you’re up for a ride into the darkness, not to mention brooding bad boys who aren’t afraid to flash a little fang, then stick with me. I’ve got a silver-eyed hero you might like to meet….
Enjoy!
www.kendraleighcastle.com
*Musician/Activist
Contents
Front Cover Image
Welcome
Dedication
A Preview of Heartstrings and Diamond Rings
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
The Dish
Also by Jane Graves
Believe in Happily Ever After in Tall Tales and Wedding Veils
Copyright
ALSO BY JANE GRAVES
Hot Wheels and High Heels
Tall Tales and Wedding Veils
