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Meet Sebastian

12/28/2014

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Before the holidays, Will drove a tipsy Tonya home. They're at her house and she's unsure if she should invite him in, Today's prompt is New Year. See if you can find it,


 



The familiar shape of her brick house came into view. Pointing to it with one hand, she directed Will into the right driveway. ‘Here it is. Home sweet home.”


Her hand was on the door handle ready to make a run for it and leave behind the embarrassment of the evening. Her eyes shot to her keys hanging out of the steering column. Well, she’d need those. They disappeared underneath masculine fingers as Will removed the keys and swung his car door open.

What could she do with the man? It would be rude to leave him outside just because there was no way she could add another layer of craziness to her already entangled life. Her car door swung open before she’d formulated a plan. A gentleman. How rare, maybe she should rethink the whole man is too much trouble.

Sebastian’s frenzied barking and the rippling of her window sheers indicated her canine was about to shred the curtains she’d paid too much for her. Ignoring Will’s proffered hand; she vaulted out of the car and scurried to the front door, only to remember she didn’t have the keys.

Will followed at a more leisurely pace unaware that the sheers she’d paid $80 for on clearance were meeting their demise under the anxious nails of her puggle. “It’s okay Sebastian,” she yelled into the crack where the door met the frame. “Mommy’s home.”

He probably thinks I am a nut case talking to my dog. He already thinks I have some drama going on at work. The handsome man hurrying toward her shouldn’t be so appealing to her, but he was.

“Here you go.” Will handed her the keys. “My New Year’s resolution involved not having beautiful women run from me.”

His words distracted and tantalized her. Beautiful, huh, just teasing trying to get a laugh out of her. She forced a chuckle while driving her house key into the lock. Sebastian wiggled through the partially open door to dance between the two of them. At least, she could always count on her pet’s greeting.

A growing puddle near her feet reminded her, the other thing she could always depend on. At least they were on the porch. “Do you want come in until Marc arrives?”

His lips lifted into a wide grin. “Sounds great. I could discover a little bit more about you.”

Her hand rested on a door knob while she fought an urge to pull it shut. A glimpse of her mail stacked on the foyer table along with abandoned shoes would be the first thing he’d see. Great, he’d discover her slob factor.

Holding onto the knob, she forced a smile while blocking his entry. Project sincerity. “Oh, there’s nothing unusual about me. I am boring. Go to church on Sunday. Feed the homeless every second Saturday. I collect pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald house. My life goal is to visit every one of the states in alphabetical order. I am up to Colorado. Had to skip Alaska since it was so far away.”

Will’s laughter bounced off the brick wall and concrete porch. A big, booming sound had an echoing quality. Probably thought she was pulling one over on him.

Her cheeks ached as she kept her fake smile in place. “I’m telling you the truth.” Pain colored her response, but she hoped Will hadn’t noticed.

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Tuesday Tales: The Drive Home

12/14/2014

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Welcome back, we're still with Will and Tonya. They're outside the Lynne and Marc's house discussing the possibility of blackmail. The word prompt is dance.



EXCERPT
His right hand curved around her cheek  with his thumb lifting her chin upward. “I wish I could help.” His lips landed on hers slightly firm and with a hint of promise.


The kiss lasted only seconds. It not only warmed her, but also served as a reminder this type of guy wasn’t for her, not until she untangled herself from Clint. God, she prayed she could without everyone in the company finding out that she didn’t have any tan lines.

 Her right hand rose to trace his face with her fingers. “I wish you could too.” She sighed deeply, aware she was being melodramatic. A trait she always hated in her co-worker. Suck it up, girl. “Time for me to pull on my big girl panties and take care of the situation.”

“I’d like to see that. Not the situation, just you in the big girl panties.” He playfully leered at her lightening the moment. Her elbow to the ribs had him backing up. Even aware he was joking, it still struck her wrong.

The car keys jingled in Will’s hand. “Remember, I’m driving. Marc will pick me up.”

That’s right, she forgot. A coyote yipped in the distance. It sounded like some canine commentary to her. Similar to laughter, here she’d used her best departing line, but the man was driving her home.

Marc came out on the stoop to learn their plans. He agreed to pick up Will, but he might be fifteen minutes behind, wink. wink, nudge, nudge. Nothing would happen in that limited time she wanted to say, but didn’t. For once, she kept her mouth shut after she rattled off her address.

The radio played low on her favorite love songs station. She closed her eyes after watching Will competently handle her car. No fears for Natalie, her car.

A lawyer in the car, she should pick his brain. Yawning, she made sure to cover her mouth. “It’s not you. I’m tired. Lynne told you how things were at work. People on edge, it makes it hard to sleep. Everyone is trying to secure their job in this economy and all.”

His calm baritone seemed out of place in her car. “Are you worried?” 

“Hell, yes, you have no idea. Even have someone trying to blackmail me, I think.” Oops, that was more than she wanted to confess. What was it about Will that relaxed her?

“Hmmm.” He turned onto her street. “Blackmail constitutes a threat if you don’t perform a certain action or pay. Does this sound like your situation?”

“Yes, yes, it does. What does a person do about blackmail?” Boy, she let that cat out of the bag. Still, an uninterested third party could help.

 Maybe she could stop Clint. The anxiety lifted making her feel lighter. Even though it was close to nine, energy seeped through her veins waking up parts that wanted to slumber. Not worrying about Clint and his threats made her feel like she could do anything, even dance.

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Tuesday Tales

12/8/2014

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Today's photo prompt is a picturesque  snowy scene. We left Will & Tonya at dinner, but they made it outside on a warm Indian summer night. In contrast to our photo, things are starting to heat up. She's picking his brain about blackmail and her options all in the name of a friend. 



EXCERPT


His lips were almost on hers. Then it happened, a sudden halt to the romantic proceedings due to her half whispered words. “Why don’t people go to the police when they are being blackmailed? You never explained.” Damn multi-tasking brain.


The lips that were millimeters from touching hers pulled back. Instead of kissing her, Will dropped the arm that was embracing her and leaned back against her car with a sigh. “Why are you so intent on knowing about blackmail? Are you writing a mystery?”

It sounded like a good excuse and an easy way to explain why she needed the information. “That’s it. Could you help me?”

His hand shot through his hair, then rubbed his neck. “Okay, I’ll help. I actually know something about blackmail. You’d be surprised how many people who once professed to love and honor the other will resort to blackmail. Sometimes it’s to get something such as a shared possession or even the kids. “

This wasn’t something she'd considered. Were people dissatisfied in love always out to make the other pay? If so, it made the idea of romance a very scary prospect. Yeah, like she hadn’t figured that out already. “What do they use to blackmail each other?”

Will slapped the car lightly with one hand. “Often one is engaged in an affair, the cheating one makes concessions to keep his current squeeze out of the limelight. Maybe one of the partners participated in some unethical business practice. The criminal activity needs to stay hidden. Threats to make plastic surgery or the true parentage of their children public is used as fodder for blackmail.”

 “Do they go to the police about this?” Would the police even caring about such things?

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Tuesday Tales

12/1/2014

6 Comments

 
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Let's eavesdrop on Will & Tonya
Hello Friends,
I finished my WIP, Exposed, but I'm going to share a few excerpts before pulling it.Our word prompt for the day is raid. Back at the dinner party, Tonya is waiting for Will to explain his situation.





“You’re right. I started seeing Erica because I thought we’d have a relationship. When it didn’t work out, we hung out like two guys. Of course, I never realize how true that comparison was until now. I spent almost eighteen months hanging with Erica. When she decided to go off and do her man thing, I had no one really. Most people thought I was devastated because she left.  I would have still hung out with her, I mean him, but Eric was into this whole new lifestyle . Work filled the emptiness. Plenty of men advised me to get out there and find a new woman. I wasn’t looking for a new woman. I lost my best friend, not a woman. Does that make any sense?”


“It does. Yeah, more than you know. It was odd just cutting you off like that. It’s happened to me before when a friend got married, moved away or  when I changed jobs. It made me wonder if I ever mattered or if our relationship was just convenient. After  switching jobs, I missed my old co-workers and decided to swing by and see them. It had only been a couple of weeks. The frosty reception I got must have been similar to the ones given to Viking raiding parties. Unfortunately, I didn’t score any loot, just hurt feelings."

Will picked up his empty glass and just looked at it. Lynne swooped in with a full water glass and left it causing him to blink before commenting.

“Would you say our hosts are being a bit odd? I know Marc is my friend, but even for him, this is different behavior.” He angled his head to the doorway where the two remained out of sight.

His remark broke the tension causing her to laugh. “Yeah, I think they are concerned about us. Marc about you not dating. As for me, there’s a list.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, he half-heartedly chuckled. “I doubt it could be that bad. As far as dating, it’s not that I don’t want to. I’ve sorta gotten out of the habit. My line of work makes it hard too.”

She tried to remember what he did. “You only work with men?”

“Oh no, I see plenty of women usually angry women who hate men, in general. I am a divorce lawyer. It doesn’t give me much to hope for as far as relationships go. Hurt, angry people sit in my office every day. I'm grateful for invitation from Marc and Lynne to see what a happily married couple looks like.”

A murmur of approval came from the kitchen.

If all he did was deal with angry men grumbling about betrayal, no doubt his view on womankind sucked. Probably wouldn’t be understanding about Clint spreading her photos on the Internet. Nope, he’d probably see it as a natural consequence. Too bad, Will seemed okay. Then again, maybe she was assuming too much.

“Um, do you ever represent women?” If he did, it would give him a chance to see a woman’s view. It would let him see divorce wasn’t always the woman’s fault.

A long whistle greeted her inquiry. “Do I? That’s mainly all I do. I trained for corporate law, but this opening occurred in a big deal firm. My mentor advised me to take it since he knew the senior partners and could give me the bump over the other candidates. I did.”

Crossing her arms, she considered that it must be nice to have people to help you into sweet jobs. “What happened then?”

Rolling his eyes upward, Will pushed back a little from the table finding the same rug resistance, he settled for tilting the chair back on two back legs. “Clifford and Barrows had a real estate division, which was my original goal, but first I had to learn divorce law. It didn’t make sense, but as a newbie the senior partner took me through a harrowing experience of dealing with couples who’d experienced love gone wrong.”

Clifford and Barrows, she recognized the name.  Their provocative billboards with airbrushed models lounging about in various states of undress. The slogan was something about life being too short to endure a bad marriage. There was also some other line about hiring them before your spouse does. 

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    Morgan K Wyatt

    Secret Cravings author of contemporary and historical romances.

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