Hello and welcome to “At First Sight Saturday.” Today’s guest is author, J. Arlene Culiner, who gives us a ‘first sight’ scene from her novel, Desert Rose, and introduces us to hero, Jonah, and heroine, Rose. Be sure to leave a comment to let J. Arlene know what you think….
Excerpt: When the bell above the shop door tinkled, Rose’s well-practiced welcome smile was almost in place. Almost… Then it stopped in mid-stretch. Stunned, she stared, blinked, stared some more. My goodness: wasn’t he gorgeous. Her interest increased, and her heart did a pitter-patter tippy-toe dance as she took him in: tallish — but anyone would be tall when compared to her tiny size — rangy, with tousled hair so dark it appeared blue under the lights, an explorer’s bone structure and weather honed skin, deep brown eyes. And, here she was, acting like a complete idiot, frozen into place, gawking at him, as if he were of another species, or something totally new-fangled dropped down from a distant stretch of the Milky Way.
Not that he seemed to be faring any better than she, not moving, staring at her, his gaze unwavering, the wide-open door letting in frosty air and snowflakes. What was that gaze of his telling her? That he was surprised? Pleased? Oh, yes. He liked what he saw, all right — men did like her, she knew that. She was used to their admiration. They liked naturally golden curls, slanting blue eyes, and the broad, flat cheekbones of the Russian steppe. But, wasn’t it especially nice to be admired by such a gorgeous specimen? Yes, indeed.
Mentally, Rose shook herself, forced herself out of her stupor — somebody had to do something. This was a store, a business, not a blind date. If a man suddenly showed up in a ladies’ dress shop, that meant there was already a woman in his life. Unless he was a cross-dresser. Or was lost and needed directions out of this half-a-horse hellhole.
“Hello.” She forced the formerly incomplete smile into something more fulsome.
“Hello,” he answered. Smiled back. Not a forced smile, though. A wonderful one that softened the craggy angles of his face, crinkled into deep lines around his mouth and eyes.
Rose swallowed. Stared for another few seconds, then ordered herself to stop thinking about his smile, his lips, the soft, bristly, salty way his skin would taste if she licked it, just there, at the corner of his mouth. The very thought made her knees tremble. A bad case of lust at first sight? With a great effort of willpower, she corralled the lusty thoughts until they were more manageable, somewhat closer to normality. Heard her own voice, calm practical: “Can I help you with something?”
He shook his head slightly, as if waking from a trance. Then, the laugh lines, the crinkles disappeared, and his expression became more business-like. “Yes, of course.” Stepping into what was left of the warmth in the shop, he turned slightly, closed the door behind him. Looked over at her again. Cleared his throat. “I’m looking for a present.”
“For your wife?” Rose held her breath.
The mouth tightened. He hesitated, but only for seconds. “Not quite.”
“Ah.” Hope faded. Not quite a wife wasn’t nearly as bad as a snuggled-in official wife, but it was close enough. “Your fiancée.” She was just fishing, she knew it too, but hoped he didn’t. Not that she was being very subtle.
“No, not that either.” He shrugged, shook his head. “The woman I’m…ah…well…we live together. In the same apartment, that is.”
“Ah.” Okay. The woman he was living with. Hope skittered out of the picture with all the clang of a badly tuned wedding bell. Unless she’d detected — no, intuited — another note, one hinting that all wasn’t entirely perfect.
She tucked the thought into the back of her mind, ready for perusal at some later moment. For now, though, he was a potential customer, nothing more, she told herself…aside from that first blinding moment when he’d opened the door and seen her. A moment that had been nothing less than a spontaneous gut-deep call of male to female, female to male. A call now quashed with the message of: “too late, already taken.”
“What sort of gift were you looking for?” she managed to ask coolly enough.
“Damned if I know.” The wonderful smile and the creases were back again. “I was hoping you could help me with that.”
“Fine,” she said, all efficiency. Even if a passionate romance was out of the question, a few bucks in her pocket would come in handy. Sales weren’t a daily occurrence in a dress shop way out in the Nevada desert. She relied on the internet for most of her profits. “Were you thinking of a dress? A blouse? What size does your…your, uh…lady friend wear?”
“Actually, I didn’t have clothing in mind.” He looked around, unsure, taking in the bright fabrics, old-fashioned hats, the shoes of another era — all tucked in between heaped books, the occasional vase, and a mountain of draped scarves; all displayed in a chaos of color. “Most of this is secondhand?”
“Vintage,” Rose corrected. “The very best.”
He sighed, frowned. “Marina would never think of wearing secondhand clothes. Even beautiful vintage clothes. For her, everything has to be new and have a designer label.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I haven’t offended you, I hope.” He even looked sincere.
“Of course you haven’t,” Rose assured him. “We don’t all have the same values, thank goodness.” She could just picture a woman named Marina: a snob. Pretentious. What the hell was he doing with a woman like that? Look how he was dressed — in faded, tight blue jeans that hugged his slim hips and muscular legs, a well-worn black leather jacket, scuffed black boots. Sexy as hell.
“Amen,” he seconded. “I don’t have the same values as Marina, either.”
“Doesn’t that bother you?” Rose stopped. Flushed. “I’m sorry. I have no right to ask that question. It was very rude of me.”
His eyes met hers evenly. Then he laughed softly.
Blurb: A secret life is the best protection against love. Men love Rose Badger, and if the other inhabitants of dead-end Blake’s Folly, Nevada, don’t approve, she couldn’t care less. With a disastrous marriage far behind her, settling down is the last thing she intends to do. Isn’t life for fun? Doesn’t a stable relationship always mean predictability and boredom? Well… perhaps things might be different with Jonah Livingstone, but he isn’t available. So, why fret? Rose has another, quite secret life, and she’ll never give that up for any man.
The last person Jonah Livingstone expected to meet in a semi-ghost town is Rose Badger. She’s easy-going, delightfully spontaneous, and Jonah is certain their attraction is mutual. But Rose is always surrounded by a crowd of admirers and doesn’t seem inclined to choose a favorite. No problem: Jonah is too independent to settle into a permanent relationship again. He’s leading his own, very secretive life, and secrets are an excellent protection against love. Available Now: Amazon
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