“You can count on it,” he whispered.
His lips met hers and the blood pounded in her brain, leapt from her heart and made her knees tremble.
Happy ending?
Sara smiled and lifted her face for another kiss.
Guaranteed.
I hope you enjoyed Crow and Sara’s story. It’s amazing how sometimes characters wrap around your heart. That’s how it was with these two…so I’m so glad you came along with me on their journey.
When writing As if You Were Mine, I started wondering about Crow’s “successful” brothers. Since we already got a brief glimpse of Nick (when Crow borrows his tux) he seemed a wonderful choice. I know you’re going to love Nick’s story. This feel-good romance will definitely warm your heart. Grab your copy now of Surrender Your Heart or keep reading for a sneak peek:
Sneak Peek of Surrender Your Heart
Chapter One
Dr. Nicholas Tucci shrugged off his lab coat with a tired groan. Though he enjoyed the one evening a month he volunteered at the free clinic, he’d started the day with an emergency surgery at 6:00 a.m. and it was now almost midnight.
“How many patients do you think we saw tonight?” Dr. Larry Fowler collapsed on the wooden bench in front of the row of lockers that made up the doctor’s lounge. “A hundred?”
“Felt like it,” Nick said. “I’m sure ready for some downtime.”
“Know what you’re doing for Thanksgiving yet?” Larry asked, casting Nick a sideways glance.
“As a matter of fact, I’ve decided to go home with what’s-her-name for Thanksgiving.” For some reason, saying the words out loud solidified Nick’s impulsive decision. “I’m in the mood for something different this year.”
Actually going off for a weekend with a woman he barely knew was more crazy than different, but Nick didn’t care. The way he saw it he had two choices: fight off his sister’s friend all weekend or spend the holiday with a virtual stranger.
“Who are you talking about?” Larry tilted his head and stared as if Nick were speaking a foreign language.
Nick couldn’t figure out why Larry was being so obtuse. After all, his friend was the one who’d told him earlier in the evening that the woman desperately needed a fill-in boyfriend for the weekend. Nick frowned and tried to recall her name. Kathy kept popping into his head but that didn’t sound right. “You know very well who I mean. The redhead at the front desk.”
“Grace Comstock?” Larry lifted a sandy-colored brow. “The clinic director?”
Grace. Nick smiled. The name had a classic elegance and rolled easily off his tongue.
“That’s the one,” Nick said. “I’ve decided to help her out and go home with her this weekend.”
Larry laughed out loud, the sound echoing all the way to the exposed rafters. “Let me get this straight. You don’t even know her name, but you’re willing to pose as her boyfriend for four days?”
“I do know her name,” Nick said matter-of-factly, hanging his lab coat in the locker. “It’s Grace Connors.”
“Comstock.”
“Whatever.” Nick grabbed his jacket and shut the locker door. He fastened the combination lock and gave it a spin.
“It doesn’t make sense.” Larry’s brows drew together in a puzzled frown. “Why would you want to spend your four days off with a stranger when you have a perfectly nice family right here in St. Louis?”
Nick had to concede that point. He did have a perfectly nice family, and Thanksgiving had always been one of his favorite holidays. Even now, thinking about his mother’s turkey and stuffing, candied yams and pumpkin pie made his mouth water. And after they were all nice and full, he and his brothers would play some football before settling down in front of the tube to watch a few games.
But this year would be different. He’d known it the minute his brother Sal had told him what their sister had planned. “Because this year Raven is bringing one of her sorority sisters. She seems to think this woman would be a perfect fit for me. It’s supposed to be a surprise, but my brother thought he should warn me.”
“Is she in the medical field?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Nick raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to date one my sister’s friends.”
“Why not?” Larry stared curiously at Nick. “I’ve seen your sister. She’s gorgeous. Chances are her friend is going to be hot.”
“I don’t want to date anyone remotely associated with my sister,” Nick repeated, more forcefully since it appeared Larry was having difficulty getting the message.
“Hmm. That is a problem.” Larry thought for a moment. “I’ve got a radical idea. Tell her you’re not interested.”
Nick smiled. He supposed it did sound ridiculous…to someone who didn’t know his sister. “That wouldn’t stop Raven. She’d be convinced that, given time, I’d change my mind.”
“But it’s Thanksgiving. You don’t want to be with a stranger,” Larry said. “Why don’t you call up Alicia or Melanie or one of the others you’ve dated recently? I’m sure they’d be thrilled to cook you dinner or take you home to meet Mom and Dad.”
Nick could spend the next ten years explaining to Larry that it wasn’t much fun dating women like Alicia, who’d already decided she loved him before she knew him, or Melanie, who’d started talking about rings after the third date. But Larry would never understand. Although Larry was a good guy, women never seemed to find him attractive.
“What can I say?” Nick shrugged. “I’m in the mood for something different. And it sounds like this woman, this Grace, is desperate.”
“Not desperate enough to take you.”
Nick thought he might have heard Larry wrong. But the hint of satisfaction in Larry’s eyes told Nick, he’d gotten it right. “What do you mean by that?”
“She told me she doesn’t like you,” Larry said.
Nick raised a brow and briefly considered the thought. “That’s because she doesn’t know me.”
Larry laughed. “I bet she says no.”
“She’ll agree,” Nick said with a confident smile.
“Maybe so,” Larry said after a long moment. “But ten bucks says you won’t get so much as a single kiss from her this weekend.”
Nick shook his head. Larry still didn’t get it.
He wasn’t looking for kisses.
All he wanted was a nice weekend with some turkey and pumpkin pie.
Nothing more.
“Do you have a minute?”
Grace Comstock’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of the deep voice. She’d often thought that with such a smooth, rich baritone, Nick Tucci could have had a successful career in radio. She raised her gaze from the evening’s schedule and amended her thoughts. Sticking such a man behind a microphone would have been a waste. “Dr. Nick”—as the children who visited the clinic called him—was too handsome not to be seen. Even now, with lines of fatigue edging his eyes and the five o’clock stubble darkening his cheeks, the sight of him made her pulse quicken.