Apparently I could’ve called Thankful Hearts Easter Hearts and still had Hudson get stuck in a snowstorm on the Sandia Mountains in April.
On the westside we had some normal April rain showers.
Good thing I had a salted caramel mocha keeping me warm at home.
![IMG_2759[1]](https://evelynaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/img_27591-e1458701953746.jpg?w=284&h=300)
May they inspire me to catch up on all the stories I’m behind on.
When we last left Charisse and Conor, Conor was seducing Charisse into a morning tumble in the sheets. Thanks to all of you who purchased Episode 6 over the weekend to find out what happened!! I’m still smiling about it this morning! Here are the plot points you missed if you haven’t read the sex scene: Conor intentionally did not bring her to climax, but she was so good he promised her a week in Puerto Rico. Enjoy!
When Charisse finally showered and dressed, she made her way to the kitchen, hoping there would be something for her for breakfast. She wasn’t expecting a full bacon, eggs and hash brown meal, but a bagel would be good or at least a cup of yogurt. Continue reading
In The Beautician and the Billionaire Episode 6: The Banquet Raul serves Charisse Puerto Rican cafe con leche. I love this drink, but it’s a hard recipe to find. I finally found one over at the blog Spicelines.
I honestly thought it had sweetened condensed milk in it, but actually it’s just milk and half and half! The trick is warming them together slowly, which brings out a natural sweetness. Continue reading
There’s still time to get all the Holiday Cafe Series for only $3 at All Romance!
Mark is a rich single dad crazy about his son’s teacher. Sienna, recently ditched at the altar, refuses to date him but agrees to nights of breathless sex in his expansive house in the foothills. On a whim, she binds herself to the tie rack in his closet and realizes how much she trusts him with her body. But will she ever trust him with her heart?
Jessica and Kyle have a book club of two at the Holiday Cafe. Jessica wants to heat things up with the hot but quiet Kyle only to find out his time as a soldier in Iraq prevents him from getting close. But after one romantic book suggestion, a goodnight kiss turns into much, much more…
All Stacy wants is the perfect Thanksgiving at her new house. And after a year without sex, a boyfriend would be the whipped cream on the apple pie.
All Hudson wants is the perfect Thanksgiving after his third Army tour in Afghanistan. But he arrives home to find his brother engaged to his girlfriend. He takes off on his Triumph motorcycle to drive 700 miles to the only place he can think of: the Holiday Cafe.
Stacy and Hudson knew each other on Words with Friends, but when he arrives to meet Stacy and share an Apple Pie Latte with a shot of toffee their relationship goes from platonic to romantic faster than his Triumph accelerator.
Veteran Hearts is an All Romance Free Reads Best Seller!
I took a screen shot:
And remember, Thankful Hearts was on the regular Best Seller list last week at All Romance!
I’m sorry I’ve been totally neglecting The Beautician and the Billionaire. I’ve been focussed on Thankful Hearts and the surprises I have planned for Veterans Day. I promise by Friday it will be all Beautician and the Billionaire all the time 🙂
Today has been one of those days I’ve dreamed of having for a long time. My sales are way up, the first customer review for Thankful Hearts is up at Amazon (Thanks Blueduck516!) and Romance Novels for the Beach posted a review of Thankful Hearts!
Please, please please read her whole review. Here’s just a snippet:
Aster can definitely describe a sex scene in amazing detail, but when it comes to those scenes where Hudson is transported back to the battle field in his mind, shaking and sweating with anxiety? They are so gripping that I found myself holding my breath, and even bouncing my leg in anticipation.
I spent so much time trying to get Hudson just right that those words were really gratifying to read.
So read the review; buy the Book.
And check back Wednesday for some fun!
What a great opening day I had! Please keep the sales coming and make this a great opening weekend too!
I have some surprises coming next week that I’m working on as a thank you. I can’t wait!
Here are all the links for Thankful Hearts. Please pass them on to a friend!
It’s live on Amazon now!! http://www.amazon.com/Thankful-Hearts-Holiday-Cafe-Book-ebook/dp/B017OA0S46/
All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thankfulhearts-1921896-149.html
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/590880
And a new one, Coffee Time Romance! http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookStore/pubs_product_book_info/thankful-hearts-p-14338#.Vj5GpLerTIU
Hudson sat up straight but didn’t see the motel room. Instead, he saw a shithole apartment he’d crashed in for weeks in Afghanistan protecting convoys. He heard a steady thumping against the wall. What the fuck? This place was supposed to be deserted. He jumped out of bed, and for the first time he saw Stacy lying there. Why was Stacy in Afghanistan? Why was there pounding on the wall? He wanted to grab her and run, but the memory of her grinding against him burst through his head. He glanced around, and his breathing slowed—he was just in a shitty motel in Albuquerque.
The noise stopped. He realized sweat was running down his face despite being naked in a freezing room. He needed to get the fuck out of here. He should wake Stacy up, and they could take off on his motorcycle. He didn’t know why he needed to leave, he just knew he did—and he wanted Stacy with him.
Before he had made a move, he heard a woman’s voice from the other side of the wall. “Give me my fucking money, asshole!” There was maybe laughter, followed by a smack. He stepped to the nightstand. The lamp still shone, reminding him of the erotic ways Stacy had moved her body when they made love. The thought made him pause with the drawer open. Stacy didn’t want to call it lovemaking, but his emotions for a woman had never been so intense.
The sound of glass breaking startled him into action. He pulled his Smith & Wesson Model 64 revolver out of the drawer and ran toward the window. A loud bang made him cautious as he looked between the blinds. In his peripheral vision he saw Stacy sit up. She was going to think he was crazy. He’d been determined not to have PTSD, but right now it sure as shit seemed like he did. He couldn’t endanger Stacy like this. He should leave sooner than Sunday.
Thanks for the love for Thankful Hearts at All Romance! It’s my best opening day there for a paid book! It’s on sale for a buck until Veterans Day. You can get it in Kindle, epub and pdf formats.
Amazon is still reviewing it, but it’s also up at Smashwords! You can get it there in even more formats: epub mobi pdf rtf lrf pdb txt html.
I have a new vendor I’m working with. Hopefully I’ll get that going today and then back to The Beautician in and the Billionaire!
In the meantime, here’s another tasting of Thankful Hearts:
Gratitude and amazement welled up inside him. He reached out to her and pulled her back to his body. She didn’t even flinch. Her hands clasped together behind his neck, and he kissed her, forcing her lips apart and their tongues together in an aggressive dance where both partners tried to lead. He gripped her back with his fingertips. He needed to get her back to his motel room. It was kind of a long drive from here, but he was sure he’d stay hard the whole way.
They kept making out like they were there to watch the end of the world. Her hands trailed down his chest, over his hips and to his ass. She pushed his hardness against her belly, drawing out a moan from deep inside his throat. Maybe he wouldn’t last all the way back to the motel. He kept one hand on the small of her back and brought the other around underneath her blouse to cup her breast. It was her turn to moan.
She closed her mouth against his and kissed his cheek to his ear. “Maybe we should delay dinner,” she whispered.
He withdrew his hands from underneath her shirt and pulled away, leaving his hands on her hips. “I was just thinking about taking you back to my motel, but I’m happy to do dinner first.” He wasn’t really, but it seemed like the gentlemanly thing to say, though they seemed way past that at this point.
She burst out laughing, catching him off guard. “You must think I’m such a slut.”
He’d never seen someone appear so happy and embarrassed at the same time. He pulled her to him, needing to hug her tightly. “I’m actually not doing much thinking, which is a nice change. I don’t see why it’s so bad for a woman to want to jump into bed as much as a guy does. I’m just happy you do.” He kissed her tenderly, hoping she didn’t suddenly decide she needed to be coy or play hard to get. All the nerves in his body wanted to drown in her touch—her lips.
Thankful Hearts is up on All Romance!!! The book is regularly $3.99 but today through next Tuesday it’s only $1.00! I’ll be releasing it on other sites too and let you know as they go up. At All Romance, you can get Thankful Hearts as a pdf, mobi (for Kindle) and epub. Buy it Today!
Desire surged throughout his body. He moved his hands up beneath her business jacket and along her back, untucking her blouse and itching to undo her bra, but he’d save that for later. Her hands slid up his chest and underneath his leather jacket. He was so into her body beneath his hands and her scent in his nose that he’d forgotten about his gun. Her fingers ran into the tip of the holster, and her whole body froze.
He released her lips and body and stepped back. Her eyes were wide, but he couldn’t really read her expression. They stared at each other in silence, which seemed to make the situation worse. He felt guilty and inexplicably scared for her. She was up in the mountains with a total stranger who had a gun. He fumbled over his words, trying to ease her fears. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it. I wasn’t expecting–” he broke off his sentence realizing anything he said might be taken the wrong way.
She stared at him a long moment and then finished his sentence. “For me to throw myself at you?”
He expelled his breath and combed his fingers through his hair. This woman couldn’t be for real. “I’ve got no complaints, but you’re up here with a complete stranger who’s carrying a gun he didn’t tell you about. I appreciate that you’re not screaming your head off.”
She rolled her lips together. The moonlight showed a vulnerability in her eyes, but her words were spoken with confidence. “I assume you’re waiting to kill me until after we’ve had sex, but the sex will make you forget your evil plan.”
By the way, Stacy and Hudson meet in the story on the first Thursday of November, Which is today!
Evelyn Aster 