It’s almost Valentine’s Day – just a few more hours until romance is given free reign for a day and chocolate is considered THE major food group of the hour. To me, there are three components to a perfect Valentine’s celebration...
The gift. These are some standards:
- · Bling is great, of course. Sparkles make for great gifts that last for years.
- · Flowers are wonderful. The wonderful scent, the velvety texture, gorgeous colors.
- · Chocolate is always a winner. The richer, the better. Sees Nuts & Chews are my favorite.
The Date:
- · A romantic dinner for two. Candlelight, soft music, delicious food, a delicious combination.
- · Dancing. Slow and romantic or fast and sexy, it’s the best way to do the sexy thing in public.
- · A quiet evening at home, cuddled up in front of a roaring fire. Add a fun movie on the screen, or reading aloud or singing sweet nothings to each other and its Valentine’s perfection.
And the last... Someone who makes you feel good! It doesn’t even have to be someone romantic – it could be a friend, your family or even a fantasy.
Like all holidays, we each have our favorites. For some, Valentine’s is at the bottom of their list. Like Danita Cruz, the heroine in SEX, LIES AND VALENTINES my Blaze that’s on the shelves this month.
For Danita, Valentine’s Day has never been more than a date on the calendar. Until this year, that is. She attends a Valentine’s wedding and gets more than she bargained for.
Danita took a deep breath and turned to face Gabriel.
“You look good, Blondie,” he said, his eyes eating her up like a dieter locked in a chocolate store. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Hunter made me,” she muttered, not wanting Gabriel to think she’d crash his family’s celebration.
“I asked him to.”
“Why?”
“We have things to settle.” He looked around the hall, festooned with red hearts white roses, then hooked his arm around her waist. “Let’s step out on the balcony.”
Needing to know why he wanted her here, terrified to hope, Danita let him guide her onto the chilly flower-festooned stone balcony. But once there, she stepped away. She had trouble thinking when Gabriel touched her, and she had the feeling she was going to need all her available brain cells for this conversation.
“I like this,” he said immediately, running his fingers over the soft cotton of her blouse, a concoction of ruffles and lace that went perfectly with the sedate, ankle length skirt and old-fashioned kitten-toed boots. “You look sexy.”
F
or the second time, Danita looked down to make sure she was wearing what she thought she was. “Sexy? Yeah, right.”
or the second time, Danita looked down to make sure she was wearing what she thought she was. “Sexy? Yeah, right.”
“You do. I like this look. It makes me think of how wild you are in bed.”
She resisted the urge to look around and make sure they weren’t overheard.
“This is the real you, isn’t it?” he asked quietly as his fingers combed through her soft curls. “The person who cares about others, who wants them to be happy. The woman who risks her life for her job, then risk her job for someone she cares about.”
Danita swallowed hard, trying to untangle her voice from the fear wrapped around her throat.
“I never said I cared,” she finally managed to croak.
“Oh, babe, you care.”
Al she saw was his cocky smile before he leaned in and took her mouth in his. The kiss was sweet with promise, acceptance and something she was terrified to identify. Her heart said it was love. Her brain screamed at her not think crazy.
Needing to know, even if it hurt, she reluctantly pulled away from those delicious lips to stare at Gabriel.
“Why?” she asked.
“Why not?”
That cleared the fog from Danita’s brain. She gave him an impatient look, not about to be charmed into sidestepping this discussion.
“Because...” he trailed off, looking over her shoulder at the celebration of wedding bliss. “Because I have feelings for you.”
Danita’s heart pounded so loud she couldn’t hear the music any longer. Hope bloomed. Even though she knew it was crazy. Even though she had no idea how they could make it work, she wanted to try. Wanted to believe that they could have a chance.
What are your three favorite things about Valentine’s Day? Any special plans this year?
Tawny Weber has been writing sassy, sexy stories for Harlequin Blaze since her first book hit the shelves in 2007. When not obsessing over deadlines, she’s shopping for cute shoes, scrapbooking or hanging out on Facebook and Twitter. Come by and visit her on the web at www.tawnyweber.com
In December of 2011 Tawny launched her Undercover Ops series with SEX, LIES AND MISTLETOE. The second book in the series, SEX, LIES & MIDNIGHT is on shelves in January 2012, quickly followed in February by SEX, LIES & VALENTINES. You can read the first chapter of SEX, LIES AND VALENTINES on her website, too!
4 comments:
Neither my hubby nor I do anything major on V'day. He came home with chocolate covered strawberries for me and a card (he hates dealing with the rush, so early is fine for me). I'm home tomorrow and can spend the day eating them and watching TV. I stopped and picked up a couple of fresh lemon filled cupcakes from a wonderful bakery for him. So romantic, aren't we? Tomorrow we will pig out on shrimp and watch NCIS. Romantic, huh? LOL It works for us. Friday we will go out to dinner for my birthday. His was only a couple of weeks ago, which is probably why we really don't do anything big on the 14th. We are both content not to have to deal with crowds.
No special plans. I love the LOVE generated by Valentine's Day. The whole buzz. The flowers & chocolate are not bad either.
our special event of valentine day is exchange gift with my co-worker and i got lovely mug ;)
three fave things : chocolate, gift and dinner ;)
I always just babysit the grandkids for Valentine's Day so their parents can go out. My three favorite things are chocolate covered strawberries, heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's and valentines from my grandkids.
Post a Comment