Rachael Johns: It’s Always Time For Ice-Cream

I’m an organic writer (aka I don’t plot) and occasionally things appear in my writing and they become much bigger than I ever imagined they would be. In one of my rural romances, MAN DROUGHT – this was a vibrator, given to the heroine by a friend of hers. What I thought would only be a bit of fun in one scene, kept cropping up throughout the whole book and eventually caused for a very embarrassing moment for the hero and heroine right near the end. 

In my most recent release, KISS THE BRIDE, ice-cream became an unexpected feature – and a bit of an in-joke between the hero, the heroine and her daughter. Jake, the hero is an ice-cream connoisseur and he believes the way to a woman’s heart is through her sweet teeth. He woos Magdalena with an impressive ice-cream sundae and then later gets her daughter onside the same way.

There’s more than one scene involving ice-cream in the book and it even creeps into the epilogue, although I won’t tell you how as I don’t want to give the happy ever after away.

Anyway, needless to say I craved a lot of ice-cream during the writing of KISS THE BRIDE and I may have visited my favourite ice-creamy a few times in the name of research. This is The Junction Ice-creamery (http://junctionicecreamery.com.au), which has been in business for as long as I can remember. I have fond memories of my mum and grandparents taking me here on hot days when I was a child and I now frequently drop in with my own children.

The Junction has a HUGE range of homemade ice-cream flavors, but not all of them are always there. I must admit to being HUGELY disappointed if my favourite flavor PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE isn’t available. Nothing else quite does the trick, although in the name of being a good sport I always try something else.

So I’m curious… do you have a favorite ice-cream shop you like to visit with your family and friends? And what is your MUST-HAVE flavor of ice-cream?

Extract:

                “This is a big kitchen,” Magdalena commented as he scooped three different flavors of ice-cream into the bowls. “If fact, it’s a big house… for one person.”

                He glanced up and raised an eyebrow. “You think I might be hiding a family in the basement or something?”

                She laughed. “No. I just wondered…” Again her voice drifted off and pink flushed in her cheeks.

                Man, she looked hot when she blushed. And he had nothing to hide. “It is a big a house. As I mentioned before, I never had a home and I wanted somewhere special. One day, I hope to fill these rooms with a family of my own. I’m just waiting for Miss Right to happen along.”

                He didn’t want to scare her but he reckoned he might have just found her. Magdalena loved music as much as he did; she was gorgeous, funny, and obviously smart. Just looking at her made his jeans shrink three sizes.

“I’m sure there’s plenty of ladies in waiting for that position.”

                “Maybe.” He shrugged and looked right into her eyes. “But I’m a very fussy guy.”

                “I’m glad to hear it.”

He gestured to the toppings on the counter. “Chocolate, salted caramel, or strawberry? No, let me guess, you’re a blueberry kind of girl?”

                “You have blueberry topping?” She sounded skeptical.

                “Sweetheart, when I said I was an ice cream expert, I wasn’t over exaggerating.” He turned and opened a cupboard to reveal a whole row of different ice cream toppings. If his muse didn’t return and he never wrote another song, maybe he’d buy the local ice cream parlor.

                Her beautiful, blue eyes widened. “Okay. I’m impressed. Don’t let my daughter see this. She’s already got enough of a crush on you.”

                He laughed. Bella was a good kid but it wasn’t her he wanted, and he planned on making sure Magdalena knew this before she left today. “Well?” he asked, again gesturing to his not-so-secret topping stash.

                “Surprise me.” She took another sip of her soda.

                He grabbed a bottle of choc-mint sauce and made an elaborate show of squeezing it on top of her ice cream. It was sweet with a bit of bite, exactly how he imagined she’d taste. And then he sprinkled his creation with tiny choc drops, chopped cashew nuts, and little marshmallows, before pushing the sundae across the counter towards her.

                She smiled. “You are full of surprises. I’d have pegged you more as a beer man than an ice cream connoisseur.”

                “Hey, I love my beer as much as the next guy but ice cream is good for my soul. Of course, it’s not that great for the throat so I have to abstain at least twenty-four hours before a performance. Sometimes this makes me a little cranky.”

                In reply, she lifted her spoon and dug it into her dessert, her lips crinkling upwards at the edges. He watched, mesmerized as she lifted the spoon to her mouth and slid it inside. She moaned her approval, her eyelashes fluttering as she swallowed. Jake’s jeans grew tight again and heat rose within him, so he shoved his own spoon into his ice cream and relished the coolness as it hit his tongue.

Rachael Johns – www.rachaeljohns.com

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