I’m super excited about my new romantic comedy release coming up at the end of this month. Hot Fudge & a Heartthrob is the third book in the Lovebird Cafe series, although all of the books can be read by themselves. It releases on February 28th and I can’t wait for everyone to meet Theo and Scarlett! I had so much fun writing their story and wanted to give you a sneak peek…
A bright blue awning caught my eye. The Lovebird Café. Seemed like as good a place as any to grab a bite and try to strike up a conversation with a few locals. I pulled over to the curb and parked on the street. As I pushed through the glass door into the café, the smell of fresh baked bread snugged around me like a favorite blanket. My mom used to make bread every Sunday, enough to last us the whole week. If their bread tasted half as good as it smelled, they might have to pry me off my stool at the counter and roll me out the door.
“Come on in and sit wherever.” A woman’s voice greeted me as I walked in, although she moved so fast all I saw was a flash of blue and white.
I took a stool at the counter, my mouth already watering in anticipation of some down home country cooking.
“Coffee?” She stopped in front of me, a carafe gripped in one hand and a clean mug in the other.
Nodding, I reached for a menu from the holder in front of me. “Thanks.”
“Cream? Sugar?” She’d already set the carafe down and moved on to plating a piece of pie from the pastry case.
“No thanks. Just black.”
“Be back to get your order in a minute.” Her hands full of plates overflowing with desserts, she moved from behind the counter to make her deliveries to the handful of customers.
While I waited for her to return, I scanned the menu. According to the big black print on the front, they served breakfast all day. My stomach rumbled as I tried to decide between the Farmer’s Omelet and the Meatloaf Platter with homemade mashed potatoes.
Maybe the guy with the grizzled beard and trucker hat pulled down over his brow could make a recommendation. He looked like he might be a regular.
I swiveled my stool to the left. “Hey, you come here often?”
He glanced up at me, the space between his eyebrows scrunched, as he shoveled another bite of his lunch into his mouth.
A deep throaty laugh came from behind me. “Does that line work very often?”
“What?” I turned to my right and met a bright green gaze.
The woman grinned, her lips curving up into a flirtatious smile. “I don’t think you’re Buzz’s type.”
Heat crept up my neck, flushing over my cheeks. “I just wanted to ask what he might recommend.”
“You can’t go wrong with the chicken fried steak. Make sure you ask for extra biscuits. They’re to die for.”
Biscuits. This woman was speaking my love language and she had no idea. I let my gaze travel down her honey-blonde hair, past slim shoulders, following her petite frame. She didn’t look like she ate many biscuits herself.
“And yes, I come here often.” She wrapped her fingers around the brown paper bag the waitress set down in front of her then hopped off her stool. “Thanks, Cassie. Can you put it on my tab?”
“You know your money’s no good here.” The waitress waved her off then turned to me. “So are you going to go for the chicken fried steak?”
“Sounds like I can’t go wrong with that.”
“You got it.” Cassie scribbled something down on a notebook then whirled around and clipped it above the window to the kitchen before scooting away.
I turned toward the woman holding the bag. “Thanks for the recommendation. I’d offer to buy you a cup of coffee, but it looks like you’re heading out.”
“I’d say maybe next time, but you don’t look like you’re from around here.” She cocked a hip, possibly waiting to see how much information I’d divulge.
“What makes you say that?”
She tilted her chin down and eyed me with a tinge of suspicion. “Because I am from around here, and I haven’t seen you before.”
Hot Fudge & a Heartthrob releases February 28th and will be available on Amazon and free to read in Kindle Unlimited!
