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Book Blurb
He’s
determined to set things right, no matter the cost.
The
last person Abby Crawford wants to face down is country music superstar Seth
Kendall. Last time she did, she flat-out lied so he’d go to Nashville without
her. She’s never understood why their mutual best friend proposed, but she went
with it so her baby wouldn’t be fatherless. Now she’s a divorced mother of a
teenager, and secretly Seth’s biggest fan.
Seth
is home in McAllister, Texas for his father’s funeral…and a chance to meet the
daughter he’s never known. He’s willing to face the music of his own making and
admit he’s known about his little girl all along. For fifteen years he’s kept
his distance because Abby told him to follow his dreams without her, insisting
she didn’t love him. But now he won’t leave until he knows his daughter and she
knows him, even if it means facing the woman who broke his heart for good.
Confessing
she’s lied about her daughter’s paternity all these years won’t be easy for
Abby, especially with her ex blackmailing her to keep the secret. And Seth
doesn’t know the hardest truth of all: Every love song he plays on his guitar
still plucks her heartstrings.
CONTENT
WARNING: Spicy sex.
Book Excerpt
Seth
leaned in. His lips were close enough to kiss, and his scent of sandalwood and
something exotic enveloped her, taking her back to that night on the beach. His
eyes flashed with the dangerous fire of his temper. It was similar to the flame
of the passion she’d once seen in the green depths. Abby didn’t expect or want
the heat curling in her belly, and shivered with a sudden and fierce desire.
“I’m
her father, Abigail. I wanted to be her father after she was born. It was you
and Mike who insisted I had no business messing things up.”
“I
never said any such thing. You never tried. You just left.”
He
pounded a fist on the counter top so hard she jumped. “Yes, I left! I wasn’t
welcome at home. Dad ran me off with a shotgun. Mike wouldn’t even let me see
my daughter. He made it quite clear you and he were happily married, and I had
no place in your life. I was under contract to be in Nashville to start
recording my first album.”
What
did he mean, Mike wouldn’t let him see Emily?
Before
she had a chance to voice her question, his eyes darkened as the pupils
dilated, obscuring the stormy green. “But I’m no longer nineteen and scared
shitless. I could make things very rough for you and this fantasy you’ve got
working.”
A
cold lump quickly replaced the tangle of heat in her belly. “What-what do you
mean?”
He
backed off and tapped the countertop. “I’m talking a custody battle. I could
have a judge order a paternity test. I think we both know the media hoopla the
results would cause.”
Her
heart slammed into her chest wall. “You wouldn’t do that.”
“Try
me. Now that I’ve met Emily, I want to get to know her.” He walked over to look
out the kitchen window. The hard line of his jaw melted, and he swallowed so
hard his throat moved up and down. “I was a fool when I let Mike talk me out of
being in her life after she was born.”
“What
do you mean?”
He
glanced at her. “Don’t pretend you don’t know.”
The
strings of guitar music provided a soft counterpoint to the hard tension in the
kitchen. Emily was outside on the patio playing around with her guitar, waiting
for them to finish with the dishes she and Seth had insisted on doing.
“All
I want is to have some time with my daughter. That’s all I’m asking for.” When
he looked over his shoulder at her, sadness replaced the anger in his eyes.
“I’ll keep your little secret. I’ll just be her favorite singer. The family
friend who made it big in Nashville. I don’t want to hurt her. As much as it
galls the hell out of me, I see what Mike means to her.”
He
moved toward her and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Besides,
I don’t want to hurt Carolann or Frank any more than you do.” He glanced
outside again, his voice husky as he spoke. “But I’ll sue you if I have to.”
A
part of her wanted to give in to him, but a larger part wanted to punish him.
Let him take her to court; she’d make sure the world knew what kind of jerk
Seth Kendall really was.
She
gritted her teeth and fisted her hands by her sides. “I’ll let you have
tonight, Seth. But don’t ask for more.”
She
turned away and strode through the French doors.
Toot's Review by Stacy Sabala
When I started reading this cowboy story, I was surprised by
the anger that hits the reader in the beginning. It is very thick and you can almost feel
it. It was hard for me to get passed the
first few chapters. Abigail and Seth
loved each other once and had a child very young. He went off to begin his singing career and
she stayed behind marrying their best friend to raise their daughter. Seth stayed away thinking he would be a
horrible father, of course his friend and husband to Abby, Mike helped
perpetuate that idea. He manipulated
both Seth and Abby. When Seth comes back
for his father’s funeral, sparks fly.
Anger, hurt, resentfulness, jealousy, love, and lust rear their heads as
the two former loves meet again fourteen years later. Seth knows who Emily’s father is and it isn’t
Mike as everyone in town believes. Seth
wants to get to know his daughter. Mike
and Abby fear that Seth will tell Emily along with the world the truth. The tangle of lies finally unravel as Seth
and Abby discover there is more behind their estrangement then they
thought. The reader knows that something
is driving Mike to make sure the secret is kept. I was shocked at what was really going
on. It was an interesting twist and a
great ending to the book. I enjoyed
reading the end better than the very beginning.
Author Bio
Sara Walter Ellwood is
an award winning author whose novel Gambling On A Secret was named by
bestselling author Carolyn Brown in the Happy Ever After Blog on USA Today as one of her favorite
romances of 2012. Although Sara has long ago left the farm for the glamour of
the big town, she draws on her experiences growing up on a small hobby farm in
West Central Pennsylvania to write her stories. She’s been married to her
college sweetheart for nearly 20 years, and they have two teenagers and one
very spoiled rescue cat named Penny. She longs to visit the places she writes
about and jokes she’s a cowgirl at heart stuck in Pennsylvania suburbia.
She also writes
paranormal romantic suspense under the pen name of Cera duBois.
Author Links:
Website:
http://www.sarawalterellwood.com
~*Giveaway*~
(1) two ebook copies of Gambling
On A Secret at the end of the Tasty Review Tour
(2) Tour Grand Prize is a swag pack full of goodies! A signed copy of Carolyn Brown’s Just a Cowboy and His Baby, an ebook copy of Gambling
On A Secret, a notebook, a pen, custom jewelry set, $5 Starbuck’s gift
card—all tucked into a keepsake box. (Sorry, only US residents are eligible.
Comparable International Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card.) *Swag pack (gift card) is
for the entire two-month tour. Winner will be announced on June 1, 2013
* To enter, Just comment on this post with a VALID EMAIL
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ReplyDeleteAwesome review!! Sounds like a really good read! I will be adding it to my TBR list!! My email address is: ag_girl76@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read! On my TBR now! Thanks for the chance!
ReplyDeleteDawnbushemail@yahoo.com
Just discovered this site. Glad I did.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds really good. Please enter me
JWIsley(at)aol(dot)com
Sounds like an interesting beginning
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
This book is on my TBR llst and would love to win it! christina_gobin@yahoo.com Thanks for the AMAZING giveaways!! :)
ReplyDeleteOOOOH! This looks like it's a MUST READ!
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julivalenti at tampabay dot rr dot com
So.... does the daughter find out the country singer is her father? Going to have to read the book to find out!
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting--and I love the cover. Count me in. ;)
ReplyDeletej_adnanaATyahooDOTcom
Looks like a great read!! Thanks for the giveaway! tmve1230@hotmail.com
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