I honestly thought it was going to be a bit of a comedy until I realized Claire was hurting to the point I could almost feel the pain inside her and I knew I had to write this book even if it was just to satisfy my own curiosity!
I have many works in progress that I hope to have finalized and release through this next year as I prepare to concentrate more fully on my own writing (yes, I know! It is about time!!!) but Claire remains forever close to my heart. She's not the most celestial being. A wealthy heiress, she lived hard and high, using anything and everything she could get her hands on to try to ease her pain. And yet, even with all that, she truly is beautiful. She just needed someone to help her realize that and fate provided with a reservation mix up at a fancy restaurant where she has gone to have her last meal before ending the pain forever. That's where our hero steps in and many lives begin to take different paths.
If I'm not careful I'll end up sharing the whole story with you. I get so excited talking about the lives these fictitious people lead! Instead, I'll leave you with the short synopsis as well as an excerpt from the book. One note: Claire will be back. Although not the main character, she has a pretty big part in another story about another high society young woman forced to travel cross country with a "country hick". Again, I don't want to say more about either of these stories and spoil Angel for those who haven't read it. I hope you'll give it a chance. It's currently priced through the end of November at just 99 cents for the eBook at both Amazon Kindle and Smashwords. The paperback is only $7.95 on Amazon or my website.
The Synopsis:
Being wealthy and beautiful doesn’t promise an automatic ticket for happiness. Sometimes you need the angelic touch of someone who needs you as much as you need him… Sometimes it’s hard to tell where one set of wings ends and the other begins. Claire is alluring, sensual – called an angel by some, though the woman she’s become is anything but celestial. Her heart is filled with pain so deeply embedded she doesn’t want to live any longer…until fate puts her into the hands of the most virtuous man she’s ever met; a man who needs someone like Claire to help him piece together the shattered bits of his own life.
"I still like happy endings, and Linda never fails her readers on that! It's good to know you can count on authors to deliver a good story with a good ending."
Enjoy an excerpt:
“You want to come
up? We can have that coffee we never ordered…” They were stopped in front of the building
waiting for a clearing to turn into the circle drive where the doorman
waited. Their eyes locked and a bucket
of emotions passed between them.
He reached over and
touched her cheek. “I want to, but I won’t. Besides, I have a brunch date at my parent’s
farm in Morgan’s Falls. It’s late and
I’ll have to get up early to make it on time.”
“Oh.” Claire nodded,
the corners of her lips turning down. “A
decent reason I suppose.” She chuckled. “I’ve never been turned down for
parents.”
They smiled at one
another as he pulled in and the doorman approached. “Another time perhaps?”
Claire gave a
noncommittal half shrug. “Perhaps.” She was silent for a moment, signaling the
doorman to wait. “Thank you for an enjoyable
evening, Garrett. I’m pleased our paths
crossed.” She started to reach for the
door and he grasped her arm. She looked
at his hand then at him.
“I have this
overwhelming feeling that I’ll never see you again once you get out.” His brows were drawn down, his face
concerned.
Claire was sure he
could hear the loud thud of her heart.
She felt the need to throw him off.
“Let me have your
phone.” She held out her hand and he produced it with out question. She stared at it for a moment then keyed in her
number. “There.” She handed it back.
“Thank you.” He smiled,
rubbing the phone between his fingers as if it was her hand. “We’ll have that coffee… and sooner than you
think.
“Would we have had
coffee, Dr. O’Bryan?” she asked, kissing his cheek and bolting from the car
before he had time to recover.
When she waved and
smiled mischievously from the lobby doorway he shook his head and laughed. The thought of her would not easily be
shaken, he was sure of that.
“You’re home early, Ms.
Orion,” Garrett heard the doorman saying to her as he pushed the button that
rolled down the window. “And alone! You ruffled somebody’s feathers again, girl?”
Claire started to
respond but was cut off by Garrett’s voice calling her name. She turned toward him and he was struck
momentarily silent by her beauty.
Uncertain of his intent, she walked back to the car and looked through
the open window.
“Change your mind?” she
teased. “No, I suppose Morgan’s Falls
still has you bound. What then?”
“Sunday brunch? 10:00ish?
And we’ll have that coffee then.
Scouts honor.” He held up two
fingers.
“Wouldn’t you
know. Friday night and I get stuck with
a parent whipped boy scout.” She
laughed, letting him know she was still teasing. “Make it 10:30 and I’ll accept with expectation.”
Garrett nodded. “Claire,” he called as she began to back
away. “You are a woman of your word, right?”
When she didn’t respond he added, “You seem as though you would be.”
Claire breathed in and
held it for a moment as she looked into the distance. The night had not gone as she’d planned. Now she was being asked for her word. Yes, she was a woman of her word…most of the
time, and especially when pressed. Why
was he asking? Did he inherently
know? If she said yes, under the
circumstances, was she bound by her word?
Yes, she supposed she was. At
last she nodded. “My yes is yes. I’ll be waiting and watching. 10:30 sharp on Sunday morning.”
Garrett smiled. “Thank you.”
“You may change your
mind. You don’t really know me.” She pushed away from the car with a laugh.
He shook his head. No, he didn’t know her at all. He’d lived enough of life, however, to
believe their paths must have crossed that evening for a definite reason. He wondered if he’d ever find out why.
“You losin’ your touch,
Miss?” Garrett heard the doorman teasing her again.
“Nah, Charlie. I got lucky in a different way tonight.” She elbowed the older gentleman. “I found me an angel. What was his name? Clarence maybe? Oh listen…
I think I hear a bell ringing.”
He heard the doorman
chuckle as Claire disappeared behind the heavy wood and beveled glass doors of
the grand building.
“Not an angel with
these thoughts!” he whispered as he drove away.
Get enough? If not, there's another excerpt on my website: http://www.lindaboulanger.com/arms-of-an-angel.html that will, hopefully, help you decide if you want to grab this great little holiday read.
I also participate quite often in the Weekly Challenge provided by Clever Fiction~short stories for the real world. If you'd like to read some of my shorts, please feel free to jump to my blog on that site: http://www.cleverfiction.com/linda-boulanger.html. Clever Fiction is open to all writers who want to participate, so writer friends ... consider taking the challenge!
Where Arms of an Angel is sold: Paperback: Amazon.com, TreasureLineBooks.com
eBook: Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, Apple iBooks, Sony, Kobo, Diesel
Link to book on Amazon:
