Solving the equation for love
Author:
Brenda Gayle
Release:
January 20, 2016
Genre:
Contemporary Romance (older heroine)
Word Count:
20,450
Pages:
86
Price:
$1.99
ISBN:
978-1-5092-0499-1 Digital only
Heat Level:
Spicy
Blurb
Teacher Lori
Tait has always wanted a family, but now she's 40, she’s pretty much
decided all the good men are taken. Instead, she devotes herself to her
students, particularly one little girl whose struggle with math seems
inconsistent with an otherwise brilliant and artistic mind.
Mark Wilder
hadn’t planned to become a father, but when a fling resulted in his daughter,
Grace, he whole-heartedly embraced the role. Raised in a family of boys, what
does he know about women and girls? Once he learns of Grace’s inability to
comprehend basic math, he welcomes the role of tutor as a way to
connect with his daughter; the opportunity to spend time with her sexy teacher
is an added bonus.
When Lori
cracks the mystery of Grace’s problem Mark’s world is thrown into turmoil; he’s
the last person who can help his daughter. He pushes everyone away, confirming
Lori’s theory about men. Grace, however, has other plans. Using her new-found
understanding of math, she sets out to prove to her father and teacher that,
together, they add up to the perfect match.
Excerpt
Trust Sharon to
drill to the heart of the issue. Lori would never know what kind of life she
and Kyle would have had together. She tamped down the melancholy that came from
those unfulfilled dreams. “It doesn’t matter anyway. The bottom line is I want
to have a child and if I wait much longer I will be too old to be accepted into
an IVF program.”
“I could give
you one of my kids on a rotating basis.” Sharon grinned. “You could take a
different one every week. Heck, I’d even throw in Tom for a week, he’s almost
as bad as the young ones.”
“I’m serious!”
“I know.”
Sharon sobered. “But raising a child isn’t easy, especially if you have to do
it on your own. For all I rag on Tom about being a big kid, I couldn’t manage
without him.”
“Lots of women
do it,” Lori said stubbornly.
“True,” Sharon
conceded. She took a sip of her drink and then seriously observed Lori over the
rim of her cup. “Okay.” She put the cup down on the table and sat up
straighter. “But if you’re determined to have a child, don’t do in vitro. Find some
sexy hot stud and, at least, have the fun of doing it the old-fashioned way.”
Lori gagged on
a mouthful of mochaccino, trying not to spit it out with laughter. “And where
do you think I will find such a specimen?” she asked when she managed to
compose herself.
Sharon
shrugged. “What about Mr. Tall, Dark, and Yummy?” She pointed over Lori’s
shoulder.
Lori swiveled
in her chair and found herself staring at the crotch of a poster-sized Mark
Wilder exiting one of his famous purple Jeeps. She quickly raised her gaze to
the familiar stubbled chin and deep brown eyes, but not before she felt the crimson
rush of embarrassment flood her face. He was the only man she’d met recently
that looked better than his picture. Take a Trip to the Wild Side with Sedona’s Wilder
Jeep Tours, the poster
proclaimed. Yessiree, if she was picking a partner on looks alone, she’d
definitely take a trip to the wild side with him.
“Now there’s a
reaction,” Sharon said, cocking her head to the side in anticipation of an
explanation.
“His daughter
is one of my students.” Lori took a long sip of her drink, hoping to calm her
rattled nerves. Seeing his picture at the same time she was thinking of having
a baby had somehow zapped her neurons, or electrons, or whatever it was in the
brain that was responsible for rational thought. Her body was buzzing as if in
anticipation—but that was crazy. She barely knew the man. And she was his
daughter’s teacher.
“He’s married? Too bad.”
“Divorced.”
“Oooh, so it’s
possible?”
Lori shook her
head, then sipped her drink. There was no point arguing with her. Sharon was
like a dog with a bone: the more you tried to reason with her, the tighter she
held on to her conviction.
Buy Links:
The Wild Rose Press
Amazon
Author Bio:
I've been a
writer all my life but returned to my love of fiction after more than 20 years in
the world of corporate communications—although some might argue there is plenty
of opportunity for fiction-writing there, too. I have a Master's degree in
journalism and an undergraduate degree in psychology. A fan of many genres, I
am drawn to contemporary romance and enjoy creating deeply emotional stories
with elements of mystery and suspense.
I live in
eastern Ontario with my wonderful husband, two fabulous children, a rescued
cat, two Siberian Huskies, and assorted aquatic wildlife.
Social Links
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Thank you so much for hosting me today. I can't tell you how much fun this story was to write--especially because I set it in one of my favorite places: Sedona, Arizona.
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