Title: 3 Wishes (A Candy Hearts Romance)
Author: Peggy Jaeger
Genre: Contemporary Rom Com
Book Blurb:
Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.
Excerpt:
At about ten minutes of ten I was almost ready to turn the Closed sign on the door when it opened. I heard Janie’s breath hitch and turned from where I was sweeping up. Staying open late can be a risk, with the thought of being robbed always a threat at the end of the day.
If the guy standing at the door, glancing around the shop, was a thief, then Dio mio, I wanted to be held up.
About six foot, he had hair the color of a deer’s pelt, with autumnal golds and browns shot together in a glorious patchwork that grazed the collar of his jacket and curled a little at the ends. He wore a faded brown bomber jacket over a shirt, and he had shoulders almost as wide as my doorway. A pair of well-worn jeans covered his mile-long legs, and the fabric on the stress points at his knees was practically white.
“We’re about to close,” I heard myself say. “Can I help you?”
It was at that moment he looked over at me.
His face could have been sculpted by Da Vinci or Michelangelo. A broad, smooth forehead housed naturally arched eyebrows I knew some of my gay guy friends would have paid a fortune to have on their own faces. His cheeks were carved from marble, high, smooth, and deep.
And his mouth—mother of God—his mouth. Full, thick, beautiful lips sat perfectly over a chin with a dent you could shove a button into and have it stay put.
“Sorry,” he said. Those fabulous lips pulled up a little shyly at the corners. “I got stuck at work and couldn’t get here until now. I’ll be quick. Promise.”
So here’s the thing: the guy was gorgeous. But even if he’d looked like a frog with raw antipasto smothering his face, I would have dropped to my knees when he opened his mouth. Warm honey, a shot of raw whiskey, and a little hot puff of smoke wafted from his mouth like a fine and rare brandy being decanted.
I swallowed, tightened my grip on the broom because I thought I was coming close to pitching forward, and licked my lips. “Do you know what you’re looking for?” I asked, secretly hoping he’d say, “You.”
“Caramel. Anything caramel.”
I nodded and placed the broom against one of the display counters. From the corner of my eye I saw Janie still rooted to the floor at the cash register, her mouth slightly open, eyes glassy. She looks exactly like this whenever I try a new candy confection on her. Enraptured. That’s the only word to describe her expression.
“I’ve got a few new things over here,” I told him. “Are you looking for something over the top or something simple that says I love you?”
“Simple,” he said. “I always think it’s best.” I nodded, because I did, too. I showed him a table littered with red and pink boxes of fresh caramels I’d made yesterday. Each box had a different assortment of between five and ten candies.
“These are a pretty good seller,” I said. “They appeal to the caramel lover in all of us.”
Okay, so if the floor had opened right then and swallowed me, I wouldn’t have been surprised. What a hokey thing to say, even for me.
As he moved closer to the table, something deep and primal swirled inside me. He smelled like heaven laced with sin. Spicy, subtle, and with a hint of musk. Whether it was cologne, body soap, or just plain man, he smelled good enough to eat.
And Dio mio, I was starving.
Buy Links:
99 cents February 1-15!
Wild Rose Press: https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/3732-3-wishes.html
Walmart.com : https://www.walmart.com/ip/3-Wishes-eBook/791528443
What’s your favorite part about being a romance author?
This may sound awful, but the best part is thinking up ways to pull the hero and heroine apart to test the strength of their love for one another.
Here’s my tip to add romance to your love life:
Never forget the reasons you fell in love with your partner and wanted to spend eternity with them. Forget the arguments; shove the hurt feelings aside. My secret to a long-term relationship is to have a short-term memory for the stuff that doesn’t matter.
Love and Romance Book Festival Giveaway:
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Runs February 1 – 28
Drawing will be held on March 1.
Author Biography:
Peggy Jaeger is a contemporary romance writer who writes about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can’t live without them. Family and food play huge roles in Peggy’s stories because she believes there is nothing that holds a family structure together like sharing a meal…or two…or ten. Dotted with humor and characters that are as real as they are loving, Peggy brings all topics of daily life into her stories: life, death, sibling rivalry, illness and the desire for everyone to find their own happily ever after. Growing up the only child of divorced parents she longed for sisters, brothers and a family that vowed to stick together no matter what came their way. Through her books, she has created the families she wanted as that lonely child. Tying into her love of families, her children's book, THE KINDNESS TALES, was illustrated by her artist mother-in-law.
Peggy holds a master's degree in Nursing Administration and first found publication with several articles she authored on Alzheimer's Disease during her time running an Alzheimer's in-patient care unit during the 1990s.
In 2013, she placed first in two categories in the Dixie Kane Memorial Contest: Single Title Contemporary Romance and Short/Long Contemporary Romance.
In 2017 she came in 3rd in the New England Reader's Choice contest for A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS and was a finalist in the 2017 STILETTO contest for the same title.
In 2018, Peggy was a finalist in the HOLT MEDALLION Award and once again in the 2018 Stiletto Contest. She also came in first place in the Contemporary Romance category of the 2018 OKRWA IDA Contest. A lifelong and avid romance reader and writer, she is a member of RWA and her local New Hampshire RWA Chapter.
Social Media Links:
Website/Blog: http://peggyjaeger.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggy_jaeger
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/peggyjaeger/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mmj122687/