USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Tina Leonard likes books that make her laugh, cry, or get up off her fanny. She enjoys writing about smart women who always get the hot hero. With over seventy books either published or contracted, Tina stays busy watching her heroes and heroines win each other’s hearts.
It's my pleasure to welcome Tina to her first visit with us at The Romance Dish. I've been a fan of her books for about fifteen years and am looking forward to reading her new book, Hotter than Texas. Take it away, Tina!
STAYING POWER IS HOT
In Hotter than Texas we meet a favorite
town son who is trying hard to avoid the commitments his town is trying to
foist on him, only to find himself falling for the woman the town certainly
does not want in their opinionated Southern-bred society! But Jake Bentley knows Sugar Cassavechia is
just right for him, and that’s all that matters to him.
Jake
definitely has Sugar’s back! And he has
“staying power”—he’s not about to let Sugar go if he can help it. I fell in love with Jake as I saw how
committed he was to fitting Sugar and her family into a community that really
doesn’t welcome them to their tight-knit little town. That’s romantic!
Have you
ever asked the man in your life what he thinks you do that is romantic? Sexy?
We all know our guys have some annoying habits, but what’s your favorite
thing he’s ever done for you (or what is it about him), that makes your heart
sing He’s so romantic!
I hope
you’ll join me in Pecan Creek for the first book of my new series, Hotter than
Texas. A $15 Amazon e-cert will be given
away to one randomly selected commenter on this blog! Good luck!
HOTTER THAN TEXAS excerpt
Sugar found herself sitting in Jake’s
truck the next evening, picked up almost as if they were going on a date. They
weren’t. He’d called it “dinner to make amends for being a dumbass,” so
she’d accepted. “This is not necessary.”
“Don’t want my renter ticked at me.” Jake
pulled in to a tiny bar and grill with a small white-gravel parking lot. “Pecan
Fanny’s” flashed in pink neon above the black roof. “This is the place you
never hear about if you’re a tourist.”
“Does Pecan Creek have many tourists?”
Sugar asked.
“Not enough,” Jake said. “Only at
Christmas for the small-town parade bullcrap we put on. We get a few antiquers
in the summers. Occasionally someone on the road back from Louisiana when the
highway’s jammed up. We’re an out-of-the-way side road, but folks stumble on us
that way.”
Sugar smiled. “You love this place, don’t
you?”
“I’m pretty sure I don’t love anything
except my mother in a maternal sense. Maybe my buddies, in a fraternal sense.”
He shook his head. “The military had my loyalty and my gut. I loved it until I
realized I was too lazy to be a lifer.”
“You aren’t lazy.” She looked at Jake as
he got out of the truck. He came around to her side, helping her out. “You talk
about being lazy like it’s a goal. But I don’t think you’ve quite succeeded
yet.”
“I’m working my ass off on it, though.” He
walked her inside, and they took a table by a sparkly clean window that looked
out over an open field. “Can I get you a drink, Sugar?”
She looked at him. “I’d love a beer.”
“Good woman. Two longnecks, Suzy,” he told
the waitress, who looked pleased to see Jake in the tiny eatery. “So, Sugar,
I’m sorry about the other day.”
“Why?” She was curious to know exactly
what Jake was apologizing for.
“For saying I’d like to get you naked. I
would, of course, but don’t let it worry you. I know how to keep my inner
animal locked away.”
“Good.” Sugar looked at him. “I shouldn’t
have dumped you in the pond. I have a short fuse for jerks. And I think I’m
pretty much not ready for men who are probably nice guys but say something
jerky.”
“Understood.” He raised a longneck to her
when Suzy put them on the table. “Apology accepted?”
She nodded. “The thing is, I think my
basic frustration with you is Maggie. I feel like you have an opportunistic
side, and I don’t want you using my mom.”
“I get it.” He nodded. “You think I’m
playing the whole Cassavechia family .”
“Well, not Lucy. Lucy’s too clever to let
some guy use her.”
He sighed, and Sugar wondered what was on
his mind. But he drank his beer and pretended to study the menu, not broaching
whatever he was thinking. Sugar did likewise, almost too jittery to select
something to eat, until she realized she was jittery because she actually
forgave Jake for jumping the gun with the naked comment, and maybe she even
kind of liked him, and then she felt a little ill.
It was far too soon to fall a little bit
in like with someone, especially a sexy, handsome guy like Jake who had a tiny
blonde that would make her feel like a basketball player standing next to her.
A huge truck painted with camouflage
pulled up on the gravel next to Jake’s truck, and Jake sighed. “Here comes
excitement. Do you mind company?”
Sugar looked at the door in time to see
three big guys come in with two women. “Friends of yours?”
“Lifelong.” Jake grimaced when his buddies
filtered over to their table, crowding around and pulling up chairs.
“Everybody, this is Sugar. Sugar, in case you don’t recall, this is Bobby
German, Evert Carmichael and Kel Underwood. They own the Bait and Burgers. This
is Cat Jenkins, who works at the coffee shop, and Sandy Goody, the sheriff’s
daughter. They’ve got a farm that keeps Sandy busy.”
“Hi, everyone.” Sugar nodded, smiling.
They pulled up a table, connecting the two
together, and sat down in a noisy flock of fun. Evert sat Cat next to him,
tagging them as a couple, and Sandy took the chair on the other side of Cat,
obviously unattached. “I’ll call Lucy to round out the group,” Sugar said, and
Jake said, “No!”
She put her phone back in her purse.
“O-kay.”
He put a hand over hers, leaned close. “I’ll tell you later.”
His hand
was warm; he smelled great. Sugar blinked, feeling something snap inside
her. She gazed into Jake’s dark eyes, just four inches from hers, and felt
herself gripping hard on to the edge of the side of sanity.
If she let go, if she slipped and let
herself fall into the pit of love again, she knew she would regret it. It was a
dark, foul pit full of heated emotions and sharp ups and downs, the
roller-coaster ride from hell.
