Read & Support A Good Cause

I’ve had books in a few anthologies over the years, including the one above. It’s the perfect way to do what I love (write) and give back at the same time. Like all the others, all proceeds from this anthology are going to charity. Specifically, the proceeds from HEAD ABOVE WATER will go toward relief for victims of Hurricane Florence’s wrath.

So if you enjoy paranormal romance, and you enjoy helping out where you can, then I encourage you to download this antho and curl up and get busy reading the four stories inside. And know that your few dollars are going to make a difference in the community.

Here’s what each of the books is about:

THE BIG BAD WOLF’S EX

Reece Lassiter was a ruthless bastard.

Jolie was the only woman he’d ever trusted. The only woman he’d ever loved. She had been his everything. Until the day she had betrayed his trust and eviscerated his soul. Reece had cut her out of his life with a ruthlessness that shocked even him. He had encased his broken heart in ice so thick and glacial that nothing could ever penetrate it again.

And he’d been wrong.

His mate had not betrayed him. He had betrayed her and destroyed them both in the process. Now he’ll stop at nothing to get her and their cub back.

SHIFTED UNDERCOVER

Nikki and Adam are newlyweds, flying through the silver skies, traveling to their honeymoon destination– or so it seemed on the surface.

Secret agendas and hidden plans begin to unravel after chaos erupts on the plane. Nikki is not willing to lose the love she has found in Adam over a flight plan gone wrong, and Adam is determined to risk it all for the love of his woman; revealing the beast that resides within.

FIERCE DANCER

Quentin Armstrong is a loner mountain lion shifter with a yearning to be a part of something bigger. When the Fourniers call him for a favor, he accepts, hardly expecting to fall in love with the woman they send him to find. The last thing he wants to do is expose Emma to the dangers of his shifter world, but soon he finds himself fighting not only to keep her heart, but to save her life.

MIRROR, MIRROR

Adelle Hendrix doesn’t believe in hocus-pocus. She doesn’t believe in happily ever after, either. So when she sees her best friend, Ben Jackson, in a supposedly enchanted mirror, she decides she’s not the crazy one, the loony old gypsy woman who showed her the mirror is. Or are she and Ben meant to be more than friends?

DEATH BY MISTLETOE

Survival Rule #16: Never kiss beneath cursed mistletoe… unbridled passion will get you every time.

My father and I hate each other. Usually, we make it work. Or did— until the bodies started piling up. Now, I’m in charge of the investigation.

Luckily, I have help. One Evan Knox, officially known as my own personal nightmare. Or daydream. Depends how I spin it.

Problem is: How the hell are we supposed to stop these murders when Knox himself breaks rule #16 and drags me along for the ride?

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE

Centuries-old Dragan Pyrrhus had never expected his fated mate to run from him. After years of wandering aimless and alone in the darkness, trapped in a cold, emotionless state of existence, his mate had finally returned, and it felt as if he had been reborn into the creature of fire and light that he was supposed to be.

At least it had until he realized that she had only come back to seek his help for the daughter he knew nothing about. The pre-teen, hormonal daughter with a bad attitude who was changing into the deadliest creature in existence, a fire-breathing dragon.

Here’s the link, so you can get started: https://books2read.com/HeadAboveWater?fbclid=IwAR2hlDVhuCjMXElrmQ29fBm4MuiiddBHeLkv7floO2NjdT8LfeHLeE5MxLg

PS – Thank you for your support! 

Dragon Talk by Tami Lund

Let’s talk dragons, shall we…

There’s a curse on Gabe’s dragon colony. Thank the gods, because the last thing he needs right now is a fated mate. It’s bad enough he’s forced to lead these unruly, scaly beasts. And now he has a kid, too.

Definitely not interested in taking a mate, no matter what the hell his dragon thinks…

 

DRAGON HIS HEELS

“You know what I like about you, Talia?”

“I can hardly wait to hear.”

“Well, you’re hot, but that’s not what I like about you. In fact, that would be annoying if I weren’t getting laid on the regular. Because then I might be interested in trying to hook up with you, and you strike me as someone who isn’t into one-night stands.”

“You’d be right on that count.”

“Plus, you’re kind of feisty, which makes me think I might be interested in more than just one night, and we both know that’s a big, fat no in my book.”

Feisty? That one deserved another giant eye roll. “Yes, I am fully aware of your intention to never sleep with the same woman twice.”

(PS – click this hot pic above to see a list of ALL the Bad Alpha Dad books!)

If you like sexy baby daddies. If you like dragons. If you like Tami Lund’s books… This book is for YOU! It releases on Tuesday, September 4 (yeah, the day after Labor Day, first day of school for many of you, so perfect time to cuddle up with your next book boyfriend!), and it’s only 99 cents until then.

So snag it now, and it will be on your ereader, ready for your full attention, just as soon as you drop those kiddies off to school…

All the ways to read:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-His-Heels-Alpha-Dads-ebook/dp/B07F6H1NKS/ref=la_B00AXJH5MY_1_24?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530651779&sr=1-24&refinements=p_82%3AB00AXJH5MY

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dragon-his-heels-a-bad-alpha-dads-romance/id1406706767?mt=11

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dragon-his-heels-a-bad-alpha-dads-romance

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dragon-his-heels-tami-lund/1128999692?ean=2940155320944

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/872966

Enjoy!!

Tami Lund is an author, wine drinker, award winner, and writer of DRAGONS! Here’s her website if you want more: https://sexybadbooks.com/books-by-tami-lund/

Vampires or Sexy Bad Neighbors?

What’s your preference, vampires or sexy bad neighbors?

Technically, they’re both free this week, so you don’t really have to choose. But if you still feel you need to, here’s a side by side comparison of Resist: A Vampire Blood Courtesan Romance and Sexy Bad Neighbor.

• Resist is the first vampire book I’ve written. I love reading them, love watching them on TV or at the movies, but by the time I’d become a published author, I was convinced the market was saturated; there were too many vampire romances, so I didn’t think there was a need for more. Until I realized there can never be enough vampire books. Readers love vampires. I should know, as I’m one of them.
• Sexy Bad Neighbor is the first book I’ve ever co-written. My friend and fellow author, Misti Murphy, threw it out there one day: Are you interested in co-writing a book with me? I raised my hand. Heck yeah. I had read literally every book she’d ever published, she often beta read my books, and I knew she weaved a wonderful—and sexy—story. I knew our writing styles would mesh. What I didn’t know was our writing process meshed too—we’re both pantsters, and she’s a night owl while I’m a morning person. Handy since we live on opposite sides of the planet. The route to get here was fun and I think the book is pretty awesome, too.
• Resist is based in Chicago.
• Sexy Bad Neighbor is based in Chicago. Okay, I’m not sure how that’s going to help you choose. Also, not sure how that happened, as neither Misti nor myself are from Chicago.
• Resist is paranormal.
• Sexy Bad Neighbor is a romantic comedy.
• There are vampires in Resist. A lot of them.
• There’s a goat in Sexy Bad Neighbor. And a fair number of reviews claim she steals the show.
• Resist is part of a shared world. It’s part of the Blood Courtesans series. (There’s a new boxed set called Awakenings coming out in this series too, FYI.)
• Sexy Bad Neighbor is the first in a series. The second book is Sexy Bad Daddy, and the third is Sexy Bad Boss. It’s releasing in January. Then there will be Sexy Bad Valentine and Sexy Bad Escort and Sexy Bad Halloween … and we may have a slight addiction to this sexy bad theme.
• There’s a Facebook group for those of you addicted to vampires.
• There’s a Facebook group for those of you addicted to the Sexy Bad series.
• If you like my writing style, you’ll probably like both books.
• They’re both only on sale through the end of this week, so grab ‘em quick!

 

 

 

 

 

Tami Lund writes happily ever afters, drinks wine, and wins awards. And she occasionally writes blog posts, too. Sometimes they’re even funny.

Introducing A New Series: B.A.D. Alpha Dads

I’ve joined a new project, and it’s a hella BAD new series. It’s comprised of a bunch of authors, all writing paranormal romance, all writing as part of a series, although each book will be stand alone. The premise: A sexy, alpha baby daddy learns he’s got a kid–and now he has to figure out how to raise it. Oh, and naturally he’s gonna fall in love in the process. And by process we mean, he’s gonna have lots of steamy scenes with the heroine as they fall for each other and decide to make their dysfunctional family a happily ever after dysfunctional family.

A few of my author friends are already well into writing their books and I thought YOU would like a taste of what this series will be like…

This first one is from Midnight: Psychic Retrieval Agency (B.A.D.) by TL Reeve & Michele Ryan. They’ve written A LOT of books together, so if you like this, you should check them out on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/TL-Reeve/e/B00CRGP83E/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_1

In the last three years, I learned just how depraved people could be to one another. On my first case with my new friends Mane and Crow, we found a little girl chained to a post in the middle of a room. The only thing she wore had been a three-inch thick black leather collar. She had a small waste bucket in the corner, I doubted the chain reached, and a teddy bear. She stunk to high heaven and on top of everything else, she was half feral. The little she-kitten had been taken from her pride in South America and brought to the states to experiment on.

The kitten had telepathic abilities and the Psychic Bounty Hunters wanted her. Twenty-five years ago, the PBH had been shut down after a rogue handler and his agent/lover left a trail of destruction in their wake. They killed a senator’s son, chased two women to Window Rock and created twins with a shifter to try and make a super race of beings. The two women who showed up in Window Rock were the mates to Kalkin and Caden Raferty and ran the orphanage where Mane, Crow, and myself brought the children we rescued. The twins were also mated now. Both had children of their own and worked within the community of Window Rock. Their shifter father was also a member of the sheriff’s department.

Like I told my mom the last time I talked to her, I’d never find a more rewarding job than working for the Psychic Retrieval Agency—PRA for short. Not only did I free kids from a life of torture and sadness, I got to watch them change and come out of their self-imposed hells. Of the forty-five children we’d saved so far, fifteen of them were placed with families within the community and the others were either waiting on a judge to emancipate them, or Maria, one of the intake workers for the orphanage, tried to track down all known next of kin for the kids so they could be reunited with their biological families.

***

The Alpha’s Gift – This one is by Monica La Porta. She’s another one who’s written a TON of books. If the below snippet sounds intriguing, check out her Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Monica-La-Porta/e/B007DZFP8W/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1511398058&sr=1-2-ent

Max Prize is a dragon shifter billionaire who thinks that Seattle is his playground. One night, an special package is left at his doorstep, and Max’s life is changed for the best.

The arrogant alpha billionaire, the unexpected baby girl & the sassy nanny who will take care of both.

And here is a snippet for you:

PROLOGUE

Max parked his yellow Lambo in the garage of the Wild Ride Nightclub. He popped a mint into his mouth and exhaled the cold aroma slowly, savoring the bite. It was two o’ clock in the morning and the night had just started.

Chuckling at the memory of his last heated encounter, he looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror and smiled. The brunette had left a small hickey on his throat, and the skin on his back still tingled from the woman’s long nails’ attention. Her screams of pleasure had almost given them away as he slammed into her in the dark back corridor of True, one of the many clubs that were his hunting ground in Seattle. His dragon had growled the entire time, enhancing his pleasure.

Life was truly wonderful for a billionaire alpha shifter in Seattle.

His cellphone rung. He checked the caller ID with a frown. It was from his penthouse’s doorman.

“Hugo, what is the matter?” Max asked, leaning against the black leather seat. Boy, that woman had scratched her way through his back well and good, and the pain had only excited him more. He grew hard at the mere thought of her long, black nails curved in a come-hither gesture—

His doorman’s voice interrupted his pleasant wandering. “Mr. Prize, I apologize for calling you this late at night—”

“What is it the matter?”

“Mr. Prize, you should come back home,” the man said in a rush.

“I’m kind of busy right now.” Or he would be soon. Max had every intention to make his statement a certainty the moment he entered True.

In fact, he remembered two blondes in their late twenties frequenting the club for the last two or three months, and forever giving him not-so-subtle glances from the opposite end of the bar. Tonight, early morning, whatever, he had in mind to take them both back to one of the hotels he owned in the city for some fun. His dragon paced in his mind, anticipating the celebratory flight Max always indulged in after a night of pleasure.

“I apologize again, sir, but a situation has arisen that needs your immediate attention.” Hugo’s voice was somehow covered by what sounded like a wail of some sort.

“What’s happening?” Max’s thoughts went immediately to the most probable scenario. A woman had found her way to his penthouse and was now threatening the doorman to make a scene if Max didn’t show up.

“You’ve received a package…” the man’s voiced trailed at the end, drowned again by the most infernal ruckus Max had ever heard.

“What in the name of all that’s holy do you have there?” Had Hugo brought a cat to work?

“The package’s content I’m afraid,” Hugo said. “Please, Mr. Prize, hurry. I’ve already taken the liberty to call Mr. Wilson, and Grant is here with me.”

Max’s frown deepened as he swore in several languages. If Hugo had called Wilson, Max’s best friend and PR, whatever the situation was at his penthouse, it needed professional handling.

With a last, disappointed look at the club’s elevators, Max turned the engine of his sports car, shifted into reverse and let the Lambo’s roar fill the silent garage.

*** 

This series starts releasing in January, several books a month, for the foreseeable future. Lots of shifter love, lots of hot alpha book boyfriends for your reading pleasure. Keep up with our progress on the website: https://www.badalphadads.com

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving for those in the U.S.! 

 

Tami Lund is an author, a wine drinker, an award winner, and a member of this B.A.D. Alpha Dad writing gang. Her book is tentatively scheduled for release in April.

Vote For Tami Lund’s Novella, MIRROR, MIRROR!

Guess what? My novella, MIRROR, MIRROR, is in the first round of voting for the Rone Awards! How did that happen? Well…

1. One of the reviewers at InD’Tale Magazine really liked it. Here’s what she had to say:

What a fun, light-hearted quickie of a romance! Coming in at only 128 pages, it surprisingly doesn’t feel incomplete! The set-up is perfect for a novella-length story and the pacing is superbly executed to allow the story to be complete without short-changing the understanding behind the characters. The Grandma/ghost aspect was a bit confusing and the bawdy humor seemed forced at times but overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable escape that will delight anyone in need of a giggle and a sigh after a long, hard day!

2. She liked it so much, she recommended it be added to the Rone Award competition.
3. Now, readers get to choose which books go on to the final round. Final round is reviewers again, and they have to select one winner, which will be announced in October at the InD’Scribe Conference.
4. This is where you come in. I need your vote, so I can move on to the final round! Voting ends TOMORROW (April 23) so hurry!!

Here’s what you do:

1. Go here: IND’TALE WEBSITE
2. Register, if you haven’t already. It’s easy and there’s no obligation (although they do have a pretty cool monthly e-magazine, if you’re interested.)
3. Go to week 1 of the 2017 Rone Awards. (upper right corner of the website)
4. Go to the ‘Novella’ category. (first category)
5. It’s alphabetical by book title – so scroll down to M – there’s Mirror, Mirror by Tami Lund
6. Vote!
7. P.S. – since this category is so big, you can vote for two books, so if you see another on the list you like, go ahead and do it!
8. Receive my eternal gratitude!

Want to know what you’re voting for?

Okay, here’s the deal: Adelle was jilted at the altar, so she’s sworn off love. While at a friend’s wedding, she ends up visiting an old gypsy woman who claims Adelle can see her future husband in an enchanted mirror.

Yeah, right. Adelle doesn’t believe in hocus pocus, nor does she believe her hottie best friend, Ben, is anything but a platonic roommate. Even if she did see his image in the mirror. Even if she can’t stop thinking about the old lady’s words–or her bestie in a highly inappropriate way.

Here’s a sampling of what Vivienne, the old Gypsy woman, is like:

…The woman who, by Adelle’s judgment, looked to be approximately a thousand years old. Her face was heavily lined, her cheeks sagged, her nose was crooked. She wore a brightly colored scarf on her head, wispy gray hairs sticking out from under the silky material. Her body was covered with the same type of peasant shirt and billowing skirt that Adelle wore, except it was uncomfortably obvious she wasn’t wearing a cleavage-enhancing bra, because her breasts hung somewhere in the vicinity of her knees.

“Quit staring at me, girl. You’ll look like this someday, too, if you’re lucky.”

Lucky?

“Lucky,” the woman said, as if Adelle had repeated the word out loud. “You wanna know how many hunks I had in my day? There’s a reason I look so worn out.”

 

As kooky and cranky as Vivienne is, she’s damned perceptive, too:

 

“W-what do you want?” she asked, hating the way her voice cracked with her nervousness.

“Peace, love, and happiness,” the woman retorted. “But I’d settle for a romp with your date. He’s single, isn’t he?”

“Ben?” Adelle said in surprise. “No offense, but I don’t think you’re his type.”

“Why do people start offensive phrases with the words ‘no offense’?”

“Er…”

The old woman waved a veined, wrinkled hand over the candle flame. The rings she wore on every finger and her thumb glittered in the light, gold bangle bracelets clinking gently on her arm.

“Well, who do you think is his type?” the woman asked.

Adelle furrowed her brow, confused by the woman’s question.

“What’s so damn difficult about my question, girl? You know him, don’t you? He’s your best friend, so you say. If that’s the case, then you ought to know what he likes in a woman. You’ve known him for ten years. That’s almost a third of your lifetime. Answer me,” she snapped.

“I, uh, I…” Adelle stuttered over an answer. How did this obnoxious old woman know anything at all about her and Ben’s friendship? Nicole must have filled her in while she was getting her own fortune read.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “He likes good-looking girls. Blondes, it seems.”

The old woman cocked her head to the side and gave her a considering look. “Well, that puts me out of the running, I suppose. Although a box of ‘golden platinum’ could remedy that easily enough. What else? That boy can’t be so superficial that looks alone would win his heart.”

 

Yes, this novella is full of humor, a few sexy moments, and a heartwarming happily ever after. It’s the perfect read for a rainy afternoon or anytime, really. And if you vote, it just might become an award winning book!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Tami Lund writes romance novels, drinks wine, and sometimes wins awards. But only if you vote! Check out the rest of her books here: www.tamilund.com

Tami Lund’s Shifters & Lightbearers

I am Xander Wulf, and I am a shapeshifter. This means I have the ability to change forms at will. And not just one form, either, like werebears or werepanthers. I can shift into a hawk to fly over a tall, steep cliff; or I can become a cheetah to quickly get across country. I can even shift into the bear or panther I mentioned.

Or a lion. It’s good to be king.

Yes, shifters are king. We are the most powerful of the magical community. We are also the only ones who share this world with the humans. Everyone else has their own world in which to live. Well, almost everyone.

There are also the Lightbearers. Those elusive magical creatures with their golden blonde good looks and magic they get from the sun. It regenerates each and every day, as well. They can deplete their stores entirely, go sit in a shaft of sunlight, and a few hours later, the magic is back. Damned impressive.

And I want it. I want that feeling, that ability. Changing forms is not enough. My magic manifests itself only in that way. I’ve witnessed Lightbearers create light, make food, build structures—and summon weapons. They can even heal one another, all with magic.

Sometimes I wonder how shifters were able to claim the position of king, when our magic feels so … limited. But then I see how the Lightbearers scurry away, run and hide when they sense a shifter in their midst. Like lambs and wolves. They are afraid; shifters rarely feel fear.

They are afraid because my kind believes we must kill them to inherit their magic. When a Lightbearer dies, there is a great flash of light as their magic or spirit or whatever is released. Some shifter at some point along the line convinced himself that meant if he were the one doing the killing, that magic would go to him, instead of release into the air.

True confession: I’m not so sure of that. Plenty of Lightbearers have been killed by shifters. I’ve killed my fair share. And not a one of us has inherited a lick of Lightbearer magic. We convince ourselves it’s our fault; the way we kill them, the position we stood in when it happened, the fact it was nighttime instead of daytime. Whatever it took, we’ve been full of excuses for decades.

I’m all out of excuses. I still believe I can gain their magic, but perhaps killing isn’t the way. Maybe there’s another way. And maybe that feisty Lightbearer with the unruly blonde curls knows how. Hell, maybe it’s her magic I can inherit. Considering the last thing I want to do is kill her, I’m now officially convinced.

There’s another way.

Read the F*R*E*E prequel to the Lightbearer series to find out if Xander gets what he wants from the Lightbearers: FIRST LIGHT

(PS – Xander’s story continues in BROKEN LIGHT, the prequel part two, which is part of an anthology called CLAIMING MY VALENTINE. It’s fourteen shifter love stories for only 99 cents, all of which goes to charity. So why not give it a try, too?)

       

 

Tami Lund is an author, a wine drinker, and occasionally a channeler of characters from her books. If you want more, take a look at her website: TAMI LUND

A V Day Chat with Characters from Tami Lund’s Book

I know, I know, Valentine’s Day was yesterday. But considering this post is about Gavin Rowan from Of Love and Darkness, the first in my Twisted Fate series, I think you understand why it’s acceptable to post it on February 15th.

What’s that? You haven’t read Of Love and Darkness, so you have no idea what I’m talking about? You don’t know anything about Gavin, the cursed Light One, and Sydney, the Chala-who-has-no-idea she is one? Or how about William, the cross-dressing Fate who’s built like a linebacker?

No?

Well, what are you waiting for? Today through Friday it’s only 99 cents. Hurry and grab it!

In the meantime, here’s a typical Valentine’s Day in the Rowan household….

***

“I suck at this Valentine’s shit.”

William glanced up from reading the newspaper on his iPad. Gavin Rowan, that incorrigible cursed Rakshasa shifter who happened to be in love with William’s Chala, towered over him, a scowl on his unshaven face, his pale blue eyes glaring at the Fate as if it were his fault the man was lousy at being romantic.

“You suck at a great many things,” William obligingly pointed out. He was stuck with the often surly shifter because Sydney loved him, but that didn’t mean he had to play nice. Besides, playing nice rarely worked for Gavin. He tended to speak one language: asshole.

“Not nearly as good as you do, I bet,” Gavin shot back, a typical derogatory comment about William’s preference for sharing his bed with men instead of women.

“I will never understand what Sydney sees in you.” William dropped his iPad onto his lap and brushed a bit of lint off the lacy lapel of his red wrap blouse. It was a recent find and his current favorite shirt. He’d been thrilled when he discovered they made it in his size. It was often a challenge to buy women’s clothing in sizes large enough to fit a six and a half foot tall, two hundred and sixty pound man built like a linebacker. And don’t even get him started on shoes.

“I think you understand quite well,” Gavin replied with a leer. “Now, help a guy out. What should I get her?”

“You to realize it’s four o’clock in the afternoon on Valentine’s Day, right?”

“Yeah, so hurry up about it. I haven’t even acknowledged the day yet. I’m sure she thinks I have some kind of surprise up my sleeve. So tell me what to do.”

William would like to tell the man to jump off the highest cliff he could find. But that would devastate Sydney, and William hated it when his Chala was upset. He sighed and said, “You seriously can’t think of anything? You have no idea what she wants, what she likes? Her favorite pastime? Her favorite restaurant?”

“I don’t want to take her out to dinner. Everybody does that. It’s boring. I want… something different. Better. Something she’ll remember, and tell all her friends about.”

“How does the asshole in you manage to live with that giant ego? Seems like they’d be fighting for dominance all the damn time.”

“You’re a funny Fate,” Gavin replied with a smirk that said William was anything but.

“Not nearly as funny as the comedians at the Comedy Castle.”

Gavin gave him a blank look and then shook his head. “Whatever, dude. You gonna help me or not?”

“I’m trying,” William grumbled. “She does like to laugh, you know.”

“So you think I should just tell her jokes all night?”

“You really are an idiot, you know that?”

“And you’re a fruitcake. We all have our burdens to bear. So about that Valentine’s Day idea?”

With a long-suffering sigh, William reached into the V on the neck of his blouse and pulled out an envelope. He offered it to Gavin, who looked at it as if it might bite him.

“Did you seriously just pull that out of your cleavage? What the fuck is wrong with you? And what is it, anyway?”

“Tickets, you dolt. To the comedy show. Seven o’clock seating. A lovely wine bar recently opened down the street from the comedy club. I think she’d like it.” He made a show of looking at his watch. “So I’d get a move on, if I were you.”

He watched realization dawn on Gavin’s face. If he weren’t such a repulsive creature, William might even go so far as to say it lightened his face, made him almost attractive.

Gavin snatched the envelope. “Sweet.” He bolted from the room without so much as a thank you, but William had expected no less. A moment later, Sydney stepped out from where she’d been hovering in the kitchen. Unlike her mate, her enthusiasm and appreciation was clear as day, as she pulled William to his feet and squeezed him until he couldn’t breathe.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, William. You’re a doll. I’m so excited for tonight.” She clapped her hands like a three-year-old.

“You’re welcome, but tell me, why didn’t you just tell him that’s what you wanted?”

Sydney’s pink rosebud lips thinned and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Gavin probably would have refused to do it, if I’d suggested it. You know how he likes to think it was his idea. And I knew he’d come to you, because he wouldn’t be able to think of anything. And whatever you suggested is what he’d do. This worked perfectly. Now, I have to go track him down so he can tell me about our plans, so I can get ready for my hot date. Thanks again, William. I owe you one.”

She trotted away, happy as a lark, and William was once again reminded of the complexity and convolution—and sheer genius—of the female mind.

***

Tami Lund writes quirky characters, often with a strong sense of humor. She’s a big fan of bad boys who really have a heart of gold, and unexpected secondary characters who sometimes have to bash the hero and heroine over the head to get them to realize they’re in love.