I saw a photo online recently of a hallway strewn with red rose petals, and a caption that said something like, "Just once I wish someone would do something this romantic for me." To which someone else had replied, "I thought those were bloodstains." And someone else had quipped, "There are two types of people."
I don't know...maybe you had to be there? I thought it was hilarious. But, even funnier, is the fact that everyone I know of who's seen the picture also thought they were viewing a crime scene. And that got me thinking that I'd like to write a scene like that. And THAT reminded me that I already had ! Or, at least, I'd written a scattered rose petal scene.
Sound of a Voice That is Still is book three in my Oberon series--which is not currently available. I'm hoping to bring it back this year. Fingers crossed. I do have an Oberon /LA Love Lessons crossover novella available (and possibly another one coming before the end of the year--more crossed fingers!). But you're curious about Lucy and Danan, you can read more about them right now, simply by joining my FB Reader's Group, The Crone's Nest.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheCronesNest
Members have access to the Oberon prequel, Such Fleeting Pleasures, which tells the story of how Lucy and Dan first met--and includes the famous indoor picnic scene that Lucy is attempting to replicate in the excerpt below:
Lucy took a long last look around the bedroom. It was perfect. Rose scented candles stood ready on each of the nightstands, and in their bathroom a bottle of vanilla flavored massage oil steamed peacefully in the bottle warmer. A picnic basket containing most of the ingredients for the meal she’d planned sat ready on the bed. Olives and oysters and double cream Brie. And cherry tomatoes—out of season, of course, and not nearly as good as the ones they’d get later in the year, but that could not be helped. She’d fared better with the avocados and the artichokes.
Two weeks of searching had turned up several bottles of a nice Cabernet that was a near match for the wine they had shared all those years ago. She’d struck out when it came to the fresh strawberries, however. To compensate she’d bought a box of marzipan fruit and two cans of whipped cream.
She was ready.
Closing the door behind her, she headed down the hallway toward her kitchen to check on the rest of the meal. She glanced at her smartwatch to see how much time she had, and felt a momentary tightness in her chest when she saw how late it was. Where was he? Surely he wouldn’t be late tonight?
Not that there was any hurry, of course. They had all night to eat and talk, and to love each other. To remember the way things used to be. Could still be. Were.
She could hear Mandy and Kate giggling in the family room as they watched one of the videos that she’d rented for them. She thought of Scout and her cousin, probably already checked in at the spa—already in bed, perhaps. And Marsha, out to dinner with Sam. She tried to rein in the jealousy which for weeks had threatened to overwhelm her.
She’d had a whole lifetime of loving and being loved, after all. It was petty of her to begrudge her two best friends a little of the same happiness she had, wasn’t it? But she did, all the same.
As she checked on the artichokes, wiggling a couple of the outer leaves to see how loose they were, she imagined how it would feel to slide one of them into his mouth, to feel the touch of his lips as they brushed against the tips of her fingers. The faint tug as she pulled the leaf out again, and his teeth clamped down on it, resisting her. She imagined the taste of and the feel of melted butter as it dripped down her chin. The sweet aftertaste in both their mouths as he licked the butter away and then kissed her.
The artichokes were ready she decided, turning off the heat beneath the pot. And so am I.
She was ready to break down the wall that had sprung up between her and Dan. Ready to break through the silence that threatened to suffocate them both. Ready to reclaim her marriage.
And reclaim her husband, too, from whatever it was that had stolen so much of his attention recently.
She had everything she needed to accomplish her task, except for one little thin: Dan still wasn’t home.
She resisted the urge to check the time again and uncorked one of the bottles of wine. It was just as well that he was late. It was a fairly young vintage, after all. It could use a few minutes to breathe. She poured herself a glass of it, anyway, admiring the deep, clear color of the wine.
Three drops, red as heart’s blood fell on the white tile counter. She wiped them up and licked her finger, and then turned at the sound of the door opening, her chest tight again.
“Hey babe. Sorry I’m late,” Dan said, smiling as he came toward her. He was carrying a bouquet of roses and a small, insulated paper bag.
Lucy could hear her heart thudding in her ears. “Hey, yourself,” she murmured, putting her glass down, and leaning back against the counter. She cocked her head to the side. “What’s in the bag?”
He put the roses on the counter and leaned in close. “Your Valentine’s present.” He pushed her hair back behind her ear and nuzzled her neck. His voice was a warm whisper. “Part of it, anyway. I thought maybe we could take this back to our bedroom with us later, maybe have our dessert in there tonight?”
He brushed a brief kiss against her lips and then pulled away and handed her the bag. “Here. Take a look.” He rested his hands on the counter, one on either side of her, and watched as she opened the bag.
“Lavender ice cream?” Her favorite. She stared at him in wonder. There was only one place in town that made it, and then only during the summer. “How’d you get it?”
He flashed her his most mischievous grin. “It was easy. I just called and asked if they’d make up a batch of it special for me. Told them I’d give them a real good deal on the lavender this year, if they did. That’s why I’m late tonight, I had to stop downtown and pick it up.”
Lucy clutched the pint container against her chest, mindless of the chill, as she thought about the velvety smoothness of the ice cream, the sweet taste of lavender, the way it would feel later tonight, as it melted on her skin.
Dan’s eyes gleamed as he watched her. “Well? Don’t you have anything for me?”
She nodded and reached for his hand. “Come on. I’ll show you. Bring the roses,” she said, smiling at him over her shoulder.
She’d been foolish to be so worried, she thought, as she led him down the hallway towards their bedroom.
Nothing had changed between them. They were still on the same wavelength, still in sync. Still in love.
She dropped his hand as they entered the bedroom. Crossing to the bed, she pulled down a corner of the bedspread, so he could see the rose petals she’d layered between the sheets: red and white, just like the ones he’d brought her.
He smiled at her from across their bed. “The red rose is a falcon and the white rose is a dove,” he recited softly. “The red rose whispers passion and the white rose breathes of love. Looks like we might have been thinking along similar lines today.”
“Hmmm.” She returned his smile. “Looks like.”
He frowned suddenly. “Except...I think I may have reversed the order of those verses.”
She shrugged and rested one knee on the bed. “Does it really matter?”
“No.” His glance sizzled as it wandered slowly over her. “Not at all. So, what are you tonight? A falcon, or a dove?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged again. “I haven’t decided, yet. Maybe neither.”
“Neither, huh?” He looked amused. “Why don’t you come over here and let me change your mind about that.”
She peered up at him teasingly, “What’s your hurry, Cavanaugh? You got places to go?”
“Just one,” he said. His glance went briefly to the basket on the bed between them. “Are we having a picnic?”
She nodded. “Take a look.”
She held her breath and watched as he lifted the lid and looked inside; watched the smile that slowly crept across his face, watched his throat work as he swallowed. He remembers. Her heart soared at the look in his eyes when he looked at her again; at the heat and the passion that blazed within them.
“C’mere,” he said and his voice, husky with emotion, warm and dark, set all her nerves aflame.
An Oberon Prequel Novella 0.5
Love wasn't always strawberries and cream for Lucy and Dan Cavanaugh...or was it?
In this Oberon prequel, we travel back in time to see how it all began.
Most of the material in this prequel novella (set some eighteen years before the series begins) also appears as flashback scenes in A Taste of Honey.
Although the series as a whole is not currently available, you can access a FREE DOWNLOAD of this novella when you join my Facebook group: The Crone's Nest:
Crossover Book 1.0
In Waiting For The Big One, Gabby and Derek went from being friends to being lovers. Now, they're waiting for their Big Day. But will it be the wedding of their dreams? Or a bride's worst nightmare?
A quick trip to Gabby's hometown turns into the wedding from hell when Gabby and Derek are plagued by hailstorms, lost reservations, voracious goats, angry bees and enough family drama to fill a barn.
Guess it's true what they say, "The course of true love never did run smooth." But can the happy couple hold it all together, or will their Big Day turn into a Big Mess?
***A different version of this book was previously released as part of the Sapphire Falls Kindle World program.***
