Touchdown! Polar
opposites--Drew Gavin, high-profile star quarterback, and Isabeau Delaney,
low-key Tarot advisor, go head to head when the Tarot card of lovers and soul
mates keeps reappearing in their readings.
THE TWO OF CUPS IS FOR
LOVERS
Author: Susanne Marie Knight
Genre: Contemporary Romance
with a Paranormal Twist
Available electronically at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com
Price: $3.99
Buy link:
Blurb:
NOT GONNA HAPPEN
Fame. Money. Booze. Women.
It’s just another ho-hum day in the life of retired NFL star quarterback, Drew
“The Cowboy” Gavin. But Drew’s one love is his young child, Elena. For months
she’s refused to talk, and he’s in desperate need of help. He’s exhausted every
avenue in conventional medicine; now he’s considering something different.
Something unconventional, alternative. His manager sets him up with... what? A
Tarot advisor? Not gonna happen! Can Drew put aside his prejudice against
metaphysical matters and give his earth angel, Madame Laney, a chance?
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN
Isabeau Delaney, a.k.a.
Madame Laney, has big expenses and responsibilities. A beautiful house, a
beloved grandmother in a nursing home, and a slew of Tarot clients that depend
of her to help them navigate the shoals of life. She has no time for a
chauvinistic skeptic who turns his nose up at her life’s work. Drew Gavin just
isn’t in the cards... Tarot or otherwise. Not going to happen! But if that’s
the case, why does the persistent Two of Cups--the card for lovers and soul
mates--keep reappearing in the readings she conducts for Drew?
Excerpt:
Drew
took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. In his career as a star
quarterback he’d faced bulldozer-sized men from opposing NFL teams who had been
determined to inflict maximum pain. He’d weathered those bison stampedes;
surely he could handle a supposed psychic.
The
door opened to reveal... an angel. An ethereal, ponytailed, slender young woman
with a form-fitting tee shirt and a flowing layered long skirt. Damn, she was
beautiful. She couldn’t be the psychic, could she?
He
blinked away his surprise. “Er, I’m here to see Madame Laney?”
Not
losing her poise, she held her slim hand out for a shake. “Hello. You must be
Mr. Gavin.”
Truth
be told, at the moment he wasn’t sure of his name. At all. He quickly pulled
himself together and shook her hand. “Yeah, Drew Gavin, here. I’m pleased to
meet you, er, Miss...?”
“Madame
Laney.” She disengaged her hand. “Please, come in, Mr. Gavin.”
All
business, that was what this little package of femininity was. Turning on the
charm, he smiled. After all, his fans expected smiles. “Thank you kindly, er,
Madame Laney.”
He
stepped into the beautifully decorated entryway. It was cool, thankfully
air-conditioned against the heated day.
A
certain fragrance greeted him, relaxing him, invigorating him. He couldn’t
place the scent but whatever it was, he felt better than if he’d just had a
professional massage.
Then
it came to him: lavenders. Sometimes his physical therapist put lavender oil
into his whirlpool bath. So not only was this young thing easy on the eyes, she
knew how to quickly take the edge off a man without being obvious about it.
Lavenders, yeah.
“This
way, Mr. Gavin.” She gestured to the right and followed him into the living
room. “Please have a seat.” She indicated a curved chair stationed in front of
a cherrywood table.
The
table was set in between two matching clamshell chairs. Soft music played in
the background--loud enough to fill the quiet and low enough to ignore.
This
house of hers really felt like a home. He didn’t know about any of this
hocus-pocus stuff, but as a hostess, she was first-rate. He appreciated the
soothing atmosphere. Hell, most days he had to deal with pushy women doing
anything and everything to attract his attention. Sex, sex, and more sex, along
with money, money, money. Sure, those chicks were fine, but as phony as hell,
too. They wanted the high profile Cowboy, not Andrew Gavin from Small Town,
Montana.
And
they definitely did not want a package deal with his three-year-old. Truth be
told, after a while the mating games got old.
She
waited until he got comfortable. “Would you like a bottle of water?”
“Thanks,
a cup of coffee would be nice.” He flashed his standard grin.
She
shook her head, sending her dark tail of hair brushing against her shoulders.
“Sorry, caffeine isn’t recommended for the type of work we’re doing.”
Well,
that was strange. “Okay, sure. Water. So what kind of work are we doing?”
After
lifting a feathery eyebrow, she got a bottle from a small cooler nearby. She
handed him the water and then sat across from him. “Why are you here, Mr.
Gavin?”
Her
dispassionate stare bore a hole in him. He wasn’t used to being looked at like
he was some kind of germ under the microscope. Frankly, he wasn’t used to being
looked at as anything but prime beef.
“I’ll
be honest... Madame Laney.” What the hell was her first name? “I’ve never done
anything like this before. See a psychic? Hell no, not in my playbook,
darlin’.” He shrugged. “My friend thinks you can help me, so here I am.”
“I
see.”
Even
her voice was detached, unemotional. It actually gave him the willies.
“So
let me clear things up, Mr. Gavin. I’m not a psychic. My gift is reading cards.
Tarot cards.” She folded her hands on top of the table. Her fingernails were
short, unpolished. “Your friend, Mr. Folsom, told me that you could use some
guidance. That was all he said. To get a feel for what your concern is, I did a
quick reading. The information I received is this: Your question concerns a
love interest--in your case I believe it is a young girl. Perhaps a daughter of
yours? Something is happening with her and because of this you feel trapped.
Your daughter is very important to you. In fact, she’s your world. So you are
distressed because you don’t see a way out of the situation affecting her. And
this is a heavy weight you’re carrying around.”
Damn.
Drew gulped down some water. He was literally without words.
“Does
any of that resonate with you, Mr. Gavin?”
“Oh
hell yeah.” Although the temperature in the room was pleasant, sweat beaded up
on his forehead. He took another, a more discriminating look at the woman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hope you enjoy!
Susanne Marie Knight
Read outside the box:
award-winning Romance Writing With A Twist!
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