One Stormy Night by Vallory Vance
This quickie was inspired by a personal event between me and one of my
best friends / former co-workers.
My co-worker was a very handsome, well-dressed Hispanic male and we did
everything together.
After one of our “working lunches”, the valet gave us a weird look before
going to get my friend’s car.
“I think he thinks we’re together,” I said to my friend.
“No, I’ve seen him at the clubs. He’s wondering if you realize I’m gay.
And no matter how many times you flip your hair over your shoulder, that’s not
going to change.”
I punched my friend in the arm (sometimes,
my hair gets in the way) and he yelped like toddler.
But I digress! My take on the Friends to Lovers trope was born -
co-workers spending more time together than they spend at home. Surely
something sexy could come of this?
One Stormy Night Blurb:
Alexis Joplin, popular host of
the travel show, Overnight Stays, is embarking on her final scouting expedition
with her partner and best friend, Shane Fowler. Over the course of the last two
years, the duo has grown closer not only at work, but outside of the job. While
their friends and co-workers may whisper that something more than friendship is
the source of their mutual admiration, they deny it even as their personal
feelings are reaching a critical apex.
Shrouded in the dark beauty of a
hundred year old inn, while lightning flashes and thunder rumbles, neither
Alexis nor Shane can hold on to the pretense any longer. They give in to one
night of passion with the promise that in the morning, they’ll awake as
friends.
But is it a promise they both can
keep?
Excerpt:
Alexis eased upright in bed. Even with
the tingle of Shane’s heavy hand down her arm into her lap, the early rays of
morning sun made it impossible to forget their agreement. Back to friends in
the morning.
And friends didn’t spend their day in
the nude, fondling each other.
She allowed herself one last look at his
sleeping face, masculine in its angles yet softened by his curvy, kissable
mouth. Her heart sped up at the thought of those lips brushing behind her ear,
and then the end hit her dead center in the chest leaving her woozy.
The end? That’s what she’d thought the
feeling was last night, but maybe she’d been wrong all along. Maybe it was deeper
than that?
She leaned over the side of the bed and
grabbed her robe. After searching through her pockets for the keycard to her
room, she realized she didn’t remember picking it up. “Crap.” She tossed the
flimsy fabric onto the bed and tucked the comforter under her arms.
“What’s wrong?” Shane’s eyes didn’t
open, but he pulled her closer.
“It’s morning.”
“Huh?” He bolted up, twisting around to
the balcony as if he didn’t believe her. “Morning?”
The headboard shook slightly as he
leaned heavily against it. Still turned toward the balcony, he mumbled,
“Morning.”
The weight of the word crushed against
her chest, stopping any attempt at a response.
Shane was also quiet, staring ahead as
if he needed to note every inch of the painting hanging on the far wall.
Sadness? Embarrassment? She couldn’t
figure out the meaning behind the intent look. Normally she’d hold his hand and
ask, but for the first time, she felt as if she shouldn’t.
Snap out of it. She needed to leave, now. Get some space
between them, except she couldn’t. “I don’t have the keycard to my room.”
He chuckled, shaking his head as if to
further bring him back to the present. “Let me find some clothes. I’ll go get
you one.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed, started to stand and
stopped. “Close your eyes.”
A hot flush flamed her face at the sight
of the broad plane of his tanned back angling down to his paler waist. “Right.”
She complied with his request.
From the sounds of his stumbling steps
and mumbled curses, she guessed she was still making him nervous. Even with the
knots beginning to twist in her stomach, she smiled.
“Okay, you can open.”
He was dressed in the jeans from dinner
and the rumpled shirt. His short hair lay flat against his head, giving him the
appearance of ruffled college student. “Call down to the front desk, and tell
them I coming to get your keycard. I’ll get you some clothes and breakfast.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
He hurried out without saying anything
else.
“Crap.” Alexis slumped forward.
How in the hell were they going to be
just friends after he’d rocketed her into the heavens? Maybe her crush wasn’t a
simple crush after all.
Buy Links:
Find Vallory on her blog – Vallory V ~ A Romance Author Blog
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