Sizzling attractions
and romance on the sands of Montauk
A Montuak Romance Book 2
By P.C. Zick
Genre: Contemporary
Romance
A man in mourning for his dead wife. A woman unable to trust the opposite sex. Blind date fiascos until they discover one another.
Denny’s wife—the only woman he’s ever loved—died the year before and his
friends are intent on finding him a new love. Jill’s first experience with love
in college left her skeptical that she would ever be able to find love. Both
the widower and the bachelorette hope for a second chance at love.
When Denny and Jill find themselves lustfully drawn to one another, they’re
ashamed of their secret encounters. When friends suspect there might be
something between them, they disapprove. Unsure of how they feel about one
another, the attraction continues. To keep things on the downlow, they hatch a
pact to be friends with secret benefits and embark on a hot sexy romance. When
those benefits explode into something more than primal urges, one of them
breaks the pact, and the whole affair and friendship ends up unraveling as the
holiday season approaches. This steamy romance jingles all the bells for the
Christmas season.
GUEST POST
Things I’m passionate about today
I’m working on a huge project these days. It’s an off and on passion project. I’ve written an outline—which is unusual for me—and have several chapters roughed out. It’s set in two different time periods with parallel themes. I tried going back and forth between those two eras at first then read what Barbara Kingsolver said about writing in the past and present. She advised to write one time period first, and then write the next one. They can be combined after that.
So, my era begins in the Gilded Age in Baltimore and ends after the Spanish Flu pandemic in Philadelphia. I’m deep into my research of that time period now and often find myself going down “rabbit holes” as I unearth interesting tidbits. The characters are set and the plot plotted. It’s the details that are taking time. I lived through the second time period—the lead-up to the COVID pandemic and beyond. I’ve learned that there are so many parallels between the pandemic of 1918 and the one of 2020.
Whether I am able to complete this giant manuscript or not matters little to me. I am enjoying the research and the plotting. And as I’ve learned in my life, satisfying myself as a writer is the most important step in pleasing readers.
I Write Therefore I Am
I tell stories. It’s always been that way for me. I don’t simply go to the grocery store. I live a short story. First, there’s the background. “I drove the truck because the car was out of gas.” Then the conflict. “I parked next to a sports car taking up two spaces.” The climax. “When I hopped out of the truck, the sports car owner came running up with a cart and rammed it into the back of truck because I’d parked too close to his precious Lamborghini.” The resolution. “He apologized profusely when I pointed to the lines on the pavement and gave me the name of his lawyer so I could buy a new truck.”
One of two things happens as a result of my irrefutable penchant for storytelling. Those who know me best don’t ask about the details of my life, or if they do, they grab a beer and a bag of popcorn. Then they ask.
What else could I do but write fiction? One time a friend, in a rather annoyed voice, asked, “Can’t you ever just shut it down?”
No, I can’t. Therefore, I write. And, therefore, I am.
I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world. I work at my passion.
And as always, I tell stories. Did I tell you the one about meeting my new neighbor for the first time? Don’t ask, or I will.
EXCERPT
THE MUSIC BLARED FROM the speakers when Denny entered Last Call. The pulsing beat perked him up and removed any regrets he’d had earlier about showing up. It would be good to see his friends. He needed a break from work and from missing Sara. And it would be nice to go out with friends rather than with a woman who couldn’t carry on a conversation. The date with Barbie lingered, and not in a pleasant way.
“We wondered if you’d make it,” Colt said when Denny joined him and Haley at the bar. “And you beat everyone else. Good job.”
Haley gave him a hug. “How are you, Denny? How did the date go the other night?”
Denny and Colt both groaned as an answer.
“I don’t understand. My cousin recommended her so highly.”
“She just wasn’t my type, Haley. I’m doubtful there’s anyone out there who’s my type, so I’m done.”
“But don’t give up, old man,” Colt patted him on the back. “You just haven’t met the right one yet.”
“I’m taking a break, remember? Even Jeff agreed to back off.”
Colt slapped his forehead. “I forgot, but just in case, I brought you something.” Colt reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out several small square packages. Denny stared at them and wondered why Colt was carrying around condoms.
“Why do you need those?” Denny asked.
“I don’t, but you do.” Colt put them in the pocket of Denny’s blue shirt. “We get these by the caseloads to take with us to the villages. A delivery came today, and I thought of you. No need to thank me.”
Denny laughed. “If I have to wait for my friends to fix me up with a worthwhile woman, I won’t need these for a very long time. And now that I’ve sworn off dating, these are going to rot.”
“Better to be safe,” Colt said. “You never know when something might happen. I’d hate for you to miss an opportunity just because you weren’t prepared.”
Denny turned to look at the woman who now stood next to him. Jill, Kiley’s friend and money handler. They had met only a few times before, but Denny had liked her immediately.
“Jill, I didn’t know you were in town,” Denny said. “Good to see you.”
“Hi there. I just got here today.” Jill greeted them all with a big smile. He’d never noticed what a lovely grin she had. But she looked different.
“Did you do something with your hair?” he asked.
Jill laughed. “You’re very observant. I guess it’s been a few months since we’ve seen one another. I’m letting it go back to my natural color. Platinum was too much. I’m almost thirty after all.”
Again, that smile as the rest of them laughed.
“I like it.” Then he turned to his beer. He hadn’t meant to say that. But she looked so damn sexy in a denim skirt a few inches above her knees and a red stripe top that outlined her breasts and dipped just enough to see her cleavage. He needed to get a grip before he lost his mind completely and kissed her.
“How have you been?” Jill asked quietly when they were settled. “It’s been almost a year, right?”
He nodded. “Next month. I’m surviving. The worst part has been the concern of my friends.” When Jill gave him a puzzled look, he plunged ahead. “They’re all intent on fixing me up on dates. So far, they’ve all been disasters.”
“I can relate to that. To avoid Kiley and my mother pestering me to get out more, I started online dating this past year. After my last date, I’ve sworn off it.”
“That bad? Same thing here. My last date did it for me, too. I didn’t realize there were so many empty-headed women out there. No offense because that certainly doesn’t fit you.”
“None taken, if you don’t mind me saying that there are some pretty lame guys as well. I think I’ve had a date with all of them.”
For the first time in more than a year, Denny felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. It would be all right. And suddenly, the woman next to him with the dark blonde hair curling softly around her jaw aroused in him feelings he hadn’t had since long before Sara died. He tried not to look at her chest as she leaned toward him. She gave his arm a squeeze, which sent a shiver down his spine.
When she rose and headed for the back of the bar, he followed her.
Love on the Wind
EXCERPT
KILEY DROVE OUT TO Long Island on Saturday morning in the rental car the studio provided whenever she needed it. She put down the top on the BMW, excited to be driving on one of those rare, cloudless days of endless blue sky. At eight o’clock, the temperature was a lovely seventy degrees and rising steadily. She was glad she’d thrown in her new bikini at the last minute, along with a gauzy see-through sundress for wearing over the bathing suit. She loved to dress like an old hippie with lots of lace and wispy material that seemed to float on the air. When she worked, she mostly dressed down because her show took her on adventures not usually chosen by the average tourist. She hiked through rain forests, floated down crocodile infested rivers, and climbed rugged mountains free of cleared paths. She loved it, but she also liked taking off the hiking boots and thick protective socks and running barefoot on the beach. She wouldn’t mind racing naked over the dunes, but she’d heard the beaches on the eastern end of the island could be rocky. Not to mention, crowded.
So now she followed Route 27, the Sunrise Highway, to the eastern end of Long Island to East Hampton, where the community of Montauk plunked itself down right on the Atlantic Ocean as a hamlet on the dunes. The Montauk Lighthouse, still in operation as the fifth largest working lighthouse in the United States, dominated the end of Montauk Point, sitting high on a dune guarding and protecting the hamlet. She felt herself relax as the miles flew by, hoping to make it to Taylor’s well before noon.
She almost missed the turn off for the house and made a sharp right turn a little too fast. Her tires spun in the sand of the beach road, and she lost control as the BMW turned sideways. She worked hard to turn the wheel, not paying attention to anything else on the road. When she’d corrected it and straightened out the wheels, she looked up too late to see a Jeep Cherokee in front of her driving much slower than she was. She tried to brake, but it was too late. She barreled right into the back of the vehicle, bringing them both to a halt.
“What the hell are you doing?” a dude dressed in shorts and a tank top yelled as he jumped out of the Jeep. “You’re driving too fast down this road.”
She got out of the driver’s seat, afraid to look at the damage. Instead, she looked up into angry brown eyes as the man approached her. If he wasn’t so angry, he’d be handsome. But now she needed to focus.
“I guess I lost control.”
“Obviously.” He nearly growled at her.
“It was an accident,” she meekly offered as she approached the front of her vehicle.
“Again, obviously. I’d hate to think what might have happened if you’d meant to hit us.”
Her eyes filled with tears, but she fought them back. No need to give this guy any more ammunition.
“Is everyone all right?” she asked when she realized angry dude was a passenger in the backseat, which meant more people were riding inside.
“Yes, they’re fine.” As he spoke, the front doors of the Jeep opened. Another good-looking man jumped out of the driver’s side, and a female out the other.
“What’s the damage?” the driver asked as he approached the rear of his car.
“Not much that I can see,” angry dude said. “I think that we might have lucked out.”
“I’m so sorry,” Kiley said. “I was trying to get control of my car in this sand, and I didn’t see you in front of me.”
“Don’t sweat it. I’m Colt by the way. This is Haley, and this is Jeff.” He pointed his thumb at the one who’d been so mean to her.
“I’m Kiley.” She held out her hand to Colt and then Haley. She decided not to press her luck with the one called Jeff. He was still glaring at her.
“I know you,” Haley said. “I’ve seen your show, Aroma Roads.
“Yup, that’s where you’ve probably seen me.” She turned to Colt. “Your name is Colt? That’s funny because I’m visiting a friend here this weekend who has a brother named Colt—pretty distinctive name.”
He laughed. “It’s an unusual name, unless you’re a horse. I’m surprised there’d be another Colt out on this road, so who’s your friend?”
“Taylor Bennett.”
He laughed again. “Well, that is a coincidence, because I have a sister with the same name. You must be the friend she said was coming out this weekend.”
“That’s great—I mean, it’s not the best way to meet my weekend roomies, now is it?”
“Just be more careful next time,” angry dude said. “You could have done real damage.”
“Yes, sir.” She gave a mock salute hoping to be funny, but his scowl deepened. Too bad he was so damn attractive. She could tell he worked out because his tight tank only accentuated his broad shoulders and firm pecs, revealing arms that were muscular and thick. She almost licked her lips, but the disgust written across his face stopped her cold.
Amazon: https://a.co/d/7tYnJa9
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