BOOK INFORMATION
Stay for
Me
These Three Words # 1
These Three Words # 1
By: Carlene Love Flores
Released February 14th, 2015
Evernight Publishing
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BOOK SUMMARY
One night to finally make it right before it
all gets torn apart…
Two years ago, best friends Emma Chester and
Sam Jason tried being intimate.
Due to Sam’s massive size, it didn’t work.
Embarrassed, they did their best to move on. Now the day has come where Emma
must suspend Sam as a dancer at the club they work at, awakening the buried
pain of that one night.
Sam has seen this day coming but is shocked
when Emma asks him to strip for her just once before he leaves the club.
Allowing himself to feel for her again is too dangerous but she’s clearly not
in her right mind and needs him.
Can he maintain his restraint and help her?
When she hands him his uniform to strip out of, is she handing him her heart?
Or is it too tattered to ever belong to him again?
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EXCERPT
There was something about this room she hated.
And very little else to do inside besides be
together. Which he was sure she also must hate after the way he’d hurt her
before.
He had one word for her and feared like a
little girl that saying it would be the one thing to push her away for good.
But he had to say it.
“No.”
This wasn’t a place to enter on the premise that you trusted a person. You
either went in here not caring a damn about what might happen, like most of the
show patrons he’d brought, or fully aware and in control of yourself. No in between.
Sam had watched her toe the line throughout their entire conversation.
“I won’t take you in there. You’re not ready.
Don’t be stubborn and ask me how I know that. I just do.”
“It’s not up to you right now.” Her lips
stopped speaking and it was clear that was the last thing she would say until
he either followed her in or left her in the hallway, alone.
Like fire that realized it was on dry ground
and free to burn, the thought of being in there with her jolted his body awake.
Years old, buried and desperate desire, came out of hiding. He would put
himself through hell to be able to have her and not hurt her. But standing
directly behind Emma as she unlocked and opened the black door, he saw how he
still engulfed her.
From her
petite shoulders came a giant heave as she took the first step inside.
In that instant, he knew she was wrong. He
could and should choose not to go inside, but he did have something to show
her. That she was safe when they were together. He couldn’t believe that was
what this had turned into but found some small ground to stand on and be
thankful. He wouldn’t piss this opportunity away. A man took responsibility for
his actions, no matter how far in the past they’d happened and how much time
he’d spent racking up distance, hiding. Sam would be the ambassador of control
and restraint once they were on the other side of this door.
He had to prod her forward the next step. And
the next, which set off a mile-long trail of red flags.
He waited and let her be the one to turn and
close the door.
As soon as he heard it click, he slid his hands
inside the tight pants pockets and held them there.
The room was dark and chilly; her breathing
echoed in his ears. He went in search of the light switch. The low bulb setting
purposely only lit the room one shade lighter but it was enough to see the
shadow dampening her pretty face.
“Okay,” she said out loud, like she was her own
coach. “Okay.”
“We’re out of here, Emma. Now.”
She held up her small hand and he’d have
latched onto it had his hands been available. “No. We’re not leaving. I’m fine.
I just needed a second,” she said. That wasn’t her “I’ve got this” voice. She
was acting and not doing a very bang-up job of it.
Sam had no choice but to touch.
He fumbled around and found her other hand and
took it into his, receiving an instantaneous jolt of comfort. He hoped he
affected her the same way but couldn’t be sure. She was awfully still.
Emma looked at the neon hands of the wall
clock. “We have one hour before the second show lets out,” she said.
“I’m assuming you have some plan, Emma.” God,
please tell him she had a plan. Because the only one he had was to let go and
keep his hands to himself, no matter what.
She stared through him and scanned the near
nothingness of the room. “I do. I do have one. I want you to strip for me,
Sam.”
CAT'S REVIEW
In "Stay For Me", we meet Sam and Emma - best friends since they were young. At one time, they tried to move on from best friends to lovers but it didn't work out. However, that didn't diminish their feelings and both want to try again but are hesitant to tell the other. I liked both of the main characters - Sam was so sweet and protective and caring of Emma. Emma is kind and thoughtful and nurturing of others. I liked the two of them together. Unfortunately, the storyline itself was a bit of a stretch for me to get in to. There wasn't much in the way of background, although it was mentioned. If more of their history was told, it would have made for a better connection to them, I think. It would have been wonderful to have more details of their growing up together, times hanging out, etc. Of course, it's a novella, so I understand it can be tough to squeeze in all those details. The whole story takes place in a couple of hours but it just didn't flow for me. Often, I had to re-read a section because the thoughts jumped from one to the other or from one idea to another. I think this book and story has premise and would have just enjoyed a bit more from it. I did really enjoy Sam and Emma and hope that maybe there will be a more in depth story coming. (received copy for honest review)
★★★
AUTHOR INFO
Carlene
Love Flores is a big fan of the stars (especially Orion), honest music
(especially Depeche Mode), and her traveling family (no favorites there-she
loves them all). These things inspire her intimate style of romance writing.
She feels honored to be a member of Washington DC Romance Writers (WRWDC) and
RWA San Diego (RWASD). Carlene currently lives in the San Diego area where she
can often be found listening to live music and looking up at the sky on clear
nights. If she could touch someone’s
heart with her writing the way others have done for her, she’d say truly there
never lived a luckier girl.
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ReplyDeleteGood morning! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I truly appreciate reading them. And thank you for spotlighting Sam and Emma for me today. :)
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