“How about we slip away from here and maybe go catting around the neighborhood for a while. If you’re lucky maybe I’ll even howl at the moon like a good Tomcat.” Francesco practically hummed the words in her ear.
Allie bit her lip as if contemplating her options. “This is all happening so fast,” she said. “I mean on the one hand, yeesh. I’ve never made out with a musketeer before, so I’d love to keep playing. But on the other hand, we’ve barely introduced ourselves to one another. It’s probably a good idea to put the brakes on this for the time being.”
Francesco’s lip thrust out in a pout. “But we were having so much fun.” He shifted around so that they were face-to-face.
Allie squinted. “I know. I’m sorry. I just let myself get carried away. It must have been the costume. I let my guard down. I’ve really got to focus on my work. I can’t allow distractions like this to get in the way.”
“Distraction?” He frowned. “Here I thought we had a mutual attraction.”
She shrugged. “Attraction. Distraction. I don’t know. But I need to run. It was fun, though.”
With that she turned and ran off toward the exit, not even turning to say goodbye.
“But I didn’t even get your number,” Francesco said, but she was too far away to even hear him. He scrubbed his hand over his face and looked down to his palm, which was smeared with black make-up that had transferred from Allie’s face to his. All that was left of the best time he’d had in a long time.
Dammit, he hated costume parties.
Big O Romeo
coming September 26, 2017.
Available now for pre-order!
About the Author
Jenny Gardiner is the author of #1 Kindle Bestseller Slim to None and the award-winning novel Sleeping with Ward Cleaver. Her latest works are the It’s Reigning Men series, featuring Something in the Heir; Heir Today Gone Tomorrow; Bad to the Throne; Love is in the Heir; Shame of Thrones; Throne for a Loop; It’s Getting Hot in Heir; A Court Gesture; and her new Royal Romeos series, featuring Red-Hot Romeo; Black Sheep Romeo, Red Carpet Romeo, Blue Collar Romeo, Silver Spoon Romeo, Blue-Blooded Romeo, and the upcoming Big O Romeo. She also published the memoir Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me, now re-titled Bite Me: a Parrot, a Family and a Whole Lot of Flesh Wounds; the novels Anywhere but Here; Where the Heart Is; the essay collection Naked Man on Main Street, and Accidentally on Purpose and Compromising Positions (writing as Erin Delany); and is a contributor to the humorous dog anthology I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship.
Her work has been found in Ladies Home Journal, the Washington Post, Marie-Claire.com, and on NPR’s Day to Day. She was also a columnist for Charlottesville’s Daily Progress for over a decade, and is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Virginia Film Festival.
She has worked as a professional photographer, an orthodontic assistant (learning quite readily that she was not cut out for a career in polyester), a waitress (probably her highest-paying job), a TV reporter, a pre-obituary writer, as well as a publicist to a United States Senator (where she first learned to write fiction). She's photographed Prince Charles (and her assistant husband got him to chuckle!), Elizabeth Taylor, and the president of Uganda. She and her family and menagerie of pets now live a less exotic life in Virginia.
Visit Jenny at her website and sign up for her newsletter, her blog, or find her on Facebook and Twitter. And every blue moon she’ll post adorable pictures of her pets on Instagram as @thejennygardiner.
Also by Jenny Gardiner
It's Reigning Men
Something in the Heir
Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow
Bad to the Throne
Love is in the Heir
Shame of Thrones
Throne for a Loop
A Court Gesture
It's Reigning Men - Books 1 - 3
The Royal Romeos
Red Hot Romeo
Black Sheep Romeo
Red Carpet Romeo
Blue Collar Romeo
Silver Spoon Romeo
Blue-Blooded Romeo (Coming Soon)
Big O Romeo (Coming Soon)
Standalone
Sleeping with Ward Cleaver
Where the Heart Is
Accidentally on Purpose
Compromising Positions
Naked Man on Main Street
Bite Me - A Parrot, a Family, and a Whole Lot of Flesh Wounds
Anywhere but Here
Slim to None
Watch for more at Jenny Gardiner’s site.