Eternal
Carolina Beach #2
By Cecy Robson
Release Date: October 24, 2017
Self-Published
Tour Host: Barclay Publicity
Source: ARC provided by Author
After months of bad luck and even worse
men, Luciana Diaz just wants to crawl under the covers and forget the year ever
happened. Her friend has other plans, convincing Luci to attend a New Year’s
Eve party on the affluent shores of Kiawah Island.
Luci never expected to have fun. She
also never expected to wake up next to a man she just met, or for this man to
be the new attorney at her firm.
Landon Summers is done with drama.
After an ugly separation and even worse divorce, he has no desire to jump into
another relationship.
When his sister Trinity drags him to a
New Year’s Eve party, he doesn’t plan to stay long. One drink, a few hellos,
and he’s out. Until he meets Luci, the first person in months to draw his smile
and incite his passion.
Neither
Luci nor Landon planned on each other, and they definitely didn’t plan on love.
But the New Year means a fresh start, and eternal possibilities neither could
deny…
*ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review*
I'm thrilled to be reading another book, by the talented Cecy Robson, even though Cecy is a romance writer, don't expect her to write those light and airy, feel good books! Because that is not life! Cecy writes those, gritty, real life romances, that have you crying, in sympathy with the main characters, because they have gone through hell, and you were right there with them!
And never to shy away from tough subject, the author tackles abuse against men, and homeless family members, and drug abuse, in her new book Eternal. But for me, Eternal is by far, one of her best books she has ever written. It kept me gripped from the beginning, and had me in tears by the end.
Landon and Luci's character's were truly amazing, to be blunt, they felt like my friends, like they were real! But truly, I was invested in the story, from beginning to end, and even though I was heartbroken to say good-bye to their story, I hope we will hear much more about them in future books.
I give Eternal, 5 stars!
Banging from the kitchen has me turning
in the direction of the wall oven. The brunette shoves the tin of crab cakes
into the center, shiny with the sauce she basted them with.
No sooner than she sets the timer and
takes off her oven mitt than Kirk Watson arrives. “Hey, sweet thing. How about
you fix me a plate?”
How
about I punch you in the head, Kirk?
I glare in his direction. She’s the
only non-Caucasian woman in the immediate vicinity. I’m not trying to be a dick
and assume he’s racist, I’ve just known him long enough to know that’s what he
is. Not to mention, she’s in a cocktail dress or whatever the fuck, not dressed
in a black shirt and pants like the caterers Becca hired.
Her small chin juts slightly forward.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she says. “I don’t work here, I was just helping someone
out.”
Kirk is already drunk and way past
horny. He leans his arm against the overhead counter and gives her the kind of
once-over that should send her to the nearest shower to wash his filth clean.
“Then how about I buy you a drink?”
“It’s my understanding the drinks are
free,” she tells him.
He sidesteps in front of her when she
tries to walk away, blocking her. “Come on, sweetie. I’m just trying to be
nice.”
I don’t think things through. I storm
in from the opposite side and from one blink to the next, I’m suddenly there.
The brunette takes a step back and into
me, my presence startling her and making her jump. “Back off, Kirk. She’s with
me.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have said what I did,
but Kirk’s the type who doesn’t know when to quit unless there’s a bigger man
there to make him.
Tonight, that bigger man is me. He
swipes his shaved head, offering me a slick smile that turns challenging real
quick. “Is that right?”
“Damn straight.” I think the brunette
looks up at me, but I’m too busy looking at Kirk. Yeah, he’s drunk, and ready
to take a swing. The protective side of me kicks in. I grasp my supposed damsel
in distress by the elbow and gently guide her behind me.
His gaze trails to her briefly before
returning to me. “I thought you were hard up.”
“Nah,” I say, not wanting to give this
idiot any amount of satisfaction. “Onto bigger and better as you can see.”
“Or tinier and cuter?” he offers.
“Watch your mouth,” I fire back,
knowing he’s not complimenting her, but rather trying to rile me. “Like I said,
she’s with me.”
I clench my fists, causing my knuckles
to crack. I don’t think he hears the crunch, not over the music and escalating
clamor of voices. He does see me, though. Whatever he catches in my hardening
features is enough to make him back down. Smart man, at least when it comes to
a fight. He knows I can take a hit, and give one a hell of a lot harder.
He grunts and slinks away, like he did
me a favor by letting me off and not the other way around. I keep him in my
sights. By the time he reaches the door leading out to the foyer, he perks up,
likely having spotted the next woman he’ll approach.
I wait until he disappears into the
next room before turning back to the brunette. “Ma’am,” I say, tilting my chin.
I mean to step away and back in the
direction of my beer. One drink and out, right? Sounded good in theory except
the moment I shift my weight to walk away, her smile holds me in place.
It’s not the kind of smile that
promises anything close to what the bartender offered, nor is it teasing and
daring like the half-dozen cheerleaders Becca introduced me to flashed. It
simply is, fragile like the first snowflakes that fall in winter, and shy like a
young woman at her first dance, hoping no one notices she’s not dressed like
the rest.
I like what she’s wearing. She looks
nice to look nice, not to impress or show off. And someone as pretty as her,
well, she doesn’t need to be so shy.
Her lips are glazed in a soft pink like
her dress, not overly done, just enough to give them a shine and glisten her
light eyes. “Thank you,” she says, quietly. “For helping me out.”
“You’re welcome.”
I take a step in the direction of the
bar, eyeing my beer like it’s waiting for me to return. But the step feels
unusually heavy and I think my friend the beer can wait.
I turn slowly and offer this little
thing with the pretty eyes and the soft smile my hand. It shouldn’t seem like
such a big deal or much of an effort, but it’s a little of each. Maybe for both
of us. “I’m Landon.”
She takes my hand. I watch it as it
disappears within my grasp.
“Hi,
Landon,” she replies quietly. “I’m Luci.”
CECY
ROBSON is an author of contemporary romance, young adult adventure, and
award-winning urban fantasy. A double RITA® 2016 finalist for Once Pure and Once
Kissed, and a published author of more than eighteen titles, you can typically
find her on her laptop writing her stories or stumbling blindly in search of
caffeine.
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