After her husband
ditches her for a blonde actress wannabe, Jane Seymour needs a job that pays
the rent. The struggling Roche Hotel needs a miracle. With the former owner’s
wife butting her nose into the renovations and new owners who are in way over
their heads, Jane may be the answer to their prayers. Sure, she can handle The
Roche Hotel’s quirky staff. But, can this skittish divorcee keep it all
together when handsome Henry the Donut Guy makes his first delivery? This
collection of serial fiction stories is a Tudorific romantic comedy that will
leave you laughing out loud and hungry for more.
CLICK HERE to pre-order for just $0.99!
Fun, games, Tudor trivia, and a
chance to win a hotel themed prize basket!!
Excerpt
from Episode 2:
By 3:00 AM, I finally
learn enough Sasquatch language from Jerry to muddle through the audits until
all the figures add up. He wanders off somewhere to do whatever it is he does.
I dust things that don’t need dusting and clean the leaves on the silk plants
in the lobby until 5:00 AM, when Jerry unlocks the front doors. I go back to sit
at the office desk with a cup of coffee, resting my head in one hand. Surely
someone would soon wake up to check out or ask for toothpaste or even a stick
of gum for all I care.
My eyelids feel so
heavy...
“Ahem.”
I’m startled awake and
bump my coffee with my elbow. A brown pool of cold Folgers and congealed
half-n-half flows across the audit sheets. “Crap.”
The man at the front
desk laughs. “Sorry to startle you.”
“It’s
fine,” I say, not bothering to look at him because I’m searching for paper towels
instead. Finding none, I grab my sweater from the back of the chair and blot
the papers.
“Need some tissues?” he
asks.
“No, I’m fine.”
Embarrassed for being such a klutz in front of a guest, I keep my head down and
drag my sleepy self to the front desk. Finally, I look up and am met with a
stunningly handsome smile. “Oh, how can I help you?”
“Where’s Jerry?” He
holds up a small paper bag. There’s a stack of white boxes beside him.
“I don’t know. Would
you like me to page him?”
“No need. I’ll just
leave these here. Custard-filled. He loves those.”
I notice his shirt,
embroidered with Hermann’s Bakery in
a simple script font on the right pocket. His hair is a dusty brown and has
that trendy bed-head look which I usually consider lazy, but on him, it’s rather
adorable. He’s clean-shaven and reasonably tall.
His eyes crinkle when
he smiles again. “I’m Henry. You new here?”
“Yes, it’s my first
night.” I point to the temporary name tag with my name written in black
sharpie. “I’m Jane.”
“Nice to meet you. They
call me the ‘Donut Guy’.”
He offers his hand, and
I take it. His grip is warm and strong, and jump-starts a few sleepy neurons.
Henry. And Jane Seymour. The third wife of Henry VIII, as legend says, was
reportedly the love of his life. Why does my mind have to venture there, of all
places? I’m not ready to heal my broken heart over Nick with Henry the Donut
Guy, no matter how Tudorific our names are.
I let go of his hand
and take the paper bag. “I’ll be sure to give these to Jerry.”
“Would you like one?”
“I probably shouldn’t…”
My stomach rumbles in disagreement.
“They’re complimentary.
The hotel orders more than enough, trust me.”
“Oh, then I’ll take a
donut with chocolate icing if you have one.”
“Sure do.”
He opens one of the
boxes and holds it within my reach. I pick up a donut and take a bite. Still
warm and melt-in-your-mouth good.
“Mmm, this is
delicious.”
Henry closes the box
and takes a tissue from the Kleenex dispenser beside the wall. Why hadn’t I
noticed those before I sacrificed my poor sweater? He reaches across the front desk
and wipes the corner of my mouth. Warmth crawls up my cheeks.
“You had a little icing there,” he
says with that knee-weakening smile.
Mysti
Parker is a wife, mom, author, and shameless chocoholic. She is the author of
the Tallenmere standalone fantasy romance series. Her other writings have
appeared in the anthologies Hearts of Tomorrow, Christmas Lites, Christmas
Lites II, The Darwin Murders, Tasteful Murders and EveryDayFiction.
Other
writing pursuits include serving as a class mentor in Writers Village
University's seven week online course, F2K. She finished her first historical
romance this spring and has one children’s book (Quentin’s Problem) soon to be
published, with one more waiting for illustrations, and many more stewing in
her head.
When she's not writing fiction, Mysti works as a freelance editor and copywriter. She also reviews books for SQ Magazine, an online specfic publication, and is the proud owner of Unwritten, a blog voted #3 for eCollegeFinder's Top Writing Blogs award. She resides in Buckner, KY with her husband and three children.
When she's not writing fiction, Mysti works as a freelance editor and copywriter. She also reviews books for SQ Magazine, an online specfic publication, and is the proud owner of Unwritten, a blog voted #3 for eCollegeFinder's Top Writing Blogs award. She resides in Buckner, KY with her husband and three children.
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