Today’s Summer #RomanticIdea comes courtesy of Barbara White Daille, Author of Cowboy in Charge.
Linda – thanks for hosting me at your blog today.
Readers – here’s my romantic idea for you. So many of us are watching our budgets lately that I thought I’d toss in a cost-conscious idea that can still be very romantic. Instead of going out to a fancy restaurant with even more fancy prices, pick up your favorite takeout meal—but make a few modifications to your usual habits. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking tacos or finger-lickin’ chicken, you can make the meal more special.
Choose any or all of the following: Put flowers and candles on the dining table. Use your best china, your favorite tablecloth and linen napkins, your good silverware, your crystal goblets or champagne flutes. And while you have the flutes handy, maybe serve a reasonably priced wine or sparkling water with a fresh strawberry rather than your everyday diet soda.
And now, here’s part of a dinner scene from my new release. FYI, my heroine is dealing with the flu…
Excerpt from Cowboy in Charge
Their awkward dinner would have taken place in near-silence if not for her son’s chatter all through the meal and dessert.
She focused on getting her few spoonfuls of soup to her mouth without spilling anything…and on trying to keep her gaze on her soup bowl and away from her ex. And failing miserably. Every time he walked away from the table, she couldn’t help sneaking a peek, couldn’t help watching the way his muscles flexed beneath his gray T-shirt as he reached for dishes from the cabinet and the way his faded jeans pulled tight when he leaned down to pull the container of milk from the refrigerator.
When Scott had finished eating, Jason rose and began gathering up the dishes. He had taken control of her tiny kitchen and, worse, dominated her space. She was finding it hard to breathe, let alone keep her head upright. “Leave the dishes, please,” she said. “I can take care of them.”
“I don’t think so.”
He locked gazes with her. She managed to take a steadying breath and turn to Scott. “Honey, how about you go and get into your jammies for Mommy?”
“No, Mommy. I play with cars. Please?”
She smiled. “Well, we’ll see. But jammies first. They’re on your bed. You go get started, okay?”
He slid from his booster chair and left the room.
Slowly, she turned to face her ex-husband again. He had set the dishes in the sink. Hips settled back against the counter, he stood with his arms crossed and his biceps bulging against his T-shirt sleeves and his frown looking too much like Scott’s for her liking. This situation was all too much for her and had been from the moment she had seen him standing in her hallway.
“Jason.” Anger at him and irritation at herself made her hiss his name. “Just who do you think you are to tell me what I can and can’t do in my own kitchen?”
“Just the guy who carried you back into the house after you passed out.”
“It was only for a second. You told me that yourself.”
“I lied.”
From the cover of Cowboy in Charge
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Single mom Layne Slater thought she’d seen the last of Jason McAndry when he chose the rodeo over her and their unborn son. Now Jason’s back in Cowboy Creek and just as handsome as ever. But Layne can’t give in to those feelings again. She has to protect her children…and her heart.
Jason wants to try to make up for the pain he caused when he left. The least he can do is help Layne while he’s home. Before long, Jason realizes he’s finally ready to be the husband, father and man his family deserves. But can Jason prove to Layne that this time, their love is forever?
Find the book:
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Harlequin, IndieBound, or Kobo.
About the Author:
Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom.
Cowboy in Charge, the latest book in The Hitching Post Hotel series, is a brand-new release! Other books in the series will follow. A larger print reissue of A Rancher’s Pride, book one in Barbara’s popular Flagman’s Folly series, is now available exclusively from Harlequin, while the e-book version is available everywhere. And at the end of 2016, she begins a new sweet romance series for Entangled Bliss.
You can find more info about Barbara and her books at the following locations:
Website http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Blog http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/blog
Newsletter http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille
Twitter https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille
Amazon author page http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-White-Daille/e/B002J6B0QQ
Harlequin author page http://www.harlequin.com/author.html?authorid=1244
Goodreads author page
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/529361.Barbara_White_Daille