Wanderlust
by Bernadette
Marie
GENRE: Contemporary
Romance
BLURB:
Gia Gallow has
traveled the world. Her wanderlust landed her in Georgia where she has created
a life for herself away from the petty differences of relatives and domineering
ex-lovers. Having settled in America, she has a successful business and dear
friends—and the attention of both Dane and Russell Walker. Due to her own
family's dramas over dueling hearts, she might have to forget about her
feelings for Dane to keep peace within the Walker family, but sometimes even
running thousands of miles away can't keep a heart from going after what the
heart wants. And Gia's heart wants Dane.
EXCERPT:
Dane wasn't sure why his coffee
suddenly tasted so bitter. It might have been the way his brother was looking
at Gia when they walked through the door, and she was laughing at what he'd
said.
Perhaps it was because his attitude
had been affected by it and there had been no reason for it.
The way Russ had referred to her as
a goddess still burned his ears.
Dane's mother orchestrated everyone
through the kitchen, and they all managed to have full
plates of food when they were done.
She'd managed to set enough chairs and tables, strung together, to house all
the guests. He'd seen her do that at Thanksgiving too. He could hardly find
enough room on his little table in his apartment to eat his microwave dinner.
"Eric and Susan, you sit
there," his mother pointed to chairs.
"Russ, you there. Gia you there. Dane you
there," she said pointing to three chairs near the end of the table which
flowed into the living room.
"Let me take that for
you," Russell smiled at Gia and took her plate.
"Oh, thank you. You seem to
come to my rescue for everything."
"What can I say? I'm raised
right."
Dane let out a grunt, which had both
of them turning to look at him. He simply forced a smile
and took his seat—after Russ pulled
Gia's seat out for her.
At least the food was excellent.
Dane t listened to Pearl and Tyson tell stories about their
wedding on the beach at sunset and
their honeymoon filled with snorkeling and hiking near the waterfalls.
It wasn't that he didn't like
hearing the stories or the awws that came from every female in the room, but
watching his brother lean into Gia, and her laughing at everything he said,
seemed to be raking on his last nerve.
He took his plate into the kitchen
for another helping of ham. He was a sucker for ham and tiny bagels. It was
something he couldn't explain.
"Does your family do this
often?" Gia slid up next to him as he tried to delicately pull two pieces
of ham apart.
Dane looked at her then at the table
of family members who laughed and talked over one
another. He shrugged. "Yeah, I
guess. Mom's always putting together a brunch or a dinner."
Gia eased her hip against the
counter. "You seem uncomfortable around them all."
"Nah, just all the gushy
wedding stuff I guess." She pursed her lips. "You are not a
romantic?"
Was that a loaded question?
"Sure. I mean I can be romantic. I just¼"
She laughed and rested her hand on
his arm. "I am sure you are the kind of man who could
sweep any woman off her feet."
Dane cleared his throat, only
because he'd choked on the air he sucked in when she'd said that.
"I'm not too sure I'm very
smooth with the ladies. My mind has been elsewhere for the past few
months."
She nodded and picked up the serving
spoon to ladle more fruit on to her plate.
"I understand. I still have some friends
back home who will not speak to me because I moved away. I will admit before I
left, I might have pushed them away."
"Why?"
She shrugged. "So I would not
be hurt by leaving."
Maybe she did understand. "I
get that. I think"
"Did Susan make those little
bacon wraps with dates?" Russ pushed in between them. "I didn't
see them, but dad has one on his
plate."
"Steal his then," Dane
said through gritted teeth.
"Lighten up." Russ gave
him a jab as he reached in front of Gia and grabbed the bacon on a
toothpick. "Looks like I just
missed them the first time." Russ ate the first one and then reached for
another.
"Did you try these?" he
asked Gia, holding it up to her mouth.
"Not yet," she said as he
clamped the bacon wrapped date in her teeth and pulled it from the toothpick.
Dane was sure he heard both himself
and his brother sigh.
She gave them a collective wink and
carried her plate to the table, now occupying a seat left
vacant by Pearl's father who seemed
to have disappeared.
"Could you be any more of a
pig?" Dane finally took both pieces of ham and dropped them on his plate.
"Are you talking to me or the
meat?"
"You," he whispered
gruffly. "You're throwing yourself at her. It's annoying."
"And you're not, so I don't see
the problem," Russ argued as he returned to the table.
Dane stood there a moment trying to
collect his thoughts. How had it happened that he'd
moved away, and the world went on
without him? He was finding out, very quickly, he didn't like it.
AUTHOR BIO:
Bernadette
Marie has been an avid writer since the early age of 13, when she’d fill
notebook after notebook with stories that she’d share with her friends. Her
journey into novel writing started the summer before eighth grade when her
father gave her an old typewriter. At all times of the day and night you would
find her on the back porch penning her first work, which she would continue to
write for the next 22 years.
In
2007 – after marriage, filling her chronic entrepreneurial needs, and having
five children –
Bernadette
began to write seriously with the goal of being published. That year she wrote
12
books.
In 2009 she was contracted for her first trilogy and the published author was
born. In
2011
she (being the entrepreneur that she is) opened her own publishing house, 5
Prince
Publishing,
and has released contemporary titles and has begun the process of taking on
other
authors
in other genres.
Bernadette
spends most of her free time driving her kids to their many events. She is also
an
accomplished
martial artist, working her way to her second degree black belt in Tang Soo Do.
An
avid reader she loves to meet readers who enjoy reading contemporary romances
and she always promises Happily Ever After.
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