When the biggest opportunity of her career and a sexy contractor comes her way, she’s thrilled…until she learns that the client is the long-ago boy who captured her heart and continues to invade her dreams. Is it a bittersweet coincidence or might there be a chance, after all, for Sara to revisit the mistakes of her past and build the future she has wanted for so long?
My thoughts.
Sandra has put forth a wonderful romance of true love ..... A short novella about your first true love. I know I can remember mine - how bout you ? Sara Wiley never forgot hers, until by chance they meet again ....
Sara's smile is a well scripted story , filled with all the goodies one could want.. A sexy x ,, competition - and smokin hot lovin under the covers.. and also a storyline that will have your interest piqued till the very last word. I wont go into the storyline much read the blurb for yourself it gives you a good gist of the storyline put forth.
An enjoyable short read, that will tanatlize any romantic at heart, great characters, and a storyline that will intrigue you till the very end ;) Great for a before bed read, or something short and sweet to read in one sitting.
My first book I have read of Sandra's and I will certainly be reading more in the near futre ;) The cover is certainly passionate and Sandra does reflect this passion and smexiness in her story.
4 / 5 stars !!!
Author Bio:
Sandra Bunino began a love of romance stories while penning a
creative writing assignment in high school. The story ended with the heroine
receiving a long stem red rose in her locker on Valentine’s Day. Since then,
all of her stories feature the hero presenting the heroine with roses. Sandra
is constantly searching for different ways to achieve a heart-pumping, stomach-flipping,
breath-catching reaction from her readers.
An excerpt to Tease you a little !!!
A familiar voice drew Sara
Wiley’s concentration from her Blackberry to the crowded Fifth Avenue corner
where she stood waiting for the crossing signal to change.
The source was revealed by
a quick scan of the sidewalk. Her eyes locked on a back view of broad shoulders
outlined under a slate grey suit jacket. Gazing upward, she recognized the head
of dark hair that skimmed the top of his collar. Sara sucked in a breath and
her heart quickened. There was no mistaking the confident stance as he talked
with the man standing next to him. Unable to speak or move from her spot
beneath the street sign as the light changed, Sara simply watched as he was
swallowed up by the crowd.
Longing, mixed with painful
tinges of regret and sadness, engulfed her heart as she fought back tears.
Thank God her feet wouldn’t move, because her first instinct was to chase him
down that busy New York City avenue and to feel those protective arms around
her body while she nestled her face into that perfect spot between his shoulder
and neck.
Shit, Sara, it’s been five years. Get it together. She rarely
allowed those feelings to get the best of her and there was no time for a
breakdown. I need to be on my game today, she thought as
she stepped inside the coffee shop next to her midtown office building for her
second non-fat latte of the spring morning.
Due to luck and great
timing, the managing partners of Richards + Rodgers Architects had assigned
Sara to the Hanson House restoration, a Greenwich, Connecticut sixteen-room
Victorian. Normally, one of the partners of would have claimed such a large
project but none of them wanted it because of the hands-on attention it would
require through the spring and summer months. The wealthy Greenwich
businessman who recently purchased the mansion contracted with the firm to
restore it to its original splendor, and Sara had jumped at the chance to lead
the project. What the hell, it was the perfect opportunity to show the partners
what she could do. After all, she had no grand plans for the summer. Her social
life was mediocre at best and her love life was sadly nonexistent.
After
drawing up the plans, bids were sent to a dozen construction companies, which
she then narrowed to a short list of four. One of which was at the top of her
list: Pennington Construction. PC was one of the fastest-growing and highly
respected construction businesses in the metropolitan area. The PC bid came
within budget and was accompanied by an impressive portfolio of restoration
projects. Sara flipped through the glossy pictures of Victorians and stopped at
the picture of a home she knew. It was a mansion on North Water Street in
Martha’s Vineyard, on the same street where she had spent numerous summers with
her best friend, Cat. Small world, she thought
wistfully.
Sara had purposely
scheduled the interview with Pennington Construction last, as she wanted to
give each construction firm equal consideration, rather than risk being swayed
by her first choice. She walked by the office receptionist, Mary, on her way to
the meeting in her firm’s conference room. Mary was closer to her mother’s age
than her own, and she continually tried to set Sara up on blind dates.
“Hey, you picked a good day
to look sexy. Have you seen Mr. Pennington yet?”
“Mary, ‘sexy’ wasn’t the
look I was after. Really, you think this outfit looks sexy? I was going for
professional.” She chose her outfits carefully. Knowing she looked even younger
than her twenty-five years, she felt it was important that she look
professional. She’d decided on a black pencil skirt with a narrow ruffle at the
knee-length hem and a light blue silk blouse. Black heels completed the
ensemble. She wore her hair in a low knot at the nape of her neck, but her
locks had a life of their own and, by the ten-thirty meeting with Pennington,
wisps of hair had already loosened from her bun.
Mary surveyed her from head
to toe. “Okay, you are a sexy professional. More importantly, Michael
Pennington is very good looking and is just your type. Plus he’s not wearing a
wedding ring. I checked it out when he signed in,” Mary said with a wink.
“You are too much. Besides,
I want to hire this guy, and you know my rule. I don’t date men I work with,”
Sara said over her shoulder as she walked toward the conference room.
“You may want to rethink
the hire, then.”
This one is an extended excerpt !!! ;)
Why am I doing this? she asked herself
when she climbed into the cab, the next evening. Having dinner
with him certainly isn’t going to help me get him out of my dreams.
As she got out, in front of
O’Reilly’s, she was startled by her own reflection, and silently thanked Cat
for assembling her outfit of dark skinny jeans, pink chiffon top with spaghetti
straps and strappy silver sandals. At Cat’s insistence, she had worn her
hair long and loose, and she had added her favorite dangling silver earrings
and a matching chain and pendant just before she walked out the door. If
clothing was armor, she was as well equipped as she could manage for the coming
conversation.
She found Will at the
crowded bar, where he kissed her on the cheek and gave her his seat.
“What are you drinking?” he
asked.
“I’ll have whatever you’re
having.”
He ordered two martinis,
and they began talking about the Hanson House. From there, the conversation
turned naturally to their jobs. As Sara had expected, Will explained that he
traveled all over the world and spent only a few weeks out of the year at his
apartment in Santa Monica.
While he spoke, she stared
at his mouth, remembering how his kisses felt on her lips. A glance at his
hands awoke her memory of the way they had encircled her waist as she made love
to him.
Stop it, she ordered herself sternly, and shook
her head.
“Are you okay?”
Oh shit. I didn’t say that out loud, did I? “Y-yeah,
I’m fine,” she answered with a laugh.
“Now that we’ve made a dent
in these martinis,” he said, looking down at his glass, “I have to tell you…
You broke my heart, that last night. I really loved you, Sara.”
“And you don’t think I felt
the same way? Will, I made a clean break between us for you, as much as me. It
never would have worked out, given our situations. You were traveling the world
on the fast track to success, and I had a challenging course schedule. Look at
us now, with everything we wished for. Our hard work paid off.”
Will’s gaze sharpened.
“Have you ever regretted it? You know, not giving us a chance?”
Sara
paused and looked into his eyes. Every day. That was
what she wanted to answer, but instead she said, “I think our table is ready.
Come on. Let’s go sit down.”
Over dinner, they
reminisced about the summers they’d spent in Martha’s Vineyard. By the end of
their meal, they noticed a band setting up, so they decided to have one more
drink and listen to the music.
The bar was noisy and
crowded. Will found Sara a barstool but had to stand close to her so that they
could hear each other speak. She couldn’t help noticing the feel of his
legs against hers as he leaned in to speak in her ear.
“I’ll be right back,” he
said with a smile.
“What are you up to?” she
asked, but he was gone before she could finish the question.
A few minutes later, Sara heard
the first chords of a familiar tune. And it seemed that she wasn’t the
only Hall & Oates fan in the bar, because many of the patrons clapped when
the song started to play.
Will returned as soon as
the band’s singer began. Sara looked at him and smiled.
He grinned. “Did you think
you were going to get away without hearing this song tonight?”
They sang along, as did
most of the people at the bar. At the end of the song, everyone clapped, and
Sara hugged Will. His body felt wonderful, touching hers. She
closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, as familiar feelings came flooding back…
And
then she froze. What am I doing? He’s
leaving in a day or two. There’s no future with him, any more than there was,
back then.
She looked at her watch
nervously. “We’d better go,” she said abruptly, and lead the way out of the
restaurant, pausing only to ask the hostess to call a cab for her.
Once outside, they moved
away from the door, and Sara leaned against the wall to wait for her cab. Will
stood in front of her and braced his hand on the wall. The heat from his body
drew her close.
“I had a really great time
tonight, Sara,” he said, locking eyes with her.
“I did, too,” she said,
looking up at him.
“Would it be okay if I
kissed you?” he whispered.
She nodded, and he bent
down and gave her a soft, slow kiss. He pulled away but Sara kept her eyes
closed, feeling her strap slip off of her shoulder, sensing his nearness…
“I don’t want this to end,”
he said.
His fingers traveled up her
arm and slid the strap back onto her shoulder. She was trying to decide
whether he meant the night or something more, when she heard the cab honk from
the street.
Sara;s Smile can be brought over at amazon Amazon buy link
