Release Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway:
A Handful of Joy by Pat Henshaw
When does never turn into happily ever after in the search for love?
Top accountant of Manzanita Imports in Sacramento, Ted Abbott stopped participating in the love game after he turned thirty quite a few years ago. He’s not tempted by the cute young new hires or the product reps his loyal staff suggest he ask out on a date.
Chicago contractor Matt Patterson is on the verge of giving up too. He’s worked his way up from apprentice carpenter to co-owner of a thriving business. At forty-something, he’s considered a lucky catch for anybody looking for a sugar daddy, which he knows only too well.
The chance of them meeting is nil until Matt’s uncle who lived in Sacramento dies and leaves his estate to his nephew.
After they meet in a dilapidated bar called The Roost, could their paths actually merge and become one?
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Sunday morning traffic is my favorite. Slow, steady, non-confrontational. I glided along the neighborhood streets seeing men and women out walking and jogging, families all dressed up getting in cars, and parents and kids playing games in their front yards.
The California sun filtered through the trees, promising a day that wouldn’t be too hot or too cold. No marine layer this morning so there was no chill.
Mentally I double checked that I had both my tablet and a paperback of sudoku puzzles with my favorite ballpoint. I’d been saving this particular collection of super expert puzzles for when I knew I’d be waiting a long time. I loved the mental challenge and the happy feeling of satisfaction when I’d solved a particularly difficult one. While Matt talked to the renters, I could bow out and sit in the car working on my number squares or reading quite happily.
Matt was ready and waiting when I pulled up in front of the Inn. He had a manilla envelope tucked under one arm and a thermal takeout cup in each hand.
“Coffee or tea?” he asked as I reached over and opened the passenger side door.
When he nearly dropped everything trying to figure out how to get inside the car, I got out and came around to help him.
I grabbed the envelope before it fell and one of the cups.
“Either is fine with me. Why don’t you get in the car? Then we’ll sort this out.”
We were standing chest to chest. I was reminded of our dance and had an urge to stash the envelope and cups on the top of the car so we could take a whirl. Then I thought, why not?
I don’t know which of us was more surprised when I grabbed his cup, set it with the other on the hood, and humming “Dance Me to the End of Love”, pulled him into doing a few steps and a turn.
We ended up with his calves next to the passenger seat. Holding his hands, I gave him a gentle shove. He collapsed onto the seat. I grabbed the envelope from the top of the car, put it on his lap, and handed him the cups one by one afterward.
I’d probably just weirded him out, but I didn’t care. I refused to be my usual uptight accountant self today. I was walking boldly onto the wild side.
When I got into the driver’s seat, closed my door, and clicked on my belt, he was still sitting there, half in and half out of the car.
I waited.
Finally he seemed to shake himself back to the present.
“Thank you for the dance,” I said softly. “Now what’s the plan?”
He still looked stunned, but slowly his game face returned.
To celebrate the release of A Handful of Joy, Pat is giving away a $10 voucher for JMS Books (Open Internationally)
Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!
Pat Henshaw, born and raised in Nebraska, has lived on the U S’s three coasts, in Texas, Virginia, and now California. Before she retired, she held a number of jobs, including theatrical costumer, newspaper features reporter and movie reviewer, librarian, junior college English instructor, and publicist. She also loves to travel and has visited Canada, Mexico, Europe, Egypt, and Central America as well as almost all fifty US states.
Now retired, she enjoys reading and writing as well as visiting her older daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren on the East Coast and playing havoc with her younger daughter’s life in NorCal. She thanks you for reading her books and wants you to remember that every day is a good day for romance.
For more information, please visit pathenshaw.com.
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