by Ann Jacobs
Jake’s mother had behaved during the reception, mingling with Jake’s partners and seeming to take a special interest in one of the nurses who’d just gotten engaged to the new senior fellow who’d taken over Jake’s old job. Since Jake was now doing an early case in surgery, Meghan hoped his mom would sleep a little longer.
But that wasn’t happening. Hearing noise in the kitchen, Meghan went inside and found her scary guest inspecting the shelves and pantry. “May I help you find something?” she asked, dreading to hear the answer.
“No, you seem to have everything perfectly arranged. This has to have been your doing.”
At first Meghan didn’t understand. Then it came to her. Miriam was checking to see if the kitchen met with her approval. “Yes, it was.”
“I knew. My son, good boy that he is, would never have taken the trouble to make a proper kosher kitchen. So many things he has never believed in...”
Silence hung heavily in the air. “He believes, Miriam, in what’s important. And he’s made me believe, too. I’m sorry I wasn’t the bride you’d wanted for Jake, but we’re so much in love, it sometimes hurts. This kitchen is kosher, because I want you and Jake’s nanas to feel comfortable here. Joci loves you, and in about eight months, we’ll have another child. Jake’s flesh and blood. A son, maybe. All our children will need their nanas, both of them.”
Miriam’s patrician features softened. Tears shone in her dark eyes. “Bless you, child. It warms my heart to see my boy happy—and starting a family of his own.” She added some words in Hebrew, words that sounded almost like a blessing. Then she hugged Meghan and went to the cupboard, grabbing an unopened bottle of kosher wine.
When she poured herself a glass, she held it up to Meghan and said, “Mazel Tov.”
That night Meghan told Jake about what his mother had said.
He took her in his arms and murmured in her ear. “Once again, my darling, you’ve made me a miracle.”
About the Courthouse Connections Series
Set in steamy west-central Florida, this series began years ago as sensual romances targeted toward Silhouette’s long category romance line, Intimate Moments. The proposals for the first two titles, In His Own Defense and Bittersweet Homecoming, drew serious interest but didn’t make the cut for the Silhouette line that by the time I submitted them had become heavily slanted toward romantic suspense, while my stories were more about Alpha heroes and the heroines who would help them resolve serious conflicts and find happiness. (It may have been that they were a little too steamy for category romance at that time, as well.)
In 2003, I sold both books to Ellora’s Cave Publishing, ramping up the sex scenes and the four-letter vocabulary to meet its standards. EC also bought another novel and two novellas that year, continuations of the series they titled “Lawyers in Love.” All three still had one hero, one heroine, and happily-ever-after endings, although I was asked to introduce some additional kink in the form of BDSM action and more adventurous play with toys and so on, in Mastered, Gettin’ It On, and Eye of the Storm.
When I got rights back on these stories, I re-read them and realized that other than the raw language and some unnecessarily repetitious description of body parts, all of the books were mainstream contemporary romance by my definitions, not what’s now generally thought of as erotic romance.
I loved the heroes—appreciated the heroines—was intrigued all over with the story lines of every book. So, last fall, I decided to rename the series and continue it with new romances with common settings and some new glances at old characters.
Jake’s Love is the first of the all-new books to release, with the hope that it will attract new interest in the heavily revised books as well as in More Than Lust, a totally original novella that introduces all of the characters who will be introduced in the revised series stories.
I hope you’ll enjoy these books, which represent the direction my writing is now taking, toward more romance, less hardcore eroticism, and better developed story lines rather than “moresex, moresex, moresex,” the mantra I have tried to follow for the past few years.
Happy reading!
Ann Jacobs
P.S. Check out my hew website to see all of my new and revised releases!
http://annjacobs.net
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