by Susan Fox
Belinda stopped to gaze at the pink blossoms on a flowering cherry tree. When she turned toward him with an appreciative smile, he had his camera up, all ready to frame her face and capture the spontaneous expression of joy. And when she laughed and clapped her hands to cheeks flushing with color, he caught that on film too.
“Tell me about your job,” he prompted. “Seems like a valuable one, helping people find jobs they love.”
“Oh, yes! All those hours people spend at work, they ought to have jobs they enjoy. My parents taught me that.”
“So did mine. And when they bought me a camera for my tenth birthday, I knew what I was going to be when I grew up.”
At first it was clear Belinda felt self-conscious in front of the camera. But then, as Nick had hoped would happen, it was as if the camera no longer existed and she spoke directly to him, her expressions natural and engaging.
As he viewed her through the lens and listened to her enthuse about the challenges of her job, the park, her love of long walks, and her closeness to the elderly parents who’d had her late in life, Nick felt himself falling deeper and deeper under her spell. Each time he captured her image on film, she captured another little piece of his heart.
When the light faded, he reluctantly put his camera back in its bag.
The action broke the mood and brought Belinda back to reality. She wrinkled her nose. “After all the work you’ve done, I really hope one or two turn out.”
“They will,” he said with absolute confidence. “You’re beautiful, Belinda. You just needed to relax so the camera could see the real person.”
“Thanks, Nick,” she said softly. “I’ve never had a good time getting my picture taken, but I really did today.”
“I enjoyed talking to you.” He took a deep breath. “In fact, I’d like it if we could continue. Can I take you to dinner?”
“Oh! I…” She looked startled, and he worried that he’d misread the signals. Darn, a woman like Belinda probably already had a boyfriend or husband, and he’d never thought to ask.
Trying for a joking tone, he said, “Never mind. You probably want to see how the pictures turn out, before you decide if you’re ever going to speak to me again.”
“No!” She shook her head quickly. “If they don’t turn out, I know it’s not your fault. And I’d love to have dinner with you, Nick, but I’ll have to take a rain check. I promised to eat with my parents, and I’m responsible for picking up Chinese food on the way.”
Nick forced a smile. They could have dinner tomorrow, it was no big deal, and yet he didn’t want to tell her goodnight.
She was nibbling on her lip and he wondered if, by any chance, she, too, was reluctant to part.
“I told you about my parents, didn’t I?” she said.
“They sound terrific.” She’d said that, after a triple bypass forced her father to leave the work he loved, he’d found new interests, and both her parents were healthy and active.
“Dad’s an amateur photographer,” she said.
“Sounds like we’d hit it off,” he commented hopefully.
“I think you would.”
They stared at each other in the gathering dusk, and Nick wondered if she was thinking the same thing he was. “Did I mention,” he said slowly, “that I love Chinese food?”
She smiled then, that lovely smile that had first captured his interest. “You didn’t. So, perhaps you might like to join us?”
He smiled back at her. “I can’t think of anything I’d like better.”
* * * * *
If you enjoyed these stories and if you have the time, please consider posting a short review on Amazon or Goodreads. And please tell your friends!
Check out Sweet Indulgences 1 and Sweet Indulgences 2 and watch for the next volume of Sweet Indulgences, coming next month.
Author Bio
Award-winning author Susan Fox, who also writes as Savanna Fox and Susan Lyons, writes “emotionally compelling, sexy contemporary romance” (Publishers Weekly).
She is published by Berkley (Penguin) Heat and Kensington’s Zebra, Brava, and Aphrodisia lines. Her books have won the HOLT Medallion, the Booksellers Best Award, the Book Buyers Best, the Aspen Gold, the Golden Quill, the More Than Magic, the Lories, the Beacon, and the Laurel Wreath, and she was nominated for the RT Reviewers Choice Award. Publishers Weekly gave His, Unexpectedly a starred review and ranked it as a Top 10 Romance. Sex Drive was a Cosmopolitan Red-Hot Read.
Her short stories have been published in women’s magazines in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, and by Harlequin, The Wild Rose Press, Quarry Press, and Freya’s Bower.
Susan is a Pacific Northwester with homes in Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia. She has degrees in law and psychology, and has had a variety of careers, including perennial student, computer consultant, and legal editor. Fiction writer is by far her favorite, giving her an outlet to demonstrate her belief in the power of love, friendship, and a sense of humor.
Visit Susan’s website at susanlyons.ca for excerpts, behind-the-scenes notes, discussion guides, recipes, articles, newsletter sign-up, contests, and giveaways.
Find Susan on Facebook at facebook.com/SusanLyonsFox.
Contact Susan through the Contact page on her website.
Subscribe to Susan’s e-newsletter, Champagne News.
Other Titles by Susan
(writing as Susan Fox, Savanna Fox, and Susan Lyons)
Finding Isadora
He’s the worst man in the world for her. So why can’t she resist him?
Finding Isadora by Susan Fox; Susan Lyons Books
Caribou Crossing Series
Welcome to Caribou Crossing, a western community made for love, adventure, and second chances.
1. Caribou Crossing by Susan Fox; Kensington Zebra
2. Home on the Range by Susan Fox; Kensington Zebra
3. Gentle on my Mind by Susan Fox; Kensington Zebra
Dirty Girls Book Club Series
Don’t you wish your book club read “dirty” books? Each time this club does, one of the members embarks on a sexy romance that in some ways parallels the one in the book.
1. The Dirty Girls Book Club by Savanna Fox; Berkley Heat
2. Dare to be Dirty by Savanna Fox; Berkley Heat
3. Bound to be Dirty by Savanna Fox; Berkley Heat
Classic Bodies Series
Because sometimes reality can be even better than your wildest fantasies!
1. Body Heat by Susan Fox; Kensington Brava
Wild Ride to Love Series
A sexy “planes, trains, automobiles, and a cruise ship” series. Three older sisters travel home for their baby sister’s wedding, and each of their journeys is a wild ride to love!
1. Sex Drive by Susan Lyons (planes); Kensington Aphrodisia
2. Love, Unexpectedly by Susan Fox (trains); Kensington Brava
3. His, Unexpectedly by Susan Fox (automobiles); Kensington Brava
4. Yours, Unexpectedly by Susan Fox (cruise ship); Kensington Brava
Destination Wedding Series
At exotic destination weddings, it’s not only the brides and grooms who find the love of their lives!
1. Sex on the Beach by Susan Lyons (Belize); Berkley Heat
2. Sex on the Slopes by Susan Lyons (Whistler); Berkley Heat
3. Heat Waves by Susan Lyons (Greek islands); Berkley Heat
Awesome Foursome Series
Four girlfriends laugh, cry, bond—and find their own very sexy romances! Think Sex And The City, set in Vancouver, BC.
1. Champagne Rules by Susan Lyons; Kensington Aphrodisia
2. Hot in Here by Susan Lyons; Kensington Aphrodisia
3. Touch Me by Susan Lyons; Kensington Aphrodisia
4. She’s on Top by Susan Lyons; Kensington Aphrodisia
NOVELLAS IN ANTHOLOGIES
“Hot Down Under” by Susan Lyons in The Firefighter (firefighter antho with P.J. Mellor and Alyssa Brooks); Kensington A
phrodisia
“Unwrap Me” by Susan Lyons in Unwrap Me (holiday antho with Melissa MacNeal and Melissa Randall); Kensington Aphrodisia
“Too Hot to Handle” by Susan Lyons in Men on Fire (firefighter antho with Rachelle Chase and Jodi Lynn Copeland); Kensington Aphrodisia
“Private Eyes” by Susan Lyons in Some Like It Rough (antho with Kate Pearce and Anne Rainey); Kensington Aphrodisia
“Tattoos and Mistletoe” by Susan Fox in The Naughty List (holiday antho with Donna Kauffman and Cynthia Eden); Kensington Brava
SHORT STORIES
“A Forever Cowboy” in Northern Heat: Best Canadian Erotic Romance Stories
(edited by Opal Carew); Quarry Press
Erotique Series: at the classy sex club Erotique, anything goes!
Erotique: Carrie by Susan Lyons; Harlequin Spice Briefs
Erotique: Jillian by Susan Lyons; Harlequin Spice Briefs
Erotique: Alex by Susan Lyons; Harlequin Spice Briefs
NEW TITLES
For information about new and upcoming titles:
Visit Susan’s website.
Visit Susan’s Facebook page.
Subscribe to Susan’s e-newsletter, Champagne News.
