Valentine's Guest Blog: Maggie Dove

My Valentine's Romance Guest Blog even continues with today's special guest,romance author Maggie Dove!

Maggie will give away a .pdf copy of her romance ANGEL OF WINDWORD. Post in the comments for a chance to win!

A Love Story

My good friend, Vicky, and I have known each other since high school. She used to give fun parties, many of which I had the pleasure to attend. During our junior year in high school, Vicky had a huge crush on a family friend and neighbor, one of four James Dean look-alike brothers; daredevils that a good girl should look at but not touch with a ten-foot pole. And if she were smart, she’d run away with her virtue intact while she could.

I had not stopped hearing about Jack Spencer, the youngest of the four--how gorgeous he was, how cool he was, how talented he was…. and so on and so on and so on! Vicky’s mom gave a surprise birthday party for her sister and she invited Jack and his brothers. The night of the party, everyone came including the Spencer brothers. Vicky was ready for them with sleek long hair, make-up and a new dress. She looked fabulous. Jack noticed, too. Finally, she had him where she wanted him…eating out of her hand…when the doorbell rang and in walked Paul, a friendly, good-looking guy, who had just returned from three months in Europe. Vicky’s mom had invited him to the party, too.

Paul arrived with a bottle of champagne. I was introduced to him and only spoke with him for about ten minutes, because I was asked to dance by one of the bad boy Spencer brothers. After a while, I noticed Vicky wasn’t dancing, she was sitting and having a conversation with Paul. After about two hours, I noticed Vicky was still sitting and talking to Paul. Three hours passed, and the girl was still jabbering away, giving him her undivided attention. I thought to myself, “What a gal! How absolutely polite and courteous of her to sacrifice her night with Jack just to make sure the new guy felt welcome. Actually, her crush must have been the one who felt crushed because Vicky never looked his way again.

Vicky fell hard for Paul at the party. She told me and another friend later when we slept over that Paul was the guy she would someday marry. During their long conversation, Paul, in his last semester of college, had told Vicky he worked part-time at a clothing store in a big mall. After a month passed by and she didn’t hear from him, Vicky walked that mall until her feet got blistered and tired. Finally, she found who she thought was Paul but instead was his best friend, Frank, who incredibly looked just like Paul. (True story, I swear!) Frank told her where Paul worked and that night Paul called her. They were married a year later, have been married for 35 years, and are the proud parents of two beautiful daughters!

On this date so close to Valentine’s, I would like to toast Vicky and Paul. Theirs is a story that inspires romance writers like me to write about love, blind dates, mothers’ intuition and charming, good-looking men arriving at your doorstep with a bottle of champagne!

Bio:
Born in Havana, Cuba, Maggie Dove is a happily married housewife and mother of two, who has lived in the U.S. since she was five. As the granddaughter of a famous Cuban writer and publisher, writing is in her blood. Her family owned one of the oldest newspapers in the Americas. She’s had twenty-six of her letters to the editor published in The Miami Herald. Angel of Windword is her first novel published and the first of the Windword Trilogy.


Angel of Windword
Available from Eternal Press

Evil forces are at play surrounding Angelique Beauvisage, but she has no clue. Sensuous and suspense-filled, ANGEL OF WINDWORD, begins with a murder that takes place four years before and turns into a perilous cat and mouse game played by two reluctant lovers, who spin a web of deception that only their love can unravel.

Excerpt:

His thunderous expression softened. “Come closer.”

His eyes swept over her face as he caressed her cheek with the knuckle of his forehand. “I did not see her slap you, but your cheeks look burning hot. Answer something for me, Angelique” he ordered gruffly. “Has that woman ever hit you before?”

Angelique drank in the comfort of his nearness. His touch was soft and soothing. “Never,” she lied. “Victoria has never slapped me or hurt me. My lord, it was really my fault...I provoked her.”

He definitely will have his way with me and my place will be in his bed!
Mon Dieu! A guttural sound escaped her lips when she recalled her own words. She was not certain whether she was more distressed at having thrown those awful words at her stepmother or the dreadful possibility that Nicholas had actually overheard them.

Attempting to sound nonchalant, she stammered Victoria’s original question to him, “H-how long had you been standing there, monsieur? Did you...did you hear anything?”
she asked in a faint whisper, her voice cracking with embarrassment.

“Hear what, my love?’ he asked innocuously.

“Monsieur, how long had you been standing there?” she repeated with mounting dread. Then gazing at him, she suddenly wished she had not asked. His dark blue eyes sparkled with complete understanding as he stood casually against the doorjamb, strong arms folded across his chest, a devil of a smile beginning to form on his face.

“How long, monsieur…?”

Nicholas did not wait for her to finish. Without another word, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard on the lips. Then, just as suddenly, he let go of her, allowing her to fall back against the doorpost.

“Long enough to know I’m going to enjoy those willful ways of yours. Not to mention putting you in that bed of mine.”

Her heart pounding fast against her heaving chest, Angelique watched in stunned silence as Nicholas turned on his heel and made his exit. She could still feel his warm lips against hers as his deep, masculine chuckles echoed in the hallway.