Lost in Literature: Blog Tour: Date By Mistake

I'm so excited to be taking part in the Date By Mistake Blog Tour! Today on my stop I have an excerpt for you, as well as an awesome giveaway! First, let's start with a bit about the book:

Title: Date by Mistake (Anthology)
Author: Candace Havens, Shannon Leigh, Gwen Hayes, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Jill Monroe
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 277 pages
Release Date: March 2013
Imprint: Indulgence
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBookstore | Kobo

You never know what you’ll get when …

Mr. Virile and the Girl Next Door by Gwen Hayes

Seduction is the name of the game when two rival dating advice darlings agree to be romantically linked to boost publicity. But all bets are off when they take the battle of the sexes from the web to the bed!

Tycoon Reunion by Candace Havens and Shannon Leigh

Sparks fly when a project brings a heartbreaker back to town and into the path of the woman he left behind. He’s determined to win her over in the boardroom … and the bedroom!

Passionate Persuasion by Rosemary Clement-Moore

A hot playboy who has left a string of hearts in his wake can’t forget the cellist who haunted his fantasies. Now it is his turn to usehis power of persuasion to prove he’s the only man to keep her satisfied.

Date on the Run by Jill Monroe

When a reporter mistakes a hard-bodied military man for a crime source, she soon finds it’s just as much fun undressing her new bodyguard as it is uncovering her latest case…

Four stories, four dates. How can these dates by mistake turn into love ever after?

Excerpt from Date on the Run:

His date glanced up as they approached, and she looked… okay, in the dark shadows of the restaurant.
Please don’t be the light.
Hell, more than okay. Long, dark blond hair surrounded a truly beautiful face. Ezra was a sucker for long hair. Sinking his hands in the softness. Letting the strands fall between his fingers.
Please don't be the light.
A soft touch of color filled her cheeks and her full lower lip curved. Gorgeous mouth.
Please don't be the light.
He could spend hours kissing that mouth. Tugging that sexy lower lip of hers between his teeth. Feel the softness of her mouth as she traced a path across his stomach. And lower.
What the hell was wrong with him? Ten minutes ago he wanted nowhere near this woman. Now images of her taking the always-too-slow trail to heaven crashed through his mind.
Seven months and no sex. That was what was wrong with him.
“Find someone who doesn't need saving. A woman who wants you just for your body.”
Brad's suggestion came back to taunt him.
Maybe Beth was doing him a favor after all.
Ezra slid into the seat across from her. “I'm sorry I'm late.” And he meant it. Here he'd been complaining to himself since Brad dropped his favor bombshell about this blind date, and he'd never stopped to consider how she must feel. Not only to be set up on Valentine's Day but then left wondering if he'd even show.
A wariness flared in her pretty brown eyes at his apology. That men letting her down wasn't anything new. Like she'd heard it all before. For some reason that irritated him. But then he had kept her waiting alone in a restaurant on Valentine's Day.
This woman would never have to wait on him again. An image of her heavy-lidded with desire, her mouth open as she moaned in the pleasure he gave her… no, she wouldn't have to wait. Some said the waiting was the best part, drawing out the anticipation… but why wait when you can just do it all over again? And again?
Just how quick would she run out of this restaurant if she knew the thoughts and images tormenting him in his head? Pretty damn quick, he imagined.
And that's when he realized he didn't know her name. Now might not be the best time to disclose that information. How many points could a guy lose? He'd already kept her waiting. Not remembering her name would probably send him straight to Loserville in her mind. So he sat and scrambled to think of appropriate first date topics. The weather. Their jobs. How did she know Beth?
Oh, yeah… there'd be no second date after this one.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Eric.”
The sexy, raspy sound of her voice did things to his body. So many things, he almost missed how she'd messed up his name. Maybe she was nervous. That was kind of cute.
“Ezra.”
“Excuse me?”
“My name is Ezra, not Eric.”
A tiny line formed between her brows. “I'm so sorry. I must have gotten that wrong in my notes, and I've been calling you the wrong name all this time.”
As far as he could remember, she'd only called him Eric once, but her mistake seemed to bother her. A lot. “It's no problem,” he reassured her.
“Your job must be so exciting. Do you prefer working with the new contemps or the old masters?”
“Uh…” Their waiter arrived before he had to try and decipher that strange question. His job was exciting between long stretches of boredom and even longer stretches of training. But old masters?
Their waiter took their order, and Ezra quickly steered the conversation toward something he could talk about. The weather. Yeah, straight to Loserville for sure. But his date actually had no problem with his conversation. She wasn’t shy and they easily moved from the weather, to the chances of Port Calypso's basketball team making the NCAA tournament to his retelling of a few airmen trying to brew their own beer. And failing.
“If you're a beer drinker, you have to try the Regis Bar and Bistro,” she told him over chocolate dessert. The woman must really love chocolate, by the way she closed her eyes with each taste, and licked her fork clean between each bite. Dessert might kill him. “It's right next door. Not only do they brew their own beers but they also have ales from microbreweries from every state.”
Something about the name of the restaurant triggered a vague memory in his mind. What, he couldn't remember. Or was maybe too distracted by the beautiful, vibrant blonde in front of him. The waiter returned and took their dessert plates and refilled their coffees.
She leaned forward over the table; the edge pushed her breasts up over the red sweater she wore and emphasized her cleavage. Here he was trying to be a good guy and keep his eyes up, and temptation was just a glance down away. A lock of her long blond hair fell forward over her shoulder as she angled her head closer to his. She was going to tell him something. He hoped it was her name, but whatever it was she asked, he'd say yes. Anything she stated, he'd agree.
“So, Ezra, do you trust me enough to share with me all you know?”
Him trust her? To share… Was she talking about…?
She must have felt it, too. That hot and instant connection between them. The flood of hot desire. Hell, yeah, he trusted her enough.
Ezra signaled for the check.
When the waiter dropped the bill beside Ezra’s hand, Juliet quickly swiped it off the table before he could reach for his wallet.
“I’ll take this,” she told him.
He was beginning to get an all-new appreciation for blind dates.

Up for grabs to one lucky winner is:

One ebook copy of Date by Mistake

Giveaway Rules:

The winner will be announced here shortly after the giveaway ends and notified by email.
The winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email before a new winner will be chosen. (And please, please, please be sure to check your SPAM folder... I really dislike having to choose a new winner when I don't hear back from you.)
Must be at least 13 years of age to enter.
One entrant per household.
Entries will be verified. If it appears that an entry is falsified, that individual and all of their entries will be disqualified.
Open internationally!

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Lost in Literature

Monday, April 15, 2013

Blog Tour: Date By Mistake - Excerpt & Giveaway

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