Growing up in small town Wisconsin, Carly Turner couldn't wait to escape when she graduated high school. Now, she's living the life in New York City, even if she isn't seeing her name in lights like she used to dream about at night. She's living paycheck-to-paycheck, working behind the scenes in small theaters off Broadway. When there's an equipment malfunction the week before opening night, Carly makes a call that winds up changing everything.
Life in the city isn't all it's cracked up to be. While she feels like she's getting closer to making the move from behind the scenes to center stage, she misses being surrounded by people who understand the quirks that come from living in a town of five thousand people. That, and the fact that he's sexy as sin, make Adam everything she feels like she's missing.
The only problem? He's her best friend's kid brother...
Adam Sanders wants to settle down, find a good woman and start a family like he sees so many of his friends doing. But how is he supposed to meet Ms. Right when he's constantly on the road for work? When he's sent to New York to handle a repair that would typically be contracted out as a favor to his boss, he's just about to his breaking point.
Everything changes when the stagehand sent to open the theater for him is none other than his big sister's childhood friend. The same girl he lusted after as a teenager. Could this be fate's way of showing him that he was looking in the wrong place for love?
Excerpt
They settled into a high-top table near the back of the bar. There was an ease in the conversation that made it feel as if this were a regular occurrence rather than a chance meeting earlier in the day. It almost felt like a date; something Carly realized she hadn’t been on in far too long. By the time their waitress brought their sirloin burgers to the table, Carly had managed to stop thinking of Adam as her friend’s younger brother. She was thrilled because she was tired of trying to keep herself from flirting with him.
It was after three in the morning when they left the bar. “You said you live near here?” Adam bristled, looking around at the less than attractive surroundings. It wasn’t the best area, but it was livable and the rent was almost affordable. There wasn’t anywhere in New York that was truly within Carly’s budget, but she always made it work with the help of her rarely present roommate.
Carly wished she had put a jacket in her bag this morning. When she wrapped her arms across her body, Adam pulled her in tighter rubbing her arm. He was a walking space heater. “I’ll be fine. You probably need to get back to your hotel,” she said, not wanting him to feel obligated to walk her home.
“Come on now, Papa Bear would have a conniption if he found out I let you walk home alone,” Adam said pulling her closer to him. Papa Bear was the man they had all adopted as a second dad in Wisconsin. It was funny that Adam was worried what the man would think about him letting Carly walk home without an escort. He was right; Papa Bear probably would find a suitable punishment for him, even if he were twenty-seven. “Besides, I’m having a terrific time. Usually, it’s just me in a crappy hotel room with ESPN.”
Knowing that Adam was enjoying himself made her relax. “So, when do you go back?” Carly asked, chewing a fingernail. Her lip curled as she realized she was turning into a whiny girl. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed an evening as much as this one and she liked to think there might be the possibility of a repeat performance.
“Well, I was supposed to fly home Friday, but they moved around a few meetings for next week,” he said. His pale blue eyes shimmered in the moonlight. “So, I’m just going to stay here through the weekend, and I’ll go home next Tuesday night.”
Carly hated knowing he was going to be here the entire time she was busy and then go home on one of her days off. “This is me,” she pointed to the non-descript brick building behind them. “Want to come up for a while?”
She was exhausted but not ready to say goodnight. As soon as the words fell from her mouth, Carly wondered if Adam thought she was asking him upstairs for a late-night booty call. She wasn’t thinking that, but why else would a single woman ask a man into her apartment in the middle of the night?
“Sure,” Adam shrugged. “I don’t have anywhere to be in the morning.”
They walked in silence up the five flights of stairs. After two years of hiking to the top floor every day, it no longer affected Carly. Adam, on the other hand, seemed winded by the time they reached her door. “Couldn’t find a place with a few more stairs?” Adam huffed as she fumbled for her keys.
It wasn’t often that Carly invited anyone into her apartment. The walls, which had once been a muted sage, were now dull grayish green and the hardwood floors were marred beyond repair. Most of the furniture was from a former roommate who left everything behind when she moved to parts unknown. It wasn’t much, but the price was right and she had injected her own personality into her place as much as possible.
Everything about their night felt normal. She wasn’t sure what spending time with Adam was supposed to feel like, but it wasn’t this. She curled up next to him on the couch while he explained his rise from the assembly line to one of the lighting manufacturer’s top salesmen in a major market. She shared her dreams of directing rather than doing the grunt work backstage.
Before she knew it, the sun filtered through the blinds. It was going to be a long day.
With the exception of three years spent in the middle of Nebraska, H.B. Heinzer has called southern Wisconsin home. During that time in Nebraska, she imagined one of her favorite authors living on the far western edge of the county, just south of the highway. At the time, becoming a novelist was a distant dream for her. Now, she is the author living in that location. Ironically, she later found out that same favorite author lives just outside the town HB lived in for the first eighteen years of her life.
Now, HB lives in the middle of nowhere but still close enough to the city to not feel isolated. It's the perfect place to let her two kids run and explore their huge yard, teach them about the food chain as they prepare their first-ever garden and debate building a chicken coop. It's one of those dreams that is only possible thanks to the amazing opportunities that have come through writing.
Connect with H.B. Heinzer
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It was after three in the morning when they left the bar. “You said you live near here?” Adam bristled, looking around at the less than attractive surroundings. It wasn’t the best area, but it was livable and the rent was almost affordable. There wasn’t anywhere in New York that was truly within Carly’s budget, but she always made it work with the help of her rarely present roommate.
“Yep, one block back,” Carly said, pointing down the street.
Carly wished she had put a jacket in her bag this morning. When she wrapped her arms across her body, Adam pulled her in tighter rubbing her arm. He was a walking space heater. “I’ll be fine. You probably need to get back to your hotel,” she said, not wanting him to feel obligated to walk her home.
“Come on now, Papa Bear would have a conniption if he found out I let you walk home alone,” Adam said pulling her closer to him. Papa Bear was the man they had all adopted as a second dad in Wisconsin. It was funny that Adam was worried what the man would think about him letting Carly walk home without an escort. He was right; Papa Bear probably would find a suitable punishment for him, even if he were twenty-seven. “Besides, I’m having a terrific time. Usually, it’s just me in a crappy hotel room with ESPN.”
Knowing that Adam was enjoying himself made her relax. “So, when do you go back?” Carly asked, chewing a fingernail. Her lip curled as she realized she was turning into a whiny girl. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed an evening as much as this one and she liked to think there might be the possibility of a repeat performance.
“Well, I was supposed to fly home Friday, but they moved around a few meetings for next week,” he said. His pale blue eyes shimmered in the moonlight. “So, I’m just going to stay here through the weekend, and I’ll go home next Tuesday night.”
Carly hated knowing he was going to be here the entire time she was busy and then go home on one of her days off. “This is me,” she pointed to the non-descript brick building behind them. “Want to come up for a while?”
She was exhausted but not ready to say goodnight. As soon as the words fell from her mouth, Carly wondered if Adam thought she was asking him upstairs for a late-night booty call. She wasn’t thinking that, but why else would a single woman ask a man into her apartment in the middle of the night?
“Sure,” Adam shrugged. “I don’t have anywhere to be in the morning.”
They walked in silence up the five flights of stairs. After two years of hiking to the top floor every day, it no longer affected Carly. Adam, on the other hand, seemed winded by the time they reached her door. “Couldn’t find a place with a few more stairs?” Adam huffed as she fumbled for her keys.
It wasn’t often that Carly invited anyone into her apartment. The walls, which had once been a muted sage, were now dull grayish green and the hardwood floors were marred beyond repair. Most of the furniture was from a former roommate who left everything behind when she moved to parts unknown. It wasn’t much, but the price was right and she had injected her own personality into her place as much as possible.
Everything about their night felt normal. She wasn’t sure what spending time with Adam was supposed to feel like, but it wasn’t this. She curled up next to him on the couch while he explained his rise from the assembly line to one of the lighting manufacturer’s top salesmen in a major market. She shared her dreams of directing rather than doing the grunt work backstage.
Before she knew it, the sun filtered through the blinds. It was going to be a long day.
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Meet the Author
Now, HB lives in the middle of nowhere but still close enough to the city to not feel isolated. It's the perfect place to let her two kids run and explore their huge yard, teach them about the food chain as they prepare their first-ever garden and debate building a chicken coop. It's one of those dreams that is only possible thanks to the amazing opportunities that have come through writing.
Connect with H.B. Heinzer
Facebook Twitter Website
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