JANE PEDEN
The stupidest pick-up attempt I ever heard was when I was in my early 20’s working for a nonprofit disaster relief agency on an out-of-town job in Pittsburgh raising funds to help flood victims. After work a group of us from various cities made plans to go out to dinner together. Everyone agreed to go back to our rooms and change out of business clothes and meet up in the hotel lobby in half an hour.
There was a particularly annoying guy named Bob from the Cincinnati office who had been bossing me around all day because he had been on many of these fundraising assignments before, and this was my first. (Rule #1: If you are thinking about trying to pick someone up later, it’s not a good idea to be condescending to them earlier in the day.)
So, he knew what room I was in and as I was getting ready to go down to the lobby he knocks at my door. When I open it Bob says, I thought we could walk down to the lobby together. Ok, that’s a little lame, but fine.
Then he stares down at his hand as if he’s just discovered he is holding his briefcase, and pastes this surprised, sheepish look on his face. Oh, wow, says Bob, whose own room is about five doors down the hall, I don’t want to drag this thing along to dinner. Can I just leave it here in your room and pick it up after? (Rule #2: If you think leaving your briefcase in a woman’s hotel room is your only chance you’ll be invited in, you’re probably right.)
Needless to say, Bob never had a chance with me (See Rule #1), and I told him I’d be happy to wait right there in the hallway while he took his briefcase back to his own room. I’ll admit, though, that I flirted with him a bit later in cab on the way back from dinner, just so I could shut him down when we got to the hotel. He deserved it.
Bob could take a few lessons from Sam, the hero in my contemporary romance, THE MILLIONAIRE’S UNEXPECTED PROPOSAL. When millionaire Miami lawyer Sam finds himself alone in Las Vegas – and spots an elegant blonde also alone in the hotel lounge – he knows he’d much rather the two of them spend the evening together. But Camilla is as unapproachable as she is beautiful.
Will Sam have better luck with Camilla than lame-o Bob had with me? Well, he couldn’t do any worse . . .
BLURB:
One night together will change his life forever…
Camilla Winthrop is about to do something she’s never done in her life—she’s about to ask a man to marry her. Not just any man. She hasn’t seen Sam Flanagan in almost five years, after he coldly walked away from a passionate and intense two-week affair. Now Camilla is widowed and desperate…and marrying Sam is the only way she can protect their son.
The son he never knew about.
A hugely successful attorney in Miami, Sam certainly never expected to see the stunning Camilla come through his door again. Nor can he ignore the desire heating his blood. But after she tells him her situation, Sam is furious. He’ll marry her, but under his terms. And he’ll take everything, including Camilla in his bed…unless she can find a way to thaw the millionaire’s icy heart once more.
BIO:
Jane Peden is the pen name of a Florida trial attorney who writes sexy contemporary category romances set in the exciting South Florida city of Miami, where millionaire lawyers live extravagant lifestyles and find love when they least expect it. When Jane is not in court, you can find her at the beach with her laptop, dreaming up stories about successful, confident men who know what they want and how to get it, and smart, sexy women who demand love on their own terms. Her books promise sizzling chemistry in the face of insurmountable obstacles. And just when things could not get any worse, an emotional payoff that makes it all worthwhile. Jane grew up in the mountains of western Pennsylvania, but decided early on that the only thing better than escaping the cold for a two-week vacation at the beach was to live there all year around, so she traded her snow boots for a jet ski and has never looked back. Jane lives on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida with her husband, two kids, two dogs, and a fish.
You can reach Jane here: @JanePeden | Facebook | Website | Goodreads
Her debut book,THE MILLIONAIRE’S UNEXPTECTED PROPOSAL is available here:
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