Excerpt!
Claire adjusted the delicate strap of her silver gown, her fingers brushing the smooth satin as laughter and music drifted through the warm summer air. The garden shimmered beneath strands of soft white lights, each glow reflecting off crystal glasses and polished silver like tiny promises suspended in time. Tonight was meant to be simple — a celebration, a farewell, a graceful closing of one chapter before she stepped into the life she had so carefully designed.
But life, she was learning, rarely followed clean lines.
She felt it before she saw him — a subtle shift in the atmosphere, like the hush that falls just before the first note of a song.
Oliver Graham stood near the stage, tall and steady, dressed in black that seemed to absorb the light around him. He carried himself with an ease that wasn’t practiced, just lived — the quiet confidence of a man who had known both applause and solitude, who understood the weight of purpose even in celebration.
Claire’s breath caught, surprising her.
It had been years, yet something about him felt familiar, like a melody she’d heard long ago but never fully released.
As if sensing her gaze, Oliver turned. Their eyes met across the veranda, and the world seemed to narrow to that single moment — music fading, conversations dissolving into a distant hum.
He didn’t smile right away. He simply looked at her, as though taking in the woman she had become, measuring something deeper than appearance.
Then came the slow curve of a knowing smile.
Heat crept up Claire’s neck, and she looked away, steadying herself with a sip of champagne that suddenly felt warmer than it should.
Moments later, his voice — smooth and rich — settled beside her like velvet.
“You’ve grown into everything they said you would,” he said softly. “Your parents couldn’t stop talking about you. Yale. Full scholarship. Future architect of the century.”
Claire laughed lightly, surprised by the warmth in his tone. “They said all that?”
“They should’ve said more,” he replied. “Yale’s lucky to have you.”
Something in her chest softened — a quiet recognition she hadn’t expected, like a door opening somewhere deep within her carefully guarded heart.
The music shifted, laughter swelling around them, but Claire felt as though she were standing inside a pocket of stillness.
“And you?” she asked. “Still changing the world one song at a time?”
Oliver smiled, a hint of humility softening his features. “Trying to. Mostly just trying to stay honest.”
Honest. The word lingered between them like a promise neither had spoken aloud.
When Oliver later stepped onto the stage, the crowd quieted instinctively, drawn to the calm gravity he carried. He adjusted the microphone, glanced toward Claire, and said, “I wrote this for tonight. It’s called Beyond the Horizon.”
The first notes drifted into the night like a prayer — tender guitar, soft percussion, a melody that seemed to breathe with its own quiet life.
Claire stood still as the lyrics wrapped around her, each word reflecting pieces of her journey — the late nights bent over drafting tables, the silent prayers whispered into the dark when doubt tried to settle in, the relentless pull toward something greater than comfort.
The road is wide, but your steps are sure, drawn to purpose, built to endure…
Her fingers tightened slightly around her glass as emotion rose unexpectedly, catching in her throat. She had spent so many years building strength, focusing forward, refusing distraction — yet here she was, undone by a song that seemed to see her more clearly than she saw herself.
Oliver’s voice carried warmth and depth, every note grounded in sincerity. When their eyes met mid-song, something unspoken passed between them — not a spark, but a steady flame, quiet and certain.
By the final note, silence lingered for a breath before applause rose like a wave across the garden. Claire barely heard it. Her hand rested lightly against her chest, as if holding something fragile and new.
Later, when the music shifted into a softer groove and guests drifted toward the dance floor, Oliver found her again near the edge of the veranda.
“You okay?” he asked gently.
Claire nodded, a small smile touching her lips. “I am now.”
They stood close, not touching, yet aware of each other in a way that felt both new and strangely familiar.
“I’m heading to New Haven tomorrow,” she said quietly. “Three weeks early. I want time to settle in… start fresh.”
Oliver’s expression softened, admiration flickering in his eyes. “That sounds exactly like you. Always building the next chapter before anyone else even sees the blueprint.”
She laughed softly. “You expected anything less?”
“Not a chance,” he said. “You’re building your future with intention. That’s rare.”
The music swelled around them, couples swaying beneath the lights, laughter rising into the warm night air.
For a moment, neither spoke. The silence wasn’t awkward — it felt full, like a pause meant to be savored.
“Don’t disappear on me,” Oliver said finally, a hint of playfulness in his tone.
Claire raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to Yale, not Mars.”
He laughed, then handed her his phone. “Still. Just in case I feel like sending musical inspiration.”
She entered her number, her fingers brushing his briefly, a small spark of awareness passing between them.
As he stepped back into the crowd, Claire watched him go, the night humming with possibility.
For the first time since she began mapping out her future, she allowed herself to consider that maybe life wasn’t only about structure and certainty.
Maybe it was also about rhythm.
About unexpected harmonies.
About moments that couldn’t be planned — only felt.
And as she looked up at the stars scattered across the velvet sky, Claire felt something shift quietly inside her.
The future she was building suddenly felt wider.
Not just a design.
But a song.
Author bio:
LongTemple is a contemporary Black romance author and visual storyteller whose work is rooted in emotional truth, spiritual reflection, and the resilience of love shaped by lived experience. Her stories explore pain, struggle, faith, healing, and the quiet triumph of choosing connection again—especially later in life, when love carries history and meaning.
Born and raised on New York City’s vibrant Lower East Side, LongTemple writes with a voice shaped by culture, memory, and survival. Her storytelling carries a musical cadence—sometimes aching, sometimes soaring—always grounded in honesty and soul. She centers grown, layered characters who confront grief, betrayal, forgiveness, and hope, and who discover that love, when chosen with intention, can still be transformative.
She is the creator of the Platinum Chocolate Romance Universe, a body of interconnected contemporary romance and women’s fiction that celebrates mature Black love and second chances. Each novel is paired with a companion adult-themed line art coloring book, offering readers a reflective, immersive experience that extends the story beyond the page and invites creative engagement alongside emotional connection.
A soulful architect. A gospel-rooted musician. A love built to last.
Rhythm and Design: A Platinum Chocolate Romance is a powerful story of purpose, passion, and divine timing.
Claire Baldwin is used to building beauty from structure—dreaming in blueprints, raised among silver spoons and Ivy League expectations. Focused, brilliant, and untouchable, love was never part of the plan. Until one almost-mistake in her youth taught her the price of giving too much to someone who offered too little.
Oliver Jamison Graham, the son of a revered pastor, walked away from the pulpit and into the chaos of the music industry. Between neon stages and lonely hotel rooms, he searched for something sacred—something real. Music filled his nights, but his faith kept whispering him home.
When Claire and Oliver’s paths collide again, it isn’t just chemistry—it’s destiny. But building a life together means facing the unspoken: the pasts they’ve tucked away, the faith they’re still figuring out, and the families who’ve prayed them into purpose.
Together, they’ll navigate ambition, intimacy, trust, and spiritual alignment in a romance steeped in grace, humor, and honest love. Can two people from different rhythms create a design strong enough to stand?
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LongTemple is a contemporary Black romance author and visual storyteller whose work is rooted in emotional truth, spiritual reflection, and the resilience of love shaped by lived experience. Her stories explore pain, struggle, faith, healing, and the quiet triumph of choosing connection again—especially later in life, when love carries history and meaning.
Born and raised on New York City’s vibrant Lower East Side, LongTemple writes with a voice shaped by culture, memory, and survival. Her storytelling carries a musical cadence—sometimes aching, sometimes soaring—always grounded in honesty and soul. She centers grown, layered characters who confront grief, betrayal, forgiveness, and hope, and who discover that love, when chosen with intention, can still be transformative.
She is the creator of the Platinum Chocolate Romance Universe, a body of interconnected contemporary romance and women’s fiction that celebrates mature Black love and second chances. Each novel is paired with a companion adult-themed line art coloring book, offering readers a reflective, immersive experience that extends the story beyond the page and invites creative engagement alongside emotional connection.
