Excerpt!
Florentina is not at all what I expected. I figured she would be a hot young Italian woman with a curvaceous body, sexy accent, and legs for miles. Instead, she turns out to be a petite Brazilian woman in her mid-sixties with grey hair and kind brown eyes. She grips my hand warmly.
“Lovely to meet you, Charlotte. Fiona tells me you need something formal for a special evening with a special man.”
“Fi is prone to exaggeration, but yes, I do need something formal.”
“Well, let’s get some measurements and go from there.” She ushers me into a private dressing room outfitted with a small settee, two satin-covered chairs, and a table housing a glass dispenser filled with water, cucumbers, and floating sprigs of mint.
“Go ahead and disrobe so we can get some proper measurements.”
“Uh...” I splutter. She wants me to undress...right now...in front of her?
“No need to be modest, dear. I’ve seen it all,” she says, smiling brightly at me. Unsure of how to respond, I slowly start to take my clothes off. When I get down to my bra and panties, I see Florentina shaking her head. “Tsk, tsk,” She is staring at my chest, which is now flushing pink with embarrassment.
She reaches over and tugs on my nude-colored bra strap, pulling my left breast up in the process. She grabs a hold of the side of my boob and jiggles it up and down. “See this?” she says, motioning for me to watch my flesh wobble around. See it? I can feel it. Honestly, it usually takes a lot more than a warm smile and a glass of spa water to get to second base. “When was the last time you had a proper bra fitting?” She shakes her head at me in disapproval.
“Uh...” I say, unsure of which response will get her to release her hand from my flesh. Without hesitation, she unhooks my bra from the back and tosses it to a chair. She whips out a measuring tape and straps it around my breasts, moving them around so the tape goes across my nipples. My mood swings between humiliation and weariness.
“Dear, you’ve been wearing the wrong size bra. Before we look for dresses, we’ll need to start there. I’ll be right back,” and with that, she’s out the door. I pick up the phone and text Fi.
Me: Florentina just felt me up and it’s the most action I’ve had for the better part of a year.
Fi: Ah, should have warned you. She’s fanatical about proper bra fitting.
Me: Yes, you should have warned me!
Fi: She’s the best, Char.
Me: Well, she did have a soft and gentle touch. Perhaps she’d like to have dinner with me tonight.
Fi: LOL! You wouldn’t need to resort to fantasies about Florentina if you would just give in to temptation with Garrett.
Me: This again? I told you, JUST FRIENDS!
Fi: OK, OK. If you say so.
Me: She’s back. Talk soon!
In high school, Charlotte Windham went through a typical ugly duckling phase - glasses and all, while harboring a crush on Garrett Stephens, the school's athletic heartthrob. Fifteen years later, Charlotte and Garrett have a chance encounter at a Los Angeles restaurant. However, this time around, Charlotte has leveled the playing field. She’s a bestselling novelist and no longer “Glasses,” the humiliating nickname Garrett gave her. She’s a catch and, thanks to corrective eye surgery, it’s not just her eyes that see better…so does her heart! Garrett hasn’t fared poorly either, transforming from teen heartbreaker to adult lothario and is now a successful professional golfer suffering from a possible career-ending injury. Can Charlotte forgive Garrett for his past ways, and more recent Don Juan lifestyle? And, can Garrett change his ways for a second chance with Charlotte, who may just be perfect for him?
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Author bio:
Lisa Becker is a romance writer who spends her time like she spends her money - on books and margaritas. In addition to Clutch: a novel, she is the author of the Click trilogy, a contemporary romance series about online dating and Links, a standalone, second chance romance readers. As Lisa’s grandmother used to say, “For every chair, there’s a tush.” Lisa is now happily married to a wonderful man she met online and lives in Manhattan Beach, California with him and their two daughters. So, if it happened for her, there’s hope for anyone! You can share your love stories with her at www.lisawbecker.com.
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