Kiss From a Rose by Bella Fontaine Book Tour and Giveaway!
Kiss
From a Rose
by
Bella Fontaine
Genre:
Contemporary Romance
Secrets
that were meant to be hidden jump out of the closet in this hot,
sexy, enemies to lovers romance. From USA Today Bestselling Author
Khardine Gray writing as Bella Fontaine…
There
are two things in this world that I’m certain of:
1.Money
doesn’t grow on trees.
2.Caine
Donoghue is the devil. He’s the kind of guy who’s sexy, knows it,
and uses his charm to fool you. It doesn’t help that he’s an
Ex-Navy man with all that hard muscle and a body built like a god.
He’s the devil.
It
sounds harsh, but it’s true. I should know because I practically
grew up with him. I had to endure many summers of his evil. So I
should
know.
However,
the day came when the man decided to go and shock me.
It
only took a fifteen-year absence in each other’s lives, but…one
major act of kindness that saved the person I loved most dissolved
the barrier I placed up to keep him out.
I
never saw it coming.
Me,
trapped in the charm he oozed. Me, trapped in the temptation that
lured me to him just from his sinful sexy smile. Me, getting lost in
a man I thought was my worse nightmare.
Caine
Donoghue sucked me into a sizzling hot, whirlwind romance that was so
scorching it would make hell feel like the artic.
He
unlocked something inside me.
But…us
being together unlocked something else.
We
unlocked secrets from the past that should have stayed hidden.
Secrets that tangle the past with the present, and will affect the
future.
Secrets
that could destroy us.
It’s
only a matter of time.
Then
it won’t matter what I think …
If
you like hot, steamy, romance with gorgeous, drool-worthy ex-military
men that will make you melt, you will like this book. Scroll up and
one-click your copy today!
Once
again, I was sitting in a waiting area. This
time, I was outside Aunt Halle’s room. We weren’t allowed inside
with her yet. I
watched Caine sort out all the paperwork. He filled out various forms
and gave all his contact details. I
was too numb to think, and we hadn’t actually spoken yet. Not
hello, or anything. He’d just jumped into action and sorted things
out. There
was one thing that I’d heard though. He said he was with Halle when
she collapsed. It was he who’d called the ambulance. He
was there when it all happened. And I wasn’t. I
was in town at the spa thinking of how bad my life was when the woman
who’d sacrificed so much for me fought for her life. I
couldn’t believe it. I was so numb I couldn’t think straight, and
this all felt like I was watching what was happening play out like it
wasn’t happening to me but someone else. Caine
finished talking to Dr. Fernandes and looked at me. I
gazed at him, and like always got that stunned moment where I got
sucked into his looks and had to remind myself that the guy couldn’t
stand me. When
we saw each other last, he was eighteen and I was fourteen. He’d
looked like the regular high school jock who was popular and played
football and had the prettiest girls on his arm. Much as I couldn’t
stand him back then and knew the feeling was mutual, I was annoyed at
myself for finding him attractive. That
annoyance very much filled me now because Caine Donoghue had traded
in his boyishly handsome looks for the powerfully-built Navy man who
stood before me. He’d cut his long, dark locks and sported a sharp
faux hawk that accentuated the angles and planes of his chiseled face
and his high, exotic cheekbones. I
couldn’t have been more annoyed at myself for even thinking about
him, and at a time like this. He
walked up to me with a tentative expression on his handsome face. His
bright green eyes sparkled with a hint of something too, and he
attempted a smile. “Can
I get you a coffee or something?” The
last time he got me an or something, there was a frog in the
cup. I’d gone to the mall and saw him there with his friends. I
thought he was being nice when he brought me a tall Starbucks cup. It
shook as I took it, and when I took off the lid, a disgusting frog
jumped out. Actually, I think it could have been a toad. “No,
thank you.” He
sat next to me, and I looked at him out the corners of my eyes, then
fully. I needed to say thanks. It didn’t matter what happened
between us as kids. I needed to tell him how grateful I was.
Especially since he didn’t have to be here. “Thank you, for doing
this for her. I wouldn’t know what I’d do if you hadn’t offered
to help.” A
slow, easy smile crept across his sensual lips. “You’re welcome.” “I’ll
pay you back.” Of course, I would. That was a lot of money to give,
and it was a lot of money to part with. The
smile widened on his face. “No, you won’t.” “Yes,
of course I will. I have every intention of doing so.” He
chuckled. “I don’t mean I think you won’t pay it. I mean I
won’t accept any repayment.” I
gazed at him long and hard. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking
so much from you.” “Don’t
take this the wrong way, but this isn’t about you, sweetheart.” Sweetheart.
Wow, that was an endearment I never thought I’d hear from him.
Not when I was being called Big Bertha when I’d gained a bit of
weight in my early teens, Metal Mouth when I had to wear retainers
for a few years, Dotto- dot when I had so many zits on my forehead it
did look like a game of connect
the dots, and then there was The Ugly Duckling. That one had hurt me
the most. I wasn’t ugly, not by a long shot, but he’d taken to
calling me that after Mom cut my hair way too short after a relaxer
went wrong. My hair had looked like duck feathers. It took forever to
grow back. “It’s
a lot of money, and they only gave us the minimum, could be more.” “Can’t
put a price on life, and you can’t put a value on a woman like
Halle. She’s
priceless. She was like a mother and father to me, so I’ll provide
whatever she needs. And you won’t pay me back, Anya.”
My
name sounded foreign on his lips, probably because he’d rarely ever
called me by it.
“Thank
you. I thank you for her.” I looked over to the window, at Aunt
Halle on the hospital bed. She
still looked so frail and weak. I hated seeing her that way. “So...
long time. Fifteen years,” Caine spoke. “Very
long time,” I answered, but I didn’t look at him. I kept my gaze
trained on Halle. “You
were still in training bras.” I
frowned and turned to face him. “And you were a big-headed jock.” “I
thought you’d write me.” Now
I squinted at him and wrinkled my nose. “What?” “When
I went to join the Navy, I thought you’d write.” “Why
in the world would you think that?” No way was he being serious. He
smirked at my reaction. “Oh,
we were such good friends, I just thought you’d keep in touch. You
know, seeing as how I went to Afghanistan and Iraq. It was dangerous.
A letter here and there, or even a Post-it note just to say hey
would have been nice.” He nodded.
I
blinked several times. “Caine Donoghue, I’m pretty certain your
host of admiring fans would have written to you.” “Not
you though.” “I’m
not the letter-writing type. It wouldn’t have worked.” Better to
say that. “So,
how come you went to see her? You were at the motel?” “I
visit her every time I’m home. Sometimes I stay over and help out
if things need doing. I got back Monday, and I was visiting today
when it happened.” I
was surprised to hear that he went to visit her, but admittedly in
awe to hear it. Halle hadn’t worked for the Donoghue’s in nearly
the same time that I hadn’t seen Caine. When he left, she continued
to work for them for an additional five years, then left to start her
business. She’d
worked her fingers to the bone for twenty years and saved up, so she
could start her own business. The motel she called The Hideaway
Motel. Located on the coast of Wrightsville Beach, the place was
perfect and attracted quite a lot of tourists. Aunt Halle took great
pride of the place. She was even more proud because she was one of
the first African Americans to set up a motel in that area. It
was her accomplishment, and I was proud of her. “What
happened? I didn’t even know she had a heart condition.”
“She
didn’t tell you?” He lowered his brows. “You
knew?” He
nodded. “For a while now. I was the one who encouraged her to get
treatment, and that was years ago.” I
winced. “Why wouldn’t she tell me that? Something so important.” He
sighed. “Well, she was always very protective of you. Maybe it was
that. She
just didn’t want you to know because she knew how worried you’d
be.” “I
would have moved back here sooner.” That was for sure. I would have
come back and taken care of her. It wouldn’t have gotten to this
stage where she was in hospital with talk of surgery. “That’s
probably why you didn’t know.” “How
did it happen? What happened today?” “When
I got to the motel, there were some shady-looking guys talking to her
in reception. She looked terrified. I got rid of them, but I think
they’ll be back. Looked like they were loan sharks, and not the
understanding type either. We went to the back office to talk, and
she grabbed her chest and collapsed.” I
released a strained breath. This was getting from bad to worse. “Loan
sharks?” “Yes.
I would say so. Anya, I think things may be a lot worse than Halle
led anyone to believe. She looked sick, and the motel doesn’t look
like it used to, plus she seems to be working overtime and doing the
job of four or five people. The usual crew were there, but she has
less staff than last year.” God,
what did it mean? Clearly, she was struggling financially. I couldn’t
believe it was that bad. Loan
sharks. Halle hated loans of any kind. She never even allowed me to
get a student loan. After Mom died, she paid for everything for me.
She’d paid for everything well before, right from when Dad walked
out. But when I had no one left in the world, she made it so I could
still have all that I ever needed and wanted. Caine
was right. Halle was mother and father to him. She was that for me
too. “I
didn’t know things were so bad. I feel just awful,” I said
breathlessly.
“I
feel bad too. She didn’t tell me anything either. I had to guess
she was sick.” “At
least you can help her now.” I couldn’t. “Anya,
I would have preferred to stop things from getting this bad. Dr.
Fernandes said she used to be on the full insurance and switched
things over to the lower package after the price increased. A simple
thing like that, and it could have meant she didn’t get the proper
treatment.” “She
looks so frail.” “She’s
strong. A fighter. She has to make it.” “I
don’t know what to do.” “We
just sit here and wait.” “We?”
Was he going to stay with me? “We.” As
I pressed back into the chair, my shoulders tensed. Tears streamed
down my cheeks, but the warmth of his large hands over mine soothed
me. I had to look down at where his hand rested on top of mine on the
crisscross pattern of the metal bench. He
was the last person I thought would be here to offer me comfort right
now.A lump formed in my throat, and my chest tightened. I had the
feeling that bad luck of mine was about to really show its true
colors. What
I’d experienced before was nothing.
Bella Fontaine is the multicultural and interracial romance pen name of USA Today Bestselling bestselling author Khardine Gray.
The
name is to honor the strong, super talented, and courageous women in
her family who inspired her to write and do what she loves most.
As
with her other books expect hot, steamy, contemporary romance and
romantic suspense. Expect drool-worthy heroes and sassy heroines.
People falling in love and the wild, sexy fun they have on their
journey.
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