Blurb:
All Eden Bancroft has ever been
to her high-profile politician husband is a trophy wife, born and bred for the
part. She believes she has no choice but to play it—until she meets a talented
chef and restaurant heir who makes her feel loved for herself alone. The more
her husband uses and belittles her, the more deeply Eden falls for Kaleb. Even
with Mitchell’s congressional campaign in full swing, the lovers manage to find
brief stolen moments together. When her husband is wounded by a bullet from a
disgruntled lobbyist, Eden must stay by his side. What she learns can set her
free, if she has the courage to take a stand.
Excerpt:
“Your husband is an inconsiderate
ass,” Sybil said over dirty martinis after their drive up the mountain. “Why do you put up with it?”
“Like I have a choice?” Eden had just told Sybil about her birthday
dinner with the Romano brothers. “If I
left, where would I go? Mom’s still
living in Texas, in a little two-bedroom house, with another woman. There’s no room for me and the kids. I guess I could take them to my dad’s—and
they can get to know their thirty-year-old step-grandma.”
Sybil laughed. “It would serve him right if you showed up.”
“Yeah,” Eden agreed. “But seriously, I can’t do that to the
kids. It would rip their world apart, if
I left their father just because I’m . . .”
She paused, searching for the
right word.
“Unhappy?” Sybil supplied.
“Not really,” Eden said. “It’s just . . . when I’m not angry with
Mitchell I’m bored out of my mind.”
“Even with the campaign in full
swing?”
“Especially with that,” Eden
said. “It’s nothing I haven’t done
before, just on a bigger scale. I don’t
think Mitchell can win and he’s spending so much money. At this rate, we’ll never get out of
debt.” She blinked back the sudden, hot
dart of tears before Sybil could see.
“Still no reason to end a marriage.”
“Maybe when the kids are older.”
Eden finished her martini and
signaled the bartender for another. “In
ten more years, Rosie will be sixteen,” she said. “I’ll be almost forty-five. All the men my
age will be looking for a younger woman.”
“So get a younger man. You need a secret boy toy. Be a cougar—it’s all the rage.”
A quick image of Kaleb Stavros
flashed through Eden’s mind. “Yeah,
right,” she said.
“What about that hot young cook
you met at the fundraiser?”
“Chef.”
“Whatever. Did you call him?”
“No point. Mitchell and his campaign need my full
attention, twenty-four-seven. Any time I
have to myself, I plan to sleep.”
“All the more reason you should
have a little som’n-som’n on the side,” Sybil said.
“Oh, come on—you know that’s not
me. I may flirt a little here and there,
but when it’s time to deliver—I don’t.”
“Well, that’s depressing.”
“Mitchell’s my husband. I took vows, you know. For better or worse—”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Sybil
interrupted. “So let’s just forget him,
at least for the weekend.
Tonight—starting in twenty minutes—full spa treatment followed by hot
chocolate in front of the fire. Tomorrow
we’ll get your silly antiquing done in the morning and your blasted autumn
leaves out of the way in the afternoon, and then little Sybil’s going on the
prowl. You can come along and watch.”
Author Bio and Links:
Charlene Keel has written over a
dozen novels and how-to books as well as multiple episodes of popular TV shows
such as Fantasy Island and Days of our Lives.
Her Dell book, Rituals, was the basis for the first made-for-syndication
soap opera. Recently she co-authored The
Tracks, a YA supernatural trilogy.
Shadow Train, the final installment, won a Paranormal Romance Guild
Reviewer’s Choice Award. Keel has also
written screen adaptations of novels by bestselling authors, and has worked as
editor or managing editor for a few international magazines. In her spare time she ghostwrites books and
screenplays for celebrities, doctors, corporate moguls, spies, strippers and
anyone who has an interesting story to tell.
Arie Pavlou is a popular chef who
attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and then perfected his craft at some of the
top-rated Michelin restaurants in France and New York. He has lived and worked in France, Cyprus and
the U. S. and is an avid world traveler who speaks five languages. He enjoys all sports and has a talent for
knife-throwing, which he perfected at Le Cordon Bleu. Currently Chef de Cuisine at the renowned
Bridgehampton Inn in New York, his specialties include Caramelized Baked
Alaska, Winter Salad, Roast Lamb Fondue, Wild Game and Poached Pears with Mint
Ice Cream. The Congressman’s Wife is his
first novel, and he’s currently writing a cookbook.
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