Title: Cover to Covers
Author: Alexandrea Weis
Release Date: February 1, 2014
Genre: New Adult Romance
Excerpt:
“If
I can be of any further assistance, Mr. Moore,” a peppy blonde with too much
black eyeliner said to the man in the impeccably tailored, dark blue Hugo Boss
suit. “Please, let me know. I have your suite key.” She pushed the white
key-card over the surface of the front desk. “Your usual order of Veuve Clicquot and strawberries will be waiting in your room,” she
added with a welcoming smile.
The self-assured gentleman
removed his
dark Porsche sunglasses and let his deep-set dark brown eyes linger over the
young woman’s attractive face. “Afraid I won’t be needing that this time,
Missy,” he murmured, getting a glimpse at her nametag.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Moore. I was
informed
you are always to have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot waiting in your room whenever
you stay with us.”
Wandering over Missy’s stout
figure, his
eyes fixated on the way her blue blazer clung to her ample bosom. “I usually do
when I’m staying here for a relaxing weekend. This time, however, is all
business.” He placed his sunglasses in his jacket pocket.
Missy leaned forward, revealing
her
cleavage as her blue eyes meandered up and down his body. “I am very sorry to
hear that, Mr. Moore.”
The flirtatious pout that puckered
her red
lips made Tyler Moore wipe his hand across his chin, attempting to hide his
cocky grin. At six-foot-one, with black, wavy hair outlining his chiseled
cheekbones and determined, square jaw, he was used to getting such suggestive
looks from the opposite sex. But he knew that looks could only get you so far
with a woman.
“How sorry are you?”
Missy’s eyes popped with
interest. “I…I’m
not sure what you mean, Mr. Moore.”
“How sorry are you that I won’t
be having
any fun this weekend, Missy?”
She fingered the lapel on her
blue blazer
adjacent to her right breast. “I would hate to think your stay here would only
be about business, Mr. Moore. If there was anything I could do to change
that….”
He felt a kick of satisfaction as
he gazed
into her hopeful eyes. “Perhaps you might come up with a few suggestions of
other ways I could spend my weekend in your wonderful hotel? We could go over
them later…at the bar, after you get off work.”
The pale blush blossoming on
her cheeks
was so becoming that Tyler almost began to believe their playful repartee had
been worth the effort.
“I’ll think about it, Mr.
Moore.”
“You do that, Missy. When you
have an
answer, you know where to find me.” He motioned to his overnight bag and black
suitcase by the desk. “Be a sweetheart, and have the porter take my bags to my
room. I have to meet a client in the bar before I go up to my suite.”
The flush on Missy’s cheeks
was positively
radiant. “Yes, Mr. Moore. Right away.”
Tyler turned from the polished
reception
desk, unable to hide his smug grin. No matter where he went, the lust in a
woman’s eyes never got old. The entire episode with the desk clerk had only
reinforced his belief that it was his confidence, and not his looks, that
always got a woman to give him what he wanted. He had learned long ago that his
handsome face could only take him so far in life, and had made a concerted
effort to take control of any situation. It was a philosophy he had
incorporated into every arena of his life.
“I’ll have to check back in with
sweet
little Missy. See how she looks without the blazer.” He strutted across the
lobby toward the arched entrance of the Rattlesnake
Bar.
A
warm glow
of honey, onyx, and a contemporary Western-theme greeted him as he stepped into
the cool bar. Perched on the brown leather barstools, an array of women sipped
on a myriad of colorful alcoholic concoctions while trying to chase away the
sweltering afternoon heat. Tyler noted how more than one set of eyes turned his
way as he strolled up to the bar. He checked his confidence at the door and
pushed all thoughts of possible late night hookups from his mind.
His flourishing oil and gas
business was
always more important than women. Besides, women were nothing more than a
distraction at this point in his life. Having just passed the milestone of his
fiftieth birthday, Tyler pondered that perhaps it was time for him to stop
pursuing such meaningless liaisons and settle down with a tolerable woman who
could cater to all of his needs.
“Two divorces are plenty,” he
reasoned as
he arrived at the onyx marble and teak-topped bar. Lightly stroking the smooth
surface of the marble, he remembered many of the encounters he had experienced
in that very bar. Snapshots of blurred faces and forgettable names skipped
across his mind. Some of the women had been exciting, a few horrific, but none
had been…memorable.
You know who was memorable, don’t you, Ty?
His inner voice
taunted. She was the one you let slip
through your fingers.
Tyler snickered at his
self-remonstrations. He hated to admit his inner demon was right, but it was.
She had happened so long ago, but he found it funny how advancing age only
seemed to make the memories of youth more poignant. It was as if growing older
brought into focus the emotions that the impetuosity of youth seemed to
blur.
Alexandrea Weis is an advanced practice
registered nurse who was born and raised in New Orleans. Her first novel, To My Senses, introduced readers to the world of Nicci Beauvoir and garnered
numerous awards and rave reviews. Her popular second Nicci Beauvoir novel, Recovery, won the Gold Medal for best romantic suspense from The Reader’s
Favorite Book Awards 2011, and was named best Romantic Suspense novel by the Spring
2011 NABE Pinnacle Book Awards. Her fourth novel, Broken
Wings, won best Contemporary Romance by the NABE Pinnacle Book Awards in 2012,
was a Silver Medal winner in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards for Romance,
as well as a finalist in the Reader’s Favorite Book Awards for Contemporary Romance for
2012. Her last novel, Acadian Waltz received honorable mention at the Readers’ Favorite
Book Awards for Best Contemporary Romance and was a Best Southern Fiction Finalist. A
permitted wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Weis rescues orphaned
and injured wildlife. She lives with her husband and pets in New Orleans.
Blogspot: http://alexandreaweiscom.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexandreaweis
