We're
excited to share the cover of Secondhand
Heart by Kristen Strassel! Check
out the excerpt below and let us know what you think!
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Title: Secondhand
Heart
Author: Kristen Strassel
Age: NA
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Scheduled to release: October 7, 2014
Cover designer: Designs
by Hang Le
Pre-Order Link:
Blurb:
Daisy Mangold thought she had her life figured out until a
roadside bomb in Afghanistan changed everything. Now a twenty-one-year-old
military widow, Daisy moves back home to start over.
Cam Hunter won the reality show The Spotlight, and thought
he was on his way to becoming the next big country star. But when whispers of
how he won begin to surface, Nashville is less than welcoming. After he loses
his record deal, Cam heads back home to open a country bar.
When Daisy meets Cam, she isn’t sure she’s ready to let go
of the ghosts from her past. Cam’s ex-wife isn’t ready to move on either, and
the tragedy she causes will expose Cam’s secrets and shatter Daisy’s
family.
Will Daisy be able to follow her heart into a future with
Cam, or will her grief keep her trapped in a past that no longer
exists?
Excerpt:
The lights went down, and the crowd went wild and swarmed
the stage. The VIP section was to the right of the stage, and elevated just
enough that we could see everything perfectly. A cover band had played up until
now, but Cam Hunter was headlining his grand opening celebration.
Ev and Bree cheered when Cam came onstage, so I did too,
more to be polite. He was picking up my bar tab tonight, after all. I’d never
met Cam in person. I’d only heard Ev rave about him and of course I’d seen him
on TV. He was taller than I expected, his broad shoulders straining the fabric
of his blue and orange plaid shirt. I know, the shirt sounds hideous, but it
actually looked hot on him. Bree’d said it enough tonight, I was thinking like
her now. He wore the top few buttons open, showing just a hint of his tan
chest. I couldn’t see his eyes under the brim of his white cowboy hat, but his
sandy hair curled around the collar of the shirt. He opened the show with his
biggest hit, Lonely Heart Saloon, in case you were wondering where he got the
name for the bar. I found myself staring at his lips as he sang the words of
the song, watching them move in front of the microphone, wondering what those
lips would feel like on my skin.
I shook myself back to reality, looking at Ev and Bree
singing along, and I was the last thing on their mind. Looking back at the
stage, I forced myself to look anywhere but Cam’s mouth. Only being able to see
the lower part of his face drove me crazy. What was hiding behind those eyes?
Were they laughing, twinkling? Hell, I didn’t even know what color they were,
and suddenly, I needed to know.
Look away from his face. Jesus Christ.
The faded denim made his thighs look amazing. Who the hell checked out
thighs? Well, if you saw these thighs,
they were worth checking out. On The Spotlight, Cam had been an overgrown,
almost goofy kid, playing a role. Doing what he was told. Now, on this tiny
stage just feet away from us in this club, it was obvious he was all man. All
smoking hot man.
When Cam said good night and thanked us all for coming, I
was surprised how disappointed I felt. I’d been so lost in watching him play,
not only his guitar, but teasing the fans in the front row by dipping down low,
those delicious thighs spread wide and staying just out of their reach, his
fingers brushing their fingertips, I got so lost in my own fantasies that I
forgot all about time.
After the show, my skin was all tingly and strange. Cam had
awakened something inside of me I hadn’t even known was sleeping. But at the
same time, it felt wrong. I shouldn’t be thinking that way about any man, yet.
My husband hadn’t been dead a year.
But I wasn’t dead.
This was safe, lusting after some musician who didn’t know I
even existed. No harm could come of it.
Cam had built his entire career off of people wanting to be him or be
with him. It was a fantasy, nothing more.
The crowd had thinned out a bit after the show, but since
this was an Ev production, we were closing down the place. Bree babbled about
the show, the songs I didn’t know. “Cam’s record company didn’t renew his
contract. Can you believe that shit? So maybe he’ll be playing here all the
time.”
If life could even be that kind. “It is his bar, so that
would make sense. Cheap labor.” I giggled at my own joke. Beer made me
hilarious. I thought so anyway.
“I read online that he’s thinking of taking a new direction
with his music. Collaborating with some new songwriters and stuff,” Bree
continued. “Maybe we’ll get to hear it first.”
Ev had disappeared again, to the mysterious backstage
area. She came back out, with a huge
grin on her face.
And Cam following her.
Holy shit, she was bringing him over to us. Bree started
hyperventilating and squeezing my arm. “Calm down,” I hissed. “You’re going to
break a bone. I can’t act cool if my arm is dangling below my
elbow.”
“How can you even joke at a time like this? Oh my God, here
he is.” Bree let go of my arm, and blood resumed flowing semi normally. I
didn’t know what to say to him.
“Oh my God, I love you.” Bree’s teeth could never catch all
the thoughts that came rambling out of her brain, even if she wasn’t at least
three beers deep.
Cam took it in stride. “I love you, too.” He took her hand
in his, and brought it up to his mouth and kissed it. Bree gave an Oscar worthy
performance and did not faint.
“And this is my sister, Daisy.” Ev brought his attention to
me.
His eyes were blue.
The kind of blue that jumped out against his tan skin,
almost perfectly matched with his shirt. Somehow, my hand landed in his, I only
knew because the electricity that danced along my skin.
“Evey’s told me all about you.” Nobody called my sister Evey
anymore. It surprised me, and I liked it. I missed her being Evey. One side of
his mouth went up higher than the other when he smiled, and the skin around his
eyes crinkled at the corners. I knew too
much time had passed for me to reply, but my brain kept short circuiting every
time I tried.
“Not everything.” Ev bumped into him playfully. “You know,
Daisy’s been looking for a job—“
“No, I haven’t.” What the hell was she doing?
Her mouth dropped, and she shot me a look as if she couldn’t
believe I could be so stupid. “Do you have a job?”
“No.”
“So, as I was saying, my sister could use a job.” Ev rocked
back and forth on her heels and batted her eyelashes at Cam. “You still hiring
here?”
She totally caught Cam off guard. Great. “I’m sure we could
make room for you, Daisy.” His smile made me melt, and almost forget I wanted
to kill Ev. I liked the way my name sounded coming out of his mouth. “Why don’t
you come in tomorrow for an interview?”
“Okay.” I think I squeaked. Ev, satisfied with mortifying
me, moved in closer to Cam and continued chatting with him. He kept looking
over at me, probably trying to figure out if I’d make a good bar back or
dishwasher.
And he still held my hand.
“I’ve got to go. It was nice talking to you ladies.” He
bowed his head and squeezed my hand one last time before he let go. “Daisy,
let’s say, one tomorrow?”
I nodded, then watched him walk away and join another group.
I know you’re wondering how his ass looked. Amazing.
About the Author:
Kristen shares a birthday with Steven Tyler and Diana Ross.
She spends each day striving to be half as fabulous as they are. She’s worn
many hats, none as flattering as her cowboy hat: banker, retail manager,
fledgling web designer, world’s worst cocktail waitress, panty slinger, now
makeup artist and author. She loves sunshine, live music, the middle of
nowhere, and finding new things to put in her house.
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