I’m so excited about my new series, Big & Beautiful. It will be out early 2015, but I started writing the first of the eight books in the series this week.
Book One (I haven’t settled on a title yet) is about Mandy Ryan, an overweight woman who loves her life until it gets complicated by a man she never imagined would love her. Xander chases her and they end up dating, but old insecurities die hard.
Mandy and Xander seem perfect for each other, but things aren’t always as they seem. When she meets his friends Mandy sees a different side of Xander. A side she feared. A side she never wanted to know about.
A side she’s not sure she can ever un-see.
Here’s a little teaser for you. Sign up below for my newsletter so you can get all the latest on the Big & Beautiful series!
“Western New York Health, Mandy speaking. How can I help you today?”
“Mandy, it’s good to hear your voice.”
It was him. Fuck! Why was he calling me again? And why were my nipples jumping up to say hi on their own.
“Xander, how are you? Did you get your EOB?” I was breathing heavily, trying not to be too excited that he called me. After all, it was probably another problem with his claim.
“You remember me?”
“Uh,” I stammered. Shit! I should have let him reintroduce himself. Isn’t the first rule of getting a guy to like you to play hard to get? And wouldn’t making him think you forgot him fall under playing hard to get?
Yeah, there was a reason I didn’t date.
“I, um, I do remember you. Your voice is very distinct.”
‘Very distinct?’ What the hell was that supposed to mean?
“Distinct. And here I got my hopes up that maybe you had the slightest interest in me.”
Did he really just say that? To me? I thought I was going to have a heart attack. And I couldn’t even blame the stairs. I worked on the first floor.
“I don’t know anything about you Xander. I don’t spend too much of my time wondering about men that I have only spoken to once and don’t know.”
‘LIAR’ my mind screamed. I made it sound like I hadn’t been on Facebook every day to see if he mentioned our conversation, or added new pictures of himself. Nope, I hadn’t gone through his profile with a fine-toothed comb looking for indicators that he had a girlfriend, or wife. And I certainly hadn’t been thinking about him day and night.
Yeah, right.
“Well, I think we need to change that. I was hoping you would meet me sometime. I’d love the chance to maybe buy you a cup of coffee.”
I smiled. No, it wasn’t a smile. It was a shit-eating grin. I couldn’t stop it from covering my face, making me feel like one of the beautiful. He was gorgeous, simply stunning. And he was asking me out.
Me!
Mandy Ryan!
“I actually don’t drink coffee,” I said. I had no idea how to respond. I felt like I knew a secret that he didn’t know. Of course I did. I knew who I was, and I knew who he was. He thought my voice matched the rest of me. He would be expecting a supermodel and getting a beached whale.
Xander laughed softly, the sound filling me. I could picture his smile, the smile that had been haunting my dreams. I wanted to see that smile in person. I ached to meet him. I couldn’t explain it. Something felt different about him. Something that made me want to say yes.
“You don’t have to drink coffee. We could go out for a beer or hell, a water, for all I care.”
I laughed. He was charming. It warmed me. No, it heated me. Like burning in hell sort of heated me. He wasn’t saying anything particularly charming, but I was already aching for him.
“I love the sound of your laugh. God, I want to see the smile on your face when you laugh. I can only dream of how beautiful you are.”
I opened my mouth to tell him the truth. To tell him I wasn’t the woman he thought I was. He deserved the truth before he tried to take me out.
Right?
I’m having a blast creating their story. Mandy is fun and snarky and Xander is sweet and sexy. They will be fun to watch come together!
