The best mistake she ever made…Tessa Brooks is dated. Not dated as in going out with men—having dinner and light conversation in poorly lit restaurants in hopes of finding someone with whom she can get naked. No, Tessa is dated. She's stuck in the year her life changed.With her twenty-year high school reunion coming up, Tessa’s daughter has surprised her with a makeover on the Jade Star television talk show. However, that’s not the only surprise. Enter Matt Toler, the best mistake she ever made. Tessa might not feel a ribbon of panic tightening around her neck if Matt had spoken to her again after their one-night sexual encounter…and if knew he had a daughter.
Read the Excerpt
Applause.
Tessa Brooks’ heart hadn’t pounded this hard since she’d
gone to the Bon Jovi rock concert when she was seventeen.
“It’s time.”
The stage tech gave Tessa the signal. She took a deep,
calming breath. Then she tossed her head, loving the way her new chic haircut
felt like silk against her bare shoulders. The formfitting, knee-length dress
molded to her body like a second skin, clinging to all the curves she worked
hard to keep from turning into rolls. She felt like a hot Hollywood
starlet—sexy and proud of it.
Adrenaline surged. Blood pumped through her veins as she
walked onto the stage. Her ankles wobbled on three-inch heels. Yikes, one foot
in front of the other so she didn’t face-plant in front of the studio audience
and millions of television fans. She was more accustomed to running shoes or
Crocs because she was a single mom and operating room nurse. She didn’t have
time for a social life. Hence the high heels, new haircut and slinky dress. She
was getting a life as her daughter
called it.
Cheers erupted. The glaring spotlights blinded her, although
she could still see the silhouette of the audience giving her a standing
ovation. Whistles and catcalls took her breath away.
Tessa spun in a circle and stopped.
Stunned.
Not only did her beautiful daughter stand a few feet away
with tears streaming down her cheeks, but she saw her own reflection in the
mirrors behind the host, Jade, of the Jade Star Show.
Jade endeavored to turn everyday women into glamorous
celebrities for a day.
Tessa barely recognized herself. Gone were the baggy olive green
hospital scrubs she wore to work every day. Although her hair still had enough
length to pull back to her customary ponytail, today her dirty blonde locks
glistened with golden highlights. Cornflower blue eyes sparkled and her lips
turned up in a playful smile she couldn’t contain. The miracle transformation
was amazing. That’s me. A heavy tear
held to her lower lashes then dripped onto her cheek.
Tessa kissed her fingers and waved to her nineteen-year-old
daughter. Brianna ran across the stage and threw her arms around her mother
like she did when she was a child.
“Thank you.” Tessa laughed and hugged her tightly. She
rubbed her hand over her daughter’s back. They’d been through a lot together.
They grew up together. That’s what happened when you got pregnant at the end of
your senior year of high school. It had been just the two of them since then,
because Brianna never knew her father.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I can’t believe you did this.”
Tessa’s high school reunion was a few days away. However,
this plan had been hatched weeks ago. Her daughter had called the Jade Star
daytime talk show and asked for a makeover. Last night Tessa and Brianna
boarded a plane in Salt Lake City bound for Los Angeles, and today
she was on national television.
Her daughter was right. Maybe she had let herself become dated. Well not dated as in going out with a
man and having dinner and light conversation in a poorly lit restaurant with
the hope of finding someone with whom she could get naked. No she was dated. And the year she seemed stuck in
was 1988. The year her life changed.
“Mom.” Brianna wiped tears from Tessa’s cheeks. “You look
beautiful.”
“So do you.”
Brianna turned in a circle. The show had given her daughter
a chic new makeover as well.
“Tessa,” Jade purred into her microphone.
Tessa turned her attention to the host.
“Today isn’t just about makeovers.” The host addressed the
audience at the same time a prompt was given for more applause. “This is a
reunion show.” She waited as the noise built to a crescendo, then she quieted
the group. “Your twenty-year high school reunion is next week. And your
daughter has another surprise for you.”
Tessa hesitated, and Brianna gently grasped her hand and led
her to the seats in the center of the stage. Jade walked into the audience. The
lights dimmed with the exception of a spotlight focused on Tessa.
“Brianna, would you like to tell your mom what the surprise
is?”
Tessa pivoted to Brianna. Her heart pounded and her palms
grew moist. “What else have you done?”
Brianna sandwiched her hands between her knees and pulled
her bottom lip between her teeth. Not a good sign. Brianna was nervous. Tessa
relied on patience as her daughter took a deep breath. Then her shoulders
relaxed and a reluctant smile found her lips.
Brianna grabbed onto Tessa’s hands and held tightly. “I
asked the show for a special favor.”
An uneasy feeling roiled in Tessa’s stomach. She’d never
believed in premonition, but she had the distinct impression she was about to
experience the reason most sane people do not go on daytime talk shows. Nothing
good ever happened to people who heard a secret. At least she knew her spouse
wasn’t cheating and she had the stretch marks to prove maternity.
“Your daughter asked us to reunite you with someone special
from your past.”
Oh God, not a secret crush.
Jade turned to the audience. “Should we give her the first
hint?”
The audience applauded. Colored strobes and flashing lights
pulsed over the stage. With or Without
You by U2 piped through sound system. Tessa transported back to prom night,
1988, and her heart skipped a beat. Brianna didn’t…wouldn’t…couldn’t… Oh God,
if she did…
“Are you ready for your second clue?” Jade crooned.
Tessa didn’t need another clue. Only two men had been with
her the night that song played. Please,
please, please, she privately prayed. Be
bachelor number one. Stan Yarrow owned and operated the local pharmacy back
home. She and Stan had been friends and he’d taken her to the prom, but the
real dance hadn’t taken place until much later…with bachelor number two…Matt
Toler.
She swiveled around, eyes darting about searching for a face
she’d prayed she’d never see again but also lingered in her thoughts more than
she cared to admit. How could he not? They’d shared an incredible night…one
stupid, irresponsible, romantic encounter that had changed her life.
Bright lights flashed above the audience.
Jade stood next to Tessa. “Here is your second clue.”
The voice that had haunted her dreams for the last twenty
years blended with the music. Just as he sounded in 1988, Matt Toler said
hello. Oh crap, it was him! He was here…somewhere. She glanced around the
stage, over the audience, to the ceiling where the detached voice echoed.
Suddenly her skin grew clammy. Her attention shifted to
Brianna. What in the hell had they told him to get him to come on the show? Did
he remember her too? She might not feel this ribbon of panic tightening around
her neck if Matt Toler had known her before April 23, 1988…or had ever spoken
to her one single time after Sunday,
April 24.
Matt stood on the other side of a silk screen. He couldn’t
believe he actually agreed to come on a daytime television show to rekindle
with a high school sweetheart. The muted melody from the theme song of his
senior prom blended with ohs and ahs from the studio audience.
He’d received the call a week ago. The producer from the
Jade Star daytime talk show told him someone from his high school days wanted
to reconnect. They hadn’t been specific, but the message had been clear. The
show was reuniting lost lovers.
Matt had dated girls, but there had only been one who would
call a daytime talk show for a second chance hook-up.
Heather Krump. Cheerleader, class vice president, she’d
dated him off and on for most of their senior year. They’d had some crazy
times. Then he’d left for college right after high school and she’d become a
cheerleader for a professional basketball team back East.
The stage tech snapped his fingers and pointed to the side
entrance leading to the studio set.
More applause sounded. His stomach tightened. Lately he’d
lacked excitement in his life. This wasn’t exactly what he had in mind when
seeking adventure, but who was he to balk at opportunity knocking? He and
Heather had history…mostly good history.
He couldn’t wait to see what she looked like now. In high
school she’d been lean muscle, long dark hair, and had an enticing ass that
molded to his palms. He took a deep breath and settled the flash of sexual
awareness heating his blood. The last thing he needed was to walk across the
stage with a blatant erection.
His hands formed fists at his sides. Tension pulled at his
forehead. He relaxed his face into a smile, unclenched his hands and walked
into the bright lights.
Confusion crept into his mind. He vaguely recognized the
woman on the stage and there was something familiar in the younger woman with
her. The younger woman smiled wide with straight white teeth glinting under the
bright stage lights. He couldn’t say the same thing for the older woman. Her
mouth narrowed into a thin-lipped line. Her eyes widened when she looked at
him.
Oh hell, she was clearly not Heather. This woman had blonde
hair that moved softly around her shoulders when she looked from him to the
woman at her side. Subtle makeup, incredible figure, he supposed it could be
Heather. He didn’t remember Heather being so petite, but hell, twenty years
could dull anyone’s memory.
Finally the hum of voices around him drilled through the
confusion. He turned to Jade Star.
“Matt, are you surprised?” Jade put her arm around the older
woman.
Uneasiness squirmed around in his gut. How could he pluck
the name out of Jade and not look like he’d forgotten the woman? Not the woman,
he was sure he knew her from high school. But what was her name? Perhaps if he
wasn’t a bit jetlagged and hadn’t just completed a heavy week at the hospital,
he could remember. Doctors tended to have great memories. Two years could pass
and he remembered a patient’s name, but come on, twenty years? He wished Jade
would put him out of his misery rather than continuing to stand there and stare
at him as if he’d grown a third eye and uni-brow.
Hell. He’d done it often enough, he’d bullshit his way
through. Opening his arms, he smiled big and bright for the host, the
television audience, millions of viewers at home and the almost-stranger in
front of him. Then he pulled the blonde woman into his arms and gave her a hug.
Interesting, he felt her breath catch. Beneath the silk of
her dress she trembled. Not intending a lustful embrace, but with his hands
sliding against the smooth feminine contours of her back, detailing her ribs,
he pulled her a bit tighter.
She responded. The audience erupted in cheers and applause.
“I’m sorry.” Her lips brushed the shell of his ear when she
whispered.
Chills broke across his skin at the seductive tone to her
voice. She could make millions as a phone sex provider. Two little words had
his cock hardening and images of this hug taking place with less clothing. Male
lust, sure, but he didn’t consider himself a letch. He worked with nurses, had
female patients. Imagining a woman naked thirty seconds after he met her was
definitely off-par for him. In fact, he could really only remember one other
time when lust had sucker-punched him in the gut.
Tessa Brooks.
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