It's a rare opportunity for me to participate in a sweet boxed set, but I’m thrilled to be able to share my story Hard Candy Kisses in the Sweet, But Sexy Boxed Set! I have very few stories that are written without sex, but this one just seemed like what Patti Jo and Jim would want – all of their hard candy kisses to happen behind closed doors!
Hard Candy Kisses is the last book in the Matchmaking Chef series. I like for my Legend characters to make appearances in all of my books, if possible, and I realized that Kate and Mike, and Patti Jo Baker and Jim Hamilton, had not appeared in any other books besides Murder on the Mountain. This meant that I had to hook Jim and Patti Jo up, and I hope that I did their story justice!
I love writing quirky and fun characters like Patti Jo and pairing them with unlikely subjects.
Hard Candy Kisses was a fun write for me, and I really hope you enjoyed their story—and the series! If you have only visited Legend through the Matchmaking Chef series, be sure to look for my other books set in Legend, Tennessee, along with books by my friends and fellow authors who write about Legend—Janet Eaves, Jan Scarbrough, and Magdalena Scott. Suzie is likely going to retire from matchmaking soon, after all, there are only so many single people in the town of Legend, but be on the lookout for a cozy mystery featuring Suzie. Deadly Scoop will be available in 2015. Who knew that a simple scoop of ice cream could be a murder weapon?
Here’s
the book description for Hard Candy
Kisses:
New
Year’s Eve is just around the corner and Legend Elementary teacher Patti Jo
Baker has tried every trick in the book to land a date for the annual New
Year’s Eve Bash at The Lodge. This includes setting up a kissing booth at the
Legend Elementary Winter Carnival—a booth which Principal Jim Hamilton promptly
shuts down. Because if Patty Jo Baker is passing out kisses, any kind of
kisses, he wants to be both first, and last, in line—and he definitely doesn’t
want to sample them in front of the student body.
Whether
writing traditional contemporary romance or building paranormal worlds,
bestselling romance author, Maddie James, pens stories that frequently cross a
variety of romantic sub-genres. Sweet or spicy, suspense or comedy, western or
time-travel, her heroes and heroines always chase one thing—the happily-ever-after—whether they realize
it or not! Visit Maddie's website: www.maddiejames.com
And
here’s the opening!
“I
need a man.”
Patti
Jo Baker watched her best friend, Kate, turn her way and roll her eyes.
“Patti,” she began, shifting her teacher’s bag full of papers on her shoulder,
“You’ve been saying that for years.
If you
need a man so darned bad, why don’t you go out and get you one?”
Feeling
a little defensive, Patti shot up off her teacher desk chair and, hands on
hips, glared at Kate. “It’s not like I haven’t been trying!”
Kate
waved her off. “Oh, posh. Get serious. What have you really been doing besides draping
yourself in tinsel and hanging out at Hooters in Pigeon Forge? I tell you,
Patti, the men at Hooters are not there to find a date. At least not one to
take home to Mama.”
“I
know, they go for the wings.”
“And
the breasts.” She grasped her arm. “Face it. They are just there to ogle.
That’s not where you find a man.”
“So
where do I find one then? You tell me. Because I’ve tried every online.com matchmaking
service there is, and I’ve done them for years. You know, matched.com, singlemingle.com,
marryarichguy.com, cuddleup.com and even that ebliss.com which costs big money.
I splurged. And guess what? They hooked me up with a little Republican Jewish
guy with small hands. I clearly stated that I was liberal and Baptist. What were
they thinking? Besides, those places don’t work, and the same guys are on all
of them, and they’ve been there for years.”
“Small
hands? What does that have to do with anything?”
“I
like a man who can handle me.”
“Patti!”
“I
mean, shoot. Small hands are dainty. Who the hell wants a man with small hands
or, for that matter, feet? I can’t believe they matched me with that guy. My
perfect-for-you match. Geez.”
Kate
arched a brow. “That should tell you something.”
“What
do you mean?”
“Those
things don’t work.”
“But
have you seen the commercials? And the testimonials?”
“How
many years have you been on all of those sites?”
She
shrugged. “I dunno. Five? Six?”
Patti
thought about that for a moment, glancing off over her empty classroom. How else
was one supposed to meet a man in Legend, Tennessee? She knew every single man
in town and there were no prospects here. None. She was forced to go out of her
boundaries. She needed a man bigger than what Legend could offer—larger than
life, worldly—one that would worship the ground she walked on and love her
quirkiness unconditionally. But how far would she go? She’d heard of a woman
once who found a husband by placing an ad in the magazine Mother Earth.
Maybe
she should try something like that. Not Mother
Earth, perhaps, but maybe something like A Man’s Cave or Alaskan
Wilderness.
But
not now. It was the end of the day, and she was tired. The classroom Christmas
party was over, and the kids just left for their winter break. She had a mess
to clean up in here, but she wasn’t in the mood.
Sighing,
she looked back to Kate. “I guess I would settle for a date for New Year’s
Eve.”
“Hire
Suzie.”
“Who?”
“Suzie
Matthews. You know, The Matchmaking Chef.”
***
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