Worst Valentine's Day Ever: A Lonely Hearts Romance Anthology

by Kilby Blades

  Gathering continued and, with each new thought, she started dropping heaps of sticks and twigs onto the mound. “That’s for my letting go of my dreams,” she said dropping more leaves.

  “Goddess, this twig represents my silent self, the one who lets others make decisions,” she said. And on she went, dropping sticks, twigs, bark into the fire, and with each gesture she offered more of her inadequacies, self-recrimination, helplessness, fear. She continued until she had no more to offer. Reaching the deepest turning point, her offerings came to one final gesture: she opened her arms to the sky.

  “Please let my loving truth surface. Let my creativity emerge. Let my true self rise to protect my children, and to have love in my life.”

  Sitting in silence now, she lit the smallest twig and reached in to light more and more until finally she understood that she was laying her funeral pyre and respectfully putting to death her misgivings. She leaned into the grieving and self-forgiveness and unleashed her lamentations of a life misspent. Bit by bit, her tearful wail became the song to honor her future and embrace all the fullness that life can offer. She stayed, warming herself by the fire until the last ember had extinguished. Breathing in the cool air she stood.

  She slipped once again into the driver’s seat, turned on the engine and slowly drove back to work. The radio was playing another fortuitous song, Billie Holiday’s rendition of God Bless the Child. Listening carefully, she understood the lyrics in ways she had never known before. She parked her chariot right in front of the door. The store was getting ready to close.

  Walking in the front door she was greeted by Rainbow.

  “I hope it was worth it, girl. I think it was. See you on Saturday.” And, with that, Rainbow walked out of the store.

  Logan came swiftly to the front of the store once he heard the voices.

  “Thank God, you’re back,” he said, almost out of breath.

  “I am back, I really am. And your car is fine. Thanks for everything. It’s a lovely ride. Here’s your keys,” she said tossing them toward Logan.

  She started toward the back of the store. He reached out and touched her on the arm. She turned to face him.

  “I wonder if maybe you might go to dinner with me? I enjoyed our conversation, as strange as it was,” he said.

  She looked deep into his eyes, clarifying whether he was serious or not. She decided he meant what he said.

  “I’m not really in a good place to go to dinner. I’ve got some serious work to do before I can date anyone,” she said.

  He pulled out a business card and handed it to her. “If you ever change your mind, I would enjoy hearing from you,” he said.

  She pulled the card from his hand and took a moment to read it.

  Logan Wong, Inc.

  Law offices of Logan Wong

  Specializing in Family Law

  She smiled and shook her hair out of her eyes.

  “Okay Mr. Wong, I’ll let you take me to dinner on a couple of conditions,” she said.

  He nodded in agreement.

  “First, you handle the custody suit against my ex-husband, pro-bono. Second, you win. Third, I pick the restaurant,” she said smiling.

  Part Two

  THE AUTHORS

  L.G. O’Connor

  Author of “Perfect Odds”

  L.G. O’Connor writes smart, sexy, and soulful romantic fiction. She is the author of the multi-award winning second chance romance trilogy, Caught Up in Love, which features the romantic lives of three women in the same New Jersey family as they deal with love, loss, and family secrets. L.G. is also the author of the angel paranormal romance series, The Angelorum Twelve Chronicles, about a modern day investment banker and her friends who find themselves embroiled in the final battle between a cadre of angels and Lucifer’s Dark Ones. Her upcoming series, a romantic suspense, takes place in Pennsylvania’s Amish Country. To learn more about her books, get some freebies, and stay in touch, check out her author website.

  When L.G. isn’t writing, she’s working her day job in corporate marketing. A native ‘Jersey Girl,’ she’s always in search of the perfect cup of coffee and fine Italian leather. She lives a life of adventure, navigating her way through dog toys and soccer balls and loaning herself out for the occasional decorating project. When she’s feeling particularly brave—she enters the kitchen.

  To get more Liv & Bach and Lucky in Love, Inc. books when they release, sign up for LG’s newsletter.

  Marie Booth

  Author of “Love Ya, Baby”

  Marie Booth is an award-winning author of spicy contemporary romance and hot paranormal romance and makes her home in the San Francisco area. A musical theatre geek with two perfect daughters, Marie also writes sweeter paranormal romance as Gayle Parness and can usually be heard reading her latest manuscript out loud to a very tolerant big-boned black cat named Stealth.

  Love Ya, Baby is from Marie’s The Gate Series world. Damien and Victor, Rachel’s two bosses, are the heroes of the first two books, Stroke and Simmer. Book 3, Split, will be out this spring and Rachel Abercrombie Winchester and her hubby, Marley will be recurring characters in the series.

  If you want to know more about her books, sign up for Marie's and Gayle's newsletters at www.mariebooth.com and www.gayleparness.com

  Eva Moore

  Author of “Love it or Leave It”

  Eva Moore writes sexy contemporary romances in between soccer practices and glasses of rosé. She lives in Silicon Valley, after moving around the world and back, with her college sweetheart, her three gorgeous girls, and a Shih Tzu who thinks he is a cat. She can be found most nights hiding in her closet-office, scribbling away, and loves to hear from the outside world. Please visit her at www.4evamoore.com.

  If you’d like to know about future releases and giveaways, you can join her newsletter here:http://bit.ly/evamoorenews

  Kilby Blades

  Author of “Right Hand Man”

  Kilby Blades is a fresh new voice in smart contemporary romance. Critics laud her "feminist fiction", noting empowered heroines and multi-dimensional heroes. Her debut novel, "Snapdragon", was a ten-time finalist and a five-time winner for honors including the HOLT Medallion, the Publisher's Weekly BookLife Prize, and the Foreword Indie Award. She has been nodded for a total of twenty honors for her complete library, including a win for Best Debut Author in the 2018 RSJ's Emma Awards.

  When she's not writing, Kilby goes to movie matinees alone, where she eats Chocolate Pocky and buttered popcorn and usually smuggles in not-a-little-bit of red wine. She procrastinates from the difficult process of writing by oversharing on Facebook and giving away cool stuff to her newsletter subscribers. Kilby is a mother, a social-justice fighter, and above all else, a glutton for a good story.

  Erin St. Charles

  Author of “A Wolf at the Wedding”

  Erin grew up watching Star Trek and reading Barbara Cartland novels (don't hate), wishing she could create something that brings her love of science fiction together with her love of romance. Still a romantic nerd at heart, she writes sensual, diverse stories that blend fantasy, adventure, and love.

  Look for the rest of Bubba and Vanessa’s story, coming Summer of 2019! Join Erin’s newsletter for updates for this and other Gods and Concubines universe stories.

  https://erinstcharles.com/newsletter/

  R.L. Merrill

  Author of “Valentine’s Day from Hell”

  Once upon a time a teacher, tattoo collector, mom, and rock 'n' roll kinda gal opened up a doc and starting purging her demons. Several self-published books and a debut gay romance with Dreamspinner Press later, R.L. Merrill is still striving to find that perfect balance between real-life and happily ever after. She writes stories set in the places she loves most and she loves connecting with other authors online at the RT Booklovers Convention and RWA chapter meetings, of which she’s been a member since 2014.

  A sucker for underdogs, Ro has adopted cats, dogs, rats, snakes, fish and
a chameleon named Godzilla. Her love of horror is evident the moment you walk in her door and find yourself surrounded by decorative skulls and quirky artwork from around the world. You can find her lurking on social media where she loves connecting with readers, educating America’s youth, being a mom taxi to two busy kids, in the tattoo chair trying desperately to get that back piece finished, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area. www.rlmerrillauthor.com

  Preslaysa Williams

  Author of “Cupid’s Revenge”

  Preslaysa Williams is an award-winning author who writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction with an Afro-Filipina twist. Proud of her African-American and Filipino heritage, she loves sharing her culture with her readers. She is currently earning her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University, and she has an undergraduate degree in Spanish Language & Literature from Columbia University.

  Preslaysa is also a professional actress, a planner nerd, an avid bookworm, and a homeschool mom who often wears mismatched socks. To follow along with her busy life, visit her at www.preslaysa.com where you can sign up for her newsletter community.

  Averil Daye

  Averil Daye is a journalist whose true creative love is writing romance and romantic suspense. Her first novel, “Insignia” was a 2018 Emma Award finalist. She lives in Atlanta with her three amazing children, two annoying dogs and an evil cat.

  Deb Lee

  Author of “Chasing the Night”

  Deb Lee found her voice writing what others wish they could say. She channels it in the form of contemporary romance, with plenty of emotional baggage to give her readers all the feels. Deb has the perfect husband and four spritely children, who test her sanity daily. She’s also an avid swimmer, which ironically enough, happens to be the one place her children can’t find her.

  Deb lives in Northern California with her family and enough animals to make people really start to question her sanity. Find her on her ever-changing-until-she-eventually-gets-it-right website at www.debbilee.com. Also find her on Facebook and Instagram at WriterDebLee. And please share stories about your crazy kids. She yearns to normalize her daily dose of children-induced insanity.

  Ceri Grenelle

  Author of “Definition of Love”

  Ceri is the author of quirky and sexy contemporary romance novels. She has a major weakness for sappy cuddle moments, hot and steamy sex scenes, and a penchant for writing snappy and sarcastic dialogue. She loves romance that isn't afraid to be awkward and uncouth and thrives on flawed characters with big hearts. You can find her haunting the Twitter machine or posting pictures of her ridiculous cats on Instagram.

  Daphne Masque

  Author of “Heartbreak in High Gear”

  Daphne Masque is brimming with stories about romance in the theatre. The longest relationship of her life has been with theatre. Either as a performer, director, educator and writer she's never far from working on a production where she's continually honing her craft and challenging her own skills. The second longest relationship of her life has been love and romance. Writing has taken up the last fifteen hears of her life, with plays, short stories and now Romance Novels. The novels have grown out of the desire to share her experience with people who love both romance and theatre. Having sat in thousands of rehearsals, hundreds of play readings, dozens of costume fittings and an incalculable number of hours set building she feels ready to bring you a wide breadth of stories with some factual accuracy. Please join Daphne in her sometimes wacky, often fascinating, naturally heartfelt, journey into backstage romance.

  Also in the “Worst Day Ever” Anthology Series

  Worst Holiday Ever: A Family Drama Romance Anthology