When It's All Said and Done by Denise N. Wheatley - Book Tour + Giveaway
When It's All Said & Done
by Denise N. Wheatley
Genre:
Contemporary Romance
Contemporary Romance
Savvy, fun-loving writer Leslie James dreams of one day joining Limelight
magazine’s writing staff. In the meantime, she keeps her
journalistic skills sharp with Blissful Beauties, a beauty blog that
celebrates all women.
magazine’s writing staff. In the meantime, she keeps her
journalistic skills sharp with Blissful Beauties, a beauty blog that
celebrates all women.
Leslie’s passion for writing takes her mind off her current relationship
status: Single. She’s okay with leaving love out of the equation,
until she meets Michael—a handsome, sexy single father and sports
journalist with everything Leslie could want in a man. At the urging
of her supportive, sassy best friend Crystal, Leslie befriends
Michael but insists that they remain strictly platonic, but Michael
has other plans. He’s determined to make Leslie his lady for life,
and as their undeniable chemistry begins to sizzle, Leslie is
powerless to resist him.
status: Single. She’s okay with leaving love out of the equation,
until she meets Michael—a handsome, sexy single father and sports
journalist with everything Leslie could want in a man. At the urging
of her supportive, sassy best friend Crystal, Leslie befriends
Michael but insists that they remain strictly platonic, but Michael
has other plans. He’s determined to make Leslie his lady for life,
and as their undeniable chemistry begins to sizzle, Leslie is
powerless to resist him.
But their budding romance is abruptly cut short when Michael’s ex-wife
suddenly resurfaces, wanting to rekindle their relationship. Will the
love Leslie has for Michael ever be enough to truly win his heart?
suddenly resurfaces, wanting to rekindle their relationship. Will the
love Leslie has for Michael ever be enough to truly win his heart?
Reader Alert! Leslie James is at her wits’ end when it comes to love. The
minute she decides to throw in the towel, gorgeous and charming
Michael Allgood comes along. Mesmerized by this fine specimen of a
man, and against her better judgement, Leslie decides to give him a
chance—but she regrets that decision when his greedy ex-wife Mia
suddenly shows up on his doorstep. Can Michael prove to Leslie that
his intentions are good and he wants a love with her that’ll last forever?
minute she decides to throw in the towel, gorgeous and charming
Michael Allgood comes along. Mesmerized by this fine specimen of a
man, and against her better judgement, Leslie decides to give him a
chance—but she regrets that decision when his greedy ex-wife Mia
suddenly shows up on his doorstep. Can Michael prove to Leslie that
his intentions are good and he wants a love with her that’ll last forever?
To My Readers: I’ve been a lover of romance for as long as I can
remember. WHEN IT’S ALL SAID & DONE is fun, contemporary
romantic comedy that’s very close to my heart. As the novel came to
fruition, I found myself wanting to be friends with the smart, savvy,
beautiful women in the book and date the handsome, strong, sexy, men!
My goal was to tell an entertaining story that embodies matters of
the heart and would leave readers thinking about these colorful
characters long after the final chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it
as much as I enjoyed writing it!
remember. WHEN IT’S ALL SAID & DONE is fun, contemporary
romantic comedy that’s very close to my heart. As the novel came to
fruition, I found myself wanting to be friends with the smart, savvy,
beautiful women in the book and date the handsome, strong, sexy, men!
My goal was to tell an entertaining story that embodies matters of
the heart and would leave readers thinking about these colorful
characters long after the final chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it
as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Amazon
* B&N
* Red
Sage Publishing
* B&N
* Red
Sage Publishing
Once Michael finished cooking breakfast, he and Leslie headed into
the living room to watch college basketball. The twosome chatted about a little
bit of everything as they ate. And then, just when they sat their plates down
on the coffee table, Michael turned to Leslie.
“I love you,” he said softly.
She stared blankly at him, thinking she must’ve misheard him.
“You…what?”
“I love you.”
Leslie’s chest began to tingle, and her eyes teared up a bit. The
sweet, sincere look on Michael’s face was beyond words. She was positive that
she’d never felt this way about anyone before in her life.
“I love you, too.”
Michael wrapped his arms around her. He leaned in, and she closed
her eyes, waiting to feel the soft, warm touch of his lips. And then, just when
the tip of his nose gently brushed against hers, she heard the sound of keys
rattling outside of the door.
Michael stopped abruptly. “Did you hear that?”
“I did. It sounds like somebody’s coming in.”
Michael jumped up and walked over to the door. Before he could
turn the knob, it flew open, and Tyler came running inside.
“Daddy! Daddy!” he yelled.
“Hey, what’s up little man!” Michael said, picking him up.
Leslie stood up, smiling and waving at Tyler. Then she walked
around the couch and waited nervously for Michael’s mother to walk in.
She hadn’t expected to meet his mom this soon, especially under these
circumstances.
“Hello Michael,” a sexy-sounding female voice said. It sounded
nothing like his mother.
Leslie watched as a beautiful woman carrying a designer suitcase
appeared in the doorway. It was, in fact, not Michael’s mother. It was
his ex-wife, Mia.
Leslie’s entire body went numb. She eyed Mia, noticing how tall
and curvaceously thin she was. Her jet black wavy hair cascaded down her back.
Her deep bronze complexion was flawless. Her hazel eyes were dazzling. And she
acted as though Leslie was invisible considering she had yet to acknowledge
her.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense and awkward. Leslie didn’t
know what to do, so she looked over at Michael. He seemed to be just as shocked
to see Mia as she was. When Mia reached out and tried to embrace him, he took a
step back.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Your mother called and told me the wonderful news about your
sports casting job! Instead of calling to congratulate you, I decided to come
home and give you my well-wishes in person!”
“Home?” Michael asked cynically.
“Yes,” Mia replied confidently. “Home.”
Leslie’s eyes widened. She could not believe what she was seeing
or hearing. She struggled to keep her cool. Waited to be noticed. To be spoken
to. Introduced. Something. But since that didn’t seem like it was going
to happen, she cleared her throat, forcing Mia to acknowledge her presence.
“Oh. Hello. I didn’t see you standing there.”
Yeah right.
“Hello, I’m—” Leslie began. But before she could continue, Mia
interrupted her and turned back to Michael.
“I didn’t realize you had company. Your mother told me you were
here alone.”
Michael looked at her in disbelief. “How did you get the keys?”
“Your mother gave them to me,” Mia smiled. “I stopped by there
first to see her and pick up Tyler, and told her not to mention that I was
coming home so I could surprise you.”
“I’m sorry,” Leslie interrupted, feeling as though a bomb might go
off inside of her. “As Michael said, I’m Leslie.”
“Hello. I’m Mia. Tyler’s mother.”
The smirk on Mia’s face said it all. She obviously felt as though
she had the upper hand here.
Leslie looked down and saw a wedding ring set sitting boldly on
Mia’s finger. She hoped that it was from a new husband and wasn’t the set that
Michael had given her.
“Come on mommy! Come see my room!” Tyler insisted, clutching Mia’s
leg.
“Okay, here I come!” Mia then turned to Michael. “Your daddy has
some things to take care of out here anyway.”
Before following Tyler to his room, Mia turned to Leslie with a
beauty pageant smile on her face and waved.
“Nice meeting you…Lindsay was it? Take care,” she said
dismissively before walking off in her fancy designer stilettos.
Leslie didn’t bother to respond. She was too irritated to even
open her mouth. Instead she turned to Michael, struggling to maintain her
composure as she stared at him silently and waited for him to handle the
situation.
“Sweetheart,” he began, holding his hands up, “I swear I didn’t
know she was coming here.”
“Oh, I get that. I’m just wondering why you haven’t asked her to
leave.”
“Well, Tyler’s here…so…”
“Sooo...you’re not going to ask her to leave?”
“Well…I just don’t want to make a scene in front of our son.”
Leslie’s heart plummeted to the pit of her stomach. “Michael, you
do know what’s going on here, don’t you? How ironic that the minute you don’t
get an NBA contract, she leaves. Then the minute you get a sports casting job
on a major network, she reappears.”
“I know…But Mia is Tyler’s mother, and he’s so happy to see her. I
don’t feel comfortable asking her to leave right now. It would break his
heart.”
Leslie felt a lump forming in her throat. She looked into
Michael’s eyes, wondering what all this meant for the two of them. She was
afraid that if he let Mia stay, then somehow that could drastically change
things between the two of them.
“So you’re going to let her stay?” Leslie asked quietly.
“I don’t have a choice. Please understand that, Leslie, Please…”
Loud laughter between Mia and Tyler came booming from his bedroom.
Leslie felt completely defeated. She got it now. Mia was back. So it was time
for her to leave.
“Why’d I do this?” she asked herself out loud. “Why? I knew
better…”
“Leslie, please don’t say that,” Michael insisted.
Denise N. Wheatley is a lover of romance, happy endings and the art of
storytelling. She used to cry as a three-year old child when her
mother read to her because she so badly wanted to read the books
herself! Once she learned, Denise constantly had her nose in a novel
(especially the ones she’d sneak from her mom’s bookshelf). She’s
been writing for as long as she can remember and draws inspiration
from Chicago, the city where she was born and raised, as well as Los
Angeles, which is one of her favorite places in the world. Denise has
published several books and novellas with Simon & Schuster, Red
Sage Publishing, eXtasy Books and independently, has written
screenplays and teleplays, and has ghostwritten for some of your
faves. When she isn’t sitting behind her computer, you can find
Denise in a movie theater, on a tennis court, watching true crime
television or chatting on social media.
Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
0 Comments
Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.