Shannon here: Contemporary romance author, Lynda Schab shares a romantic excerpt from her short story, Blind Date, which is included in the contemporary romance short story collection, Heart Bouquets. Comment on this post to get your name in the drawing for four e-books including – Heart Bouquets, Madily In Love, Stalking Willow, & Destiny Defied. Details on each book is at the end of the post. Deadline: June 15th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Lynda:
In my short story, Blind Date, which is one of six featured in the Heart Bouquets collection, divorcee’ Rachel has agreed to step back into the world of dating by allowing her sister to set her up. Since everyone knows that Italy – Rome in particular – screams “romance” (it’s that whole “Under the Tuscan Sun” and “Letters to Juilet” thing), when considering the restaurant where I wanted my characters to meet on this blind date, a Burger joint just never occurred to me. It had to be an Italian restaurant. Here’s an excerpt of when Rachel enters the restaurant and is waiting for her date to arrive.
Excerpt from Blind Date by Lynda Schab:
A blast of warm air and the mouthwatering scents of garlic, Parmesan, and Bolognese sauce met Rachel as she stepped inside The Roma Terrace restaurant.
The maître d’ greeted them and confirmed the reservation. Her brother-in-law’s hand on her back, Rachel took in her surroundings: soft laughter, murmured conversations, the gentle clinks of wine glasses. A minute later, she settled into the chair Kevin held out for her.
Lisa sighed. “This place is so romantic. Good choice, Kev.”
“You know me … Mister Romance.” Kevin used what Lisa called his “suave” voice.
Rachel fake-cringed. “Please tell me you’re not going in for a kiss.” She laughed at Lisa’s dramatic kissy noises. “Get a room, you two.”
“Are you still nervous?” Lisa asked, her hand covering Rachel’s.
“Um…yeah. Duh. Can you blame me?”
Two short pats before Lisa withdrew her hand. “Seriously. Don’t be nervous, Rach. I promise, you are going to love this guy.”
“Ha. That’s exactly what you said about Bobby Banks. And he turned out to be anything but lovable.”
Lisa laughed. “We were in high school. My taste has improved since then.”
“Obviously,” Kevin said.
More kissing.
“You guys are killing me, here. You’ll embarrass my date away before he even gets to the table.”
“Speaking of…there he is,” Lisa said.
A moment of panic. “Is my hair okay?”
“You’re beautiful, Rach. Take a deep breath.”
Rachel obeyed but it did little to help her relax.
***
Question for the day: Do you agree that Italian restaurants are the most romantic or would another cuisine top your list?
About Lynda: LYNDA LEE SCHAB got her writing start in greeting cards and from there went on to write articles and short stories and in many places online. She now works as a freelance writer and editor, but her passion has always been fiction.
Mind Over Madi, her debut novel, is near and dear to her heart. Lynda admits she has a lot in common with the character of Madi. Not only are they both addicted to ice cream, chocolate, and computer games, they struggle with the same types of insecurities and continually require a hefty dose of God’s grace.Learn more: www.LyndaSchab.com, www.on-the-write-track.blogspot.com (for readers and writers), and www.theprincessmentality.blogspot.com (for princesses everywhere whose lives are anything but a fairy tale)
About the collection – Heart Bouquets: What do stories about a high school principal with a mean reputation, a doctor searching for his dream car, an ad executive still in love with his ex-wife, a clueless husband, a graduating grad student trying to buy a cup of coffee for his ladylove, and a missionary on furlough have in common? Romance. Authors Marji Laine, Jennifer Fromke, Lynda Schab, Stephanie Craig, Traci Tyne Hilton, and Peggy Cunningham, each give you a unique story: their Heart Bouquets especially for you.
Three other e-books up for grabs. Click on each link to learn more:
Madily in Love
Come back June 10th for Darlene Franklin!
I love Italian, and yeah for ambiance that’s probably #1. But I also love sushi. And I met my now-husband at a coffee shop where he was a barista, and had our first date at an Indian restaurant. So….? Not sure where that leaves me! Other than there’s just something about good food and drink bringing people together! 😀
Your story sounds fun, Lynda! Blind dates are great fodder for conflict and subtext. Best wishes on the success of this novella collection, and on you Madi series!
Thanks, Emily! Can’t say I’ve ever tried Sushi but I have many friends who love it. Maybe one of these days I’ll step out of my “ew…” zone and try it! 🙂
For me and hubby it’s usually a seafood restaurant. And only when we go on vacation to somewhere near the ocean. We live in the midwest, so seafood is a real treat!
Very cool, Glynis! Went to a seafood restaurant right on the San Francisco Bay once…it was definitely a romantic experience!
I agree that Italian restaurants can be romantic – but also think restaurants on/by the water are romantic, as could be meals at fondue restaurants.
So true, Bonnie!
No, I would agree Italian is probably the most romantic. The atmosphere screams romance. Thanks for having the giveaway.
harnessrose(at)yahoo(dot)com
This looks really cute! Italian does seem more romantic or maybe French. I just picture candlelit tables and fancy food.
Oooh…have never eaten at a French restaurant, Veronica, but I definitely think “romance” when I think of France. 🙂
Rose…thanks for stopping by to comment. And thanks for entering!
The six authors of Heart Bouquets decided to combine the comments for all their posts. Emily Reynolds won this drawing. I appreciate Lynda for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.