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  • Excerpt and Giveaway: Teddy Spenser Isn’t Looking for Love by Kim Fielding

Today I am so pleased to welcome Kim Fielding to Joyfully Jay. Kim has come to talk to us about her latest release, Teddy Spenser Isn’t Looking for Love. She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

 

Excerpt

Their downtown hotel had a pleasant lobby, not too fancy, but with some nice modern touches that complemented the old building’s classic bones. Teddy would have introduced a few more splashes of color to coun­teract the gray Seattle days, but at least the designers hadn’t tried to make the midlevel property look fancier than it was.

“Romeo Blue,” his coworker said to the blonde woman at the reception desk. She didn’t bat an eye, so points for her. After clacking at her computer for a moment, she smiled. “Ah, yes, there we go. One standard room for two guests and two nights.”

“One guest,” Romeo corrected.

“Oh, I’m sorry! It says two. No problem, though. We have a credit card on file, so here you go.” She handed him a little paper sleeve containing the room key be­fore turning her smile to Teddy. “And your name, sir?”

“Teddy Spenser.” He spelled the last name because nobody ever got the second s right.

The woman frowned. “I have your name, but it’s showing you on the same reservation as Mr. Blue.”

“Well, the same person made them and they’re on the same credit card. But we have two rooms.”

A long pause followed, made more ominous by her deepening frown as she worked the keyboard. “I’m sorry,” she finally said. “We have a reservation for both of you in one room.”

Teddy considered calling Skyler, but it was already late in Chicago. “I guess you can put my room on my credit card until tomorrow, when we can get this straightened out.”

“But you don’t understand, sir. We’re fully booked. There are no other rooms.”

Shit. “Okay. Then can you recommend another hotel in the same price range?”

She sighed. “I can try, but it won’t do any good. There are three big conferences in town this week. The whole city’s at capacity—and even if I found something, the rates would be sky-high.”

Teddy and Romeo exchanged dismal looks. But Teddy was a professional, and he was going to meet Joyce Alexander in the morning, so he needed to act like an adult. Dammit. “Fine,” he told her. “But let me know if a room opens up. Maybe you’ll have a cancellation.”

“Of course. I’ll make a note of it.” She gave him a key too, but without the little paper sleeve.

Romeo and Teddy rode the elevator to the eighth floor in silence. I can handle this, Teddy coached himself silently. It was just for a couple of nights, and they’d probably be so busy that they’d spend little time at the hotel any­way. At least Romeo wasn’t throwing a tantrum about being stuck with him, which was a small surprise. And it wasn’t as if the guy was a chatty Cathy. Plus they each had plenty of work to do when they weren’t in a meeting. They could stake out their respective spots in the room, hunker over their laptops, and ignore each other. It would give Romeo a taste of what it was like away from the rarified air of a private office.

Yes, Teddy concluded as they trundled down the eighth-floor hallway, he could handle this. It was no big deal.

Then Romeo unlocked the door. They both entered—and saw the one and only bed.

They stared at that bed for a long time, as if it might magically morph from one king size into a pair of doubles. Teddy moved to a different spot in the room, but that didn’t help either—still only one bed. And nothing changed when Romeo set his suit bag on a chair and scratched his lip.

Teddy used the room phone to call the front desk and was informed that no rooms with two beds were available. The clerk sounded slightly annoyed that he’d asked.

Teddy hung up with a sigh. “I could call Skyler.” Even as he made the suggestion, he knew it was useless.

“Skyler won’t be able to help.”

“Maybe…the clerk was wrong. I bet I could find a room somewhere.”

They whipped out their phones and tapped away as if in a competition. The outcome proved to be a tie: both dropped their hands in defeat at almost exactly the same time. The clerk had not been wrong. Apart from dodgy motels in the suburbs and a couple of suites with prices higher than the Space Needle, there was not a room to be found.

“Not even a manger,” Teddy moaned.

For some reason, that seemed to make Romeo angry. “It won’t kill you to share with me. I don’t have cooties.”

If someone had waved an honesty wand over Teddy’s head at that moment, he would have admitted that cooties were hardly his worry. His real concern was getting up close and personal with a coworker who annoyed the hell out of him—and was distressingly hot. Who had also recently proven himself to not be an asshole, at least when it came to helping mothers on airplanes and charming small children. But no honesty wand appeared, so Teddy scowled instead.


Blurb

Some people search their whole lives to find love. He just wants to avoid it.

Teddy Spenser spends his days selling design ideas to higher-ups, living or dying on each new pitch. Stodgy engineer types like Romeo Blue, his nemesis—if you can call someone who barely talks to you a nemesis—are a necessary evil. A cute necessary evil.

Working together is bad enough, but when their boss puts them both on a new high-stakes project, “working together” suddenly means:

  • sitting uncomfortably close on the same plane,
  • staying in the same hotel room—with only one bed—and
  • spending every waking minute together.

Turns out Mr. Starched Shirt has some hidden depths, and it’s getting harder to ignore the spark Teddy feels with every brush of their hands, with every knowing look. He might not have been looking for this connection with Romeo, but will he ever be ready to let him go?

Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories featuring beloved romance tropes, where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters.

 

A new Carina Adores title is available each month in trade paperback, ebook and audiobook formats.

  • Just Like That by Cole McCade (available now!)
  • Hairpin Curves by Elia Winters (available now!)
  • Better Than People by Roan Parrish (available now!)
  • The Secret Ingredient by KD Fisher (available now!)
  • Just Like This by Cole McCade (available now!)
  • The Beautiful Things Shoppe by Philip William Stover (coming January 26, 2021)
  • Best Laid Plans by Roan Parrish (coming February 23, 2021)
  • Knit, Purl, a Baby and a Girl by Hettie Bell (coming March 30, 2021)

Giveaway

Kim has brought one (1) copy of TEDDY SPENSER ISN’T LOOKING FOR LOVE to give away to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Tuesday, December 15th at 11:59 pm ET.

Giveaway limitation: An eBook copy will be provided if the winner is international. If the winner is based in North America, the winner will get to choose between receiving a trade paperback copy or an ebook copy as the prize.

  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.
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