Once
and Again
Return to Briarwood # 1
Return to Briarwood # 1
By: Elisabeth Barrett
Releasing July 14, 2015
Loveswept
For readers of Shannon Stacey and Susan Mallery, the heartfelt new Briarwood series begins with a tale of forbidden love, broken promises, and second chances.
Growing up in Eastbridge, Connecticut,
Carolyn Rivington was a young debutante who did whatever her parents asked. So
when her father demanded that she break things off with the boy from the wrong
side of the tracks or else, she did. Now Carolyn’s family is deep in debt.
She’s no longer a member of the Briarwood Golf and Yacht Club, she’s an
employee. And the tanned, tattooed, dangerously handsome stranger who saunters
into her lobby isn’t just her new boss . . . he’s also her first love.
The last time he saw Carolyn, Jake
Gaffney was in the back of a police cruiser, handcuffed and humiliated. But
seeing her again stirs other memories: a blanket on the beach, the moon above
their heads, and the most expensive bottle of wine he could afford. Now the
tables have turned. As a real-estate magnate and Briarwood’s new owner, Jake
doesn’t have to answer to anyone. But now that he’s back home, he’s finding it
hard to live down his old reputation.
Before they can move forward, Jake and
Carolyn must face their pasts. But it’ll take more than sizzling chemistry for
them to heal old wounds and return to the love they once shared.
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/04/once-and-again-return-to-briarwood-1-by.html
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23395411-once-and-again?ac=1
Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/139110-return-to-briarwood
Elisabeth Barrett lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and
spends her days teaching, editing, writing sexy contemporary romance, and
enjoying time with her sometimes-bearded husband and three spirited children.
She is constantly perfecting her home-work-writing juggling act, but in her
free time she loves to hike open-space preserves, grow orchids, bake sweet
things her husband won’t eat, and sing in grand choruses. For more about
Elisabeth, please visit her website.
Rafflecopter Giveaway
One Loveswept Mug
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Ebook copies of:
·
CLAIMED by Stacey Kennedy
·
MY OBSESSION by Cassie Ryan
·
DEEP AUTUMN HEAT by Elisabeth Barrett
·
TAKE THE FALL by Marquita Valentine
·
YOUR TO KEEP by Serena Bell
·
SWEET THE SIN by Claire Kent
Excerpt:
Sighing, she put on her suit jacket and made her way down the
carpeted corridor of the club’s offices to head to the kitchen. In a pinch, she
could usually snare a sandwich or a roll, if they had extras, and Eric’s
cuisine was really quite good. Not that she’d be in a position to complain if
it weren’t.
As she approached the rear kitchen door, she heard yelling and
swearing in French. Oh, crap. Eric was at it again.
Carolyn pushed open one of the double doors and poked her head
inside to assess the situation. Eric had his back to her as he screamed something
unintelligible to Madison Klein, one of his line chefs. Carolyn could see his
head bobbing as he dressed down the poor young woman. Cheeks crimson, eyes on
the ground, Madison looked like she’d rather be in the seventh layer of hell
than in the spacious kitchen at the Briarwood. Had Eric found out that Madison
was moonlighting at a seafood restaurant in New Haven on her off-days?
Susumo Norimoto, the very exacting pastry chef, stood to the left,
using a miniature blowtorch to caramelize some sugar on the top of a
delicious-looking crème brûlée. Spying Carolyn out of the corner of his eye, he
stopped and turned fractionally toward her. Carolyn noted the imperceptible
tightening of his lips. She could always count on Susumo to let her know the
score. She glanced at Madison, then gave him a questioning look. In an
incredibly minute gesture, he nodded no. Madison’s
secret was safe, but things were not all right. Even Jane Pringle, the
sometimes assistant pastry chef who was known for her cool head, looked rattled.
Her brown eyes were huge, and her gaze flicked worriedly between Maddy and
Eric.
Nick Landon, another line chef close with Madison, had taken a step
toward the scene. Not good. Clearly, an intervention by
a neutral party was needed. Now.
“What is going on in here?” Carolyn demanded, stepping into the
space. “I heard your screaming all the way down the hall!”
Eric immediately turned and switched to straight English. “That
imbecile at table six sent the sole back again because it is too bland! He has
no taste buds! And this one,” he made some Gallic gesture in Madison’s
direction, “offered to fix it, but I am the chef de cuisine! I make the
decisions in my kitchen!” There was more rapid French, and Carolyn caught a few
choice swearwords. “Table six wants flavor? They get flavor!” He snatched the
offending plate from a server named Will, who was cowering nearby, slammed it
on the counter, and dumped a full cup of salt onto the fish. “Here,” he said,
thrusting the plate back at the poor server. “It is ready now.”
The kitchen was silent except for a dripping faucet and the hiss of
a forgotten burner. Everyone just stood there, staring at the mound of salt
covering the fish.
“Go!” Eric screamed into the stillness.
The plate trembled in Will’s hand. He turned, and looked like he was
actually going to deliver the plate to the table.
“Stop,” Carolyn said, and Will froze. Carolyn held out her hand.
“Will, give me that.” Will looked back and forth between her and Eric, and then
slowly handed her the plate. Without saying a word, Carolyn dumped the contents
into a nearby garbage can and slid the dirty plate onto the counter. Then she
turned to Eric. In top form, he was a younger, hotter, French version of Hugh
Jackman. Right now, with his wild hair and his red face and his crazed eyes, he
just looked like a madman.
She stared him down, and when he realized she wasn’t budging, he
stalked back to his private office. She followed him in and shut the door.
“Have you gone crazy?” she demanded. “If I could hear you in the hall,
they can definitely
hear you in the dining room. Vernon and Alicia Chelmsford
are out there, and Alicia just hired us for a twenty-thousand-dollar affair.
Twenty thousand dollars, Eric!” The sad part was, in Carolyn’s heyday, she
could have blown through that in a week. Now, it just seemed like an exorbitant
amount of money that wealthy people threw away on fancy parties. “Do you want
her to think the chef has lost his mind?”
“I have been insulted,” Eric said, sounding indignant.
“Ninety-five percent of the time, the criticism says more about the
person making it than it does about your cooking.”
Eric pounded on his chest. “I am the chef here.”
“And an excellent one,” Carolyn said, sensing the shift. “But just
like it is my job to make our guests happy, it is your job to give your guests
the kind of food they want.”
Eric sniffed.
He really was a superior chef, and the problem was that he belonged
in an elite Manhattan kitchen, not at Waves. He’d taken this job to be close to
his sister, who was going through some experimental drug trial at Yale–New
Haven Hospital. As his sister’s health had deteriorated, so had Eric’s mental
state. He’d been on edge for the past few months, but the new acquisition of
Briarwood had clearly gotten to him. This was the worst she’d seen him in a
long time.
Carolyn shook her head. “I know you’re stressed-out, but so is
everyone else. We are all under heightened scrutiny, and we
need to be able to depend on each other.” Everyone worked together as a team
and one person could easily make the difference between them succeeding and
failing. Eric needed to realize that it wasn’t just his ego on the line; it was
his job, along with those of everyone who worked with him—including hers. “Try
to keep your temper in check, Eric. Please.” She put
as much weight into the word as she could muster.
“Je
comprende, Carolyn,” Eric finally said. “I
understand. Tell Madison to prepare another filet and season it well. I am
taking a break.” Then he stripped off his apron and left his office. In a second,
she heard the back door to the kitchen slam shut.
She stepped back into the kitchen. Everyone else had already gotten
back to work. Susumo gave her a short nod. Only if she looked closely could she
see the relief in his eyes.
On cue, her stomach rumbled again, but given how jumpy everyone was,
now definitely wasn’t the time to beg for some real food. Instead, she gave
Madison her marching orders, then grabbed a roll from the bread basket and
stuffed it in her mouth.
Thank you for hosting ONCE AND AGAIN!
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