“First Sight” by Laura Donohue
Blurb: Maddy Smith writes for a trendy website in Washington DC, has two fabulous best friends, and her own apartment. When a girl’s night out ends with her locking eyes with the handsome stranger across the room, the last thing she expects is for him to show up at her office on Monday morning.
Travis Emerson, her attractive and single new colleague, just moved to town. Although an immediate friendship between Maddy and Travis forms, she soon finds herself wishing for something more. After a misunderstanding between them occurs, not only is her hope for a relationship ruined, but their friendship is in jeopardy as well. Is any chance that Maddy had with Travis over? Or could he possibly be what she’s been looking for all along?
Follow Maddy and Travis on a series of adventures that will quickly have you cheering them on. First date jitters? Not when you’ve been in love since First Sight!
EXCERPT
We chatted easily throughout dinner and after we’d finished eating, walked outside into the night. Travis held the door open for me, and I thought to myself at how chivalrous he always was. It had started to snow again, and tiny flakes were falling softly down, dancing in the light from the lampposts. As they swirled around in the air, they were landing on both of us. “Wow, it got cold,” Travis said, the fog from his breath filling the air between us. He zipped up his jacket as he stood facing me.
“I know,” I said, brushing a few snowflakes out of my hair. I noticed that he watched me as I did so.
“Should we head for the metro?” Travis asked.
“Yeah, definitely,” I said. “It’s freezing out here.”
“I don’t know this part of DC, so you lead the way.”
“There’s a station right around the corner.” I started walking down the block with Travis at my side.
“What line are you?” he asked.
“Orange line. How about you?”
“Same thing.” Travis walked along beside me, and I felt content next to him. It was a comfortable silence. He slowed his long stride to keep pace with mine, and it actually took me a few minutes to notice that neither of us had said anything in a while. “Are you okay to get home?” Travis suddenly asked. “I can drive you back to your apartment after we get to my metro stop if you’d like.”
I looked up at him, surprised. He was gazing down at me, his brown eyes intense, but I couldn’t read the expression on his face. Still, as I watched him, I felt a tiny surge of pleasure at his concern, at the idea of Travis driving me home. “Oh, uh, yeah; I’ll be fine,” I stammered.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind.”
“Really, I’ll be fine. It’s not late. Thanks for the offer, though.” I smiled up at him, telling myself that he was just being polite. He probably would’ve offered anyone a ride if he thought they needed one.
We arrived at the metro station and rode the escalator down beneath the city streets. A train had just pulled into the station, and we strode right on. I selected a seat next to the window, and Travis sat down beside me. The train was not very full, and he stretched his long legs out in the aisle. As we pulled away from the platform, the walls were soon whizzing by us, and then we were in the dark tunnel. A young couple was sitting near us, and I wondered if they thought that we were a couple, too. The guy had his arm casually draped around his girlfriend’s shoulders, and he was whispering in her ear. Although Travis and I were seated side by side, I was quite aware that no parts of our bodies were touching.
The conductor announced the next stop, which came out sounding completely garbled over the intercom. “This is me,” Travis said, glancing over.
“Okay. So I guess I’ll see you Monday?” I asked. We’d had such a fun afternoon and dinner together, I was kind of sad that he was leaving. Maybe I should have taken him up on the offer for a ride. Did he want to spend more time with me, too? I could have always invited him up to my apartment for a drink after he’d driven me home. There was no time to analyze the situation now, though, because the train was coming to a stop.
“Yep,” Travis replied. “I’ll see you on Monday. Goodnight, Maddy.” He slowly stood up, and I watched as he walked toward the doors. His broad shoulders filled out his black leather jacket, and he had an easy saunter to his step. He pulled his black wool cap back over his head, covering his dark brown hair. As he turned to leave, he looked back at me. My breath caught as my eyes met his. Neither of us said anything, but as his dark eyes bore into mine, I knew in that moment that I was starting to fall for him.
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**About author, Laura Donohue: Laura Donohue is a graduate of George Mason University. She spent ten years working as a technical writer and editor before publishing her first novel. She lives in Washington DC with her husband and daughter.
**About author, Anna-Lou Weatherley: Anna-Lou began her career as a dancer but a moped accident in Ibiza put paid to those aspirations and so she went back to her first and one true love – writing! She re-trained as a journalist, specialising mainly in women’s interest and celebrity, becoming the Editor of J-17 and Smash Hits as well as writing for a host of women’s magazines.
**About author, Natalie Meg Evans: In the late 1970s, Natalie Meg Evans ran away from art college in the Midlands for a career in London’s fringe theatre. She spent five years acting, before giving it up to work in PR. Natalie’s writing has also won the Harry Bowling Prize, placed third for the RWA’s Golden Pen Award and was nominated for the 2013 Daphne Du Maurier Award.
**About author, Samantha March: Samantha March is an author, editor, publisher, blogger, and all-around book lover. She runs the popular book/women’s lifestyle blog ChickLitPlus, which keeps her bookshelf stocked with the latest reads and up-to-date on all things health, fitness, fashion, and beauty related. In 2011, she launched her independent publishing company, Marching Ink, and has four published novels—Destined to Fail, The Green Ticket, A Questionable Friendship, and Up To I Do. When she isn’t reading, writing, or blogging, you can find her cheering for the Green Bay Packers. Samantha lives in Iowa with her husband and Vizsla puppy.
**Contact Sophie Hart:
**About author, Katie Kirby: I”m an actor and wrier currently living in Dublin, Ireland. I graduated from Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin in mid 2000’s and have been fortunate enough to work in theatre, television and film ever since.
**About author, Lindy Dale: Lindy began writing at University but never really wanted to be ‘an author’. She wanted to be a Princess or at worst a Kindergarten teacher. Her first novel, Heart of Glass, was penned in 2007 and since then she become known for writing funny, forthright romantic fiction with a cast of crazy, comic characters. She gains most of her inspiration from her dreams, listening to music and watching ridiculous amounts of TV.
**About author, Brea Brown: Brea Brown lives in Springfield, Missouri, with her husband and three sons, but her international support network stretches as far as Australia. She’s an administrative assistant at an environmental consulting firm for forty hours a week and a writer all the other waking hours of the week not taken up by motherhood, wifedom, reading, and watching cheesy TV shows like Sleepy Hollow. (That leaves a surprisingly large number of hours, believe it or not.) Her published novels are Daydreamer, The Secret Keeper, The Secret Keeper Confined, The Secret Keeper Up All Night, The Secret Keeper Holds On, The Secret Keeper Lets Go, The Secret Keeper Fulfilled, Plain Jayne, Quiet, Please! Let’s Be Frank, and Let’s Be Real. Her twelfth book, Out of My League, is set for a Fall 2015 release.
