Product Detail

Blurb:

The advertisement claimed—“Find your true love; we’ll match you with the person of your dreams.” Their irritating spam clogged her computer inbox—"Free tonight? Let’s chat. Cassie Fremont thought of hitting the ‘trash’ button, but the promises were so alluring. Divorced and so lonely, Cassie signs up for the on-line dating service. What she doesn’t know is the cost of the ticket for her ride on the romantic roller coaster from hell. You aren’t the first woman he’s lied to.
When Cassie’s siblings present her with evidence, insisting this proves her new beau is a con-man, her world is shattered. Her happiness wanes.

How can she possibly believe that this wonderful man who gave up a thriving business in Texas and moved to California to be with her isn’t all he professes to be? The love she sees shining in Evan’s eyes can’t be false. Surely, her siblings are mistaken. Still, the warnings of her sister’s haunts Cassie’s thoughts:

There have been others who have lost everything because of him
Faced with an ultimatum, Cassie must choose between her family and Evan.

Excerpt

Cassie raced in the door and breathlessly answered the phone. “Hello.”

She dropped her commuter bag and plopped on the sofa.

“Howdy,” Evan drawled. “You sound a mite out of breath. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Oh, Evan… no.” She blew out a whoosh of air to slow her pounding heart. “I just got home from work. I heard the phone ringing while I was unlocking the door. I almost missed your call.”

“Dang time difference! I keep forgetting. Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you breathe so heavy… at least not this way.”

His sexual innuendo made her strangely uncomfortable, even though he was miles away. Had her online flirting given him the wrong idea? She quickly changed the subject. “I’m glad you called. How are you?”

“Missing you. Ain’t that strange? Never met you but I can’t quit thinking about you.”

His comment made her heart flutter. “That’s sweet. I think about you, too.” A smile tugged at her lips.

“I had an idea. I’m thinking it’s about time we meet up. I got me a credit on an airline ticket that I’m just itchin’ to use. I was wondering about next weekend.”

Cassie’s took in a gulp of air, then exhaled slowly to calm herself. “Next weekend? Evan, this is so sudden. I…”

“Don’t you want to meet me?” He voice softened, indicating his disappointment.

“Oh, of course, I do. It’s just that…well, next weekend is Mother’s Day and I’m taking Mom to my sister, Gloria’s house. Remember, I told you she lives up north. I’ve had the plane tickets for over a month now and I can’t cancel them. Mom would be so disappointed… after all, it is her day.”

The silence was awkward. Had he hung up?

“Evan? Are you still there?” Cassie’s heart raced. She did want to meet him, heaven help her.

“Yeah, I’m still here. I was just hoping you didn’t think I was being too pushy.”

“Not at all, Evan. I think it’s very sweet that you’re willing to make the effort to fly all the way out here to meet me.”

Before her rational mind had a chance to kick in, Cassie blurted out, “Why don’t you fly to Sacramento? I’m sure Gloria wouldn’t mind, and I’ll bet you will get along great with her husband, Cal.”

Cassie bit her bottom lip so hard she tasted blood. What am I doing? I haven’t even asked Gloria, and what will Mom think? Cassie massaged her forehead.

“I’d love to.” He accepted before she had a chance to rescind the invitation. “I’ll hang up and see if I can get booked. I’ll call you back in a little bit.”

She hung up the phone with such mixed emotions. On one hand she wanted to slap herself for being so impetuous, and on the other she wanted to kneel and pray Evan got a flight. There was nothing to do now but wait.

Cass grabbed yesterday’s paper and tried to concentrate on the world news. An article on Boeing caught her attention. She started to read, but the association with flying led her right back to thinking about Evan. She shook her head in futility, turning pages to find the crossword puzzle. Perhaps that would keep her mind occupied. Luckily there was a pencil on the end table. She briefly touched the lead to the tip of her tongue—something she’d done since childhood. The word challenge helped pass time until she could no longer arrive at the correct answers.

Cassie put the puzzle aside and paced back and forth. Nearly two hours had elapsed and Evan hadn’t called back. All the doubts crept back into her mind. Was she absolutely mad inviting him to her sister’s home? How was she going to explain a strange man showing up, especially to her eighty-year-old mother? Maybe he wouldn’t be able to get reservations. Maybe he would have a business conflict. Maybe there would be a bad storm and the plane couldn’t fly. Maybe she was grasping at straws. She plopped down next to the phone and massaged the furrows in her brow to dispel the looming stress headache. It was impossible to make heads or tails of her feelings. God, help her, had she completely lost all sense of reality? She hoped, no prayed, Evan came. Curiosity overwhelmed her. She needed to meet him and find out if there was truly a connection. The blaring phone dissected her thoughts, startling her.

“Hi, purdy gal. I got a flight.” Evan’s voice purring his usual flirty greeting sent a shiver of apprehensive excitement coursing through Cassie.

“You… you did?” It was a little late to have second thoughts, and she couldn’t stop the smile curling the edges of her mouth. “That’s… that’s wonderful, Evan. I can’t believe we’re actually going to meet face-to-face.”

“You sure about this?” He questioned, as if reading her hesitancy. Here was a chance to back out, but Cassie had no desire to take it. “I’m positive,” she exclaimed. “My sister and her husband will love you, and you’ll get to meet my mom. I can’t wait.”

Cassie hung up, took a deep breath, then exhaled. “Yeah, meet my mom! Now all I have to do is explain this whole thing to her.”

* * * *

While Cassie unpacked and hung her clothes in the guestroom closet, she babbled to her sister, Gloria. “Are you sure I didn’t put you on the spot by inviting Evan? I’m not sure if I even understand how it happened.”

Gloria shook her head. “I just hope he doesn’t mind sleeping on the couch and… Cass, I hope you aren’t moving too fast,”

“I know it might look that way, but… well I just can’t explain it. There’s something about him. He’s special, I just know it.”

“Well, who am I to give you advice? Look at me; I moved in with Cal a month after we met, and I haven’t regretted it for a minute.”

Cassie gave her sister a hug, than held her at arm’s length. “So, do you believe in love at first sight?”

Gloria snickered. “I guess we’ll find out as soon as Cal gets back from the airport with Evan, but the least you could have done was book your flights so that they weren’t two hours apart. Two trips to the airport in one day… boy what you expect of your host!”

Gloria left the bedroom, leaving Cassie perched on the edge of the bed, anxiously wringing her hands. Her mind whirred. Was she making a major mistake? What if they didn’t get along? They’d be stuck in the same house for the whole weekend. She looked toward heaven. “Oh God, please let this work.”

She stood and checked her appearance in the mirror over the dresser, nervously running her fingers through her long chocolate tresses and wiping a smudge of lipstick from the corner of her mouth. There was a twinkle in her eyes that had been missing for a long time. Since connecting with Evan on the computer, she hadn’t felt depressed at all. After one last inspection of her reflection, she took a deep breath and walked down the hallway to join the other women. The waiting was pure hell.

Cass sat on the couch, across from Gloria and their mother, lost in thought and barely hearing any of their conversation. She kept glancing at the clock over the mantle, fidgeting and wishing time would hurry and pass.

“Cassie? Cassie Ann?” Her mother shouted.

“Oh, sorry, Mom, I guess my mind is somewhere else.” She planted both feet firmly on the floor and sat forward, feigning interest.

“What did you say this Evan person does for a living?”

Cassie expelled an anxious whoosh of air before answering. “Something with landscaping, I think. I’m not really sure, I’m so nervous.”

“Well, you should be,” her mother scolded. “I just don’t like this whole idea.”

Cassie expected nothing less from a woman her mother’s age, and was just about to defend her own actions when she heard a car pull into the garage. The quick rhythm of her heart threatened to jump right through her chest—her breath caught in her throat. There was no escaping it. The time had come.

In a flash, Cassie was at the door leading to the garage. Her sweaty palm made it difficult to turn the knob. She wiped the offending perspiration on her pant leg and took a deep breath before trying again. As she opened the door, she put on her best smile and hoped she wouldn’t be—that he wouldn’t be disappointed.

Author bio

After retiring from the University of California, Davis, Ginger Simpson moved to Tennessee with her husband Kelly with hopes of devoting more time to writing. These days, she finds herself squeezing in a paragraph here and there while being the fulltime caretaker for her grandson. Although life hasn’t taken the smooth route she planned, if given the option of fame and fortune over watching Barney, Thomas the Train and The Adventures of Piggly Winks with four-year-old, Spencer, there’s no doubt, he’d win hands down. In the wee morning hours of exploring the internet, she discovered Lachesis and looks forward to her future release and hopefully more to come.

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