Serena MacQuire’s Agent, Delilah Bloom, is 34, rich, successful, and content with her life. All that changes, though, when she comes to visit Serena in Carvan and is introduced to the family veterinarian and friend, David Stapleton. I sat down with her yesterday to catch up with Delilah and get the scoop on the love lives of her and her friend.
Peggy: Delilah, what prompted this visit to the MacQuire family home? As Serena is fond of saying, you never venture north of 86th street in Manhattan if you can avoid it.
Delilah: ( shakes her head and her chin-length blonde hair swishes around her cheeks.) I know, I know. I never leave the city. But since I was the one who got Serena the hospital mural commission, and knowing how exhausted she’s been lately, I just wanted to make sure the task wasn’t too much for her to undertake.
Peggy: And how did she seem to you when you arrived?
Delilah: Excited. Which I’ll admit, made me happy. And the little she’s done already on the mural is amazing. That girl was put on this earth to paint.
Peggy: I agree. I understand you met a friend of the family today.
Delilah: ( leans back in the chair and uncrosses her legs, then recrosses them. She looks a little…nervous.) Yes, well. That was certainly a surprise. I mean, Serena has told me many stories about Dr. Stapleton, but she neglected go mention a few things. A few important things.
Peggy: Oh? Like what?
Delilah: Well, for one he’s drop dead gorgeous and built like a tank. Who knew they made country animal doctors like that? I’m surprised the man hasn’t been featured in a calendar titled Hunks who Heal! I would have moved years ago if I had an inkling. And he’s so charming. Genuinely so, not like the men I’m used to being around.
Peggy: Yes, Serena says you hobnob with the grandsons of robber barons and the wolves of Wall Street.
Delilah: Most of them I’ve known since the cradle. And they haven’t improved with maturity. ( she laughs and rolls her eyes.) But David is different from every other man I’ve known, a fact that is wildly appealing all on its own.
Peggy: Have you met his partner, Seamus Cleary, yet?
Delilah: (Smiles like a cat who just had a snack of delicious mouse) yes, I did. And I can tell you he was quite smitten with Serena. So much so he couldn’t keep up with the conversation going on around him. He’s interested in her and I think the feeling is mutual. Although Serena won’t admit it.
Peggy: Why not?
Delilah: (with a sigh) Still brooding, I’d imagine. And being cautious. Once your heart is shattered, it’s difficult to open it up to being hurt again. Serena’s been wary of men and relationships since her first love. I won’t bore you with the details, but she’s kept that loving part of herself locked away. I think Seamus Cleary may just have the key, though, to unlocking that door. And I’m sticking close to her to see that it happens.
Peggy: I get the feeling that’s not the only reason you’re staying close.
Delilah: true. This…thing with David has me all discombobulated. I’ve never been in love, you know. Never found a man who makes me feel so cherished before like David does. I want to let it play out, see what develops between us. Keeping an eye on Serena and her budding romance is an added perk.
Peggy: Well, I can’t wait to see what happens with you all.
Delilah: (Laughing) Stay tuned. I’m sure it will be interesting.
PASSION’S PALETTE available from the Wild Rose Press, releases on 8.4.17.
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2te3VQq
Wild Rose Press: http://amzn.to/2te3VQq
Blurb:
Talented and witty portrait artist Serena MacQuire is successful in everything but love. Her gift for capturing people on canvas is rivalled only by her fiery and legendary temper. A tragedy from the past keeps her heart securely locked away, preventing any man from getting close enough to claim it.
But Seamus Cleary isn’t just any man. After he left his professional football career to become a veterinarian, his bitter wife ended their marriage. Now, as he starts his life over in a new town, love is the last thing he's looking for. The more he tends to Serena’s horses, though, the more he realizes her own heart needs tender care and healing as well.
Will he be the man who finally unlocks and claims her heart?
Excerpt:
Their gazes met and Seamus registered the silent “O” of surprise on her mouth.
"I'm sorry I startled you," he said, drawn to her as an errant moth would be to a ghost of moonlight. "Addie told me you were out here."
Serena reached over to her sketchpad, open at her feet, and closed it with a flick of her toe. He was rewarded with a lengthy view of thigh as she stretched.
"Working?"
"Doodling, mostly. I wanted to do some preliminary sketches for a commission I have."
"Mind if I sit?" he asked, and without waiting for an answer, did.
When he reached for the pad and said, "May I?" she shot her bare foot on top of it.
"Sorry." Serena reached over and grabbed the book. When it was safely tucked behind her back, braced against the tree, she added, "I'm a little schizoid where my work is concerned. I don’t let people see it when it’s in the planning or beginning stages."
He looked across at her, lifted one brow slightly, then glanced around. "This is nice," he said. "Quiet. Peaceful."
"Private.”
A fist of pure desire punched him in the stomach, the muscles contracting in response to the challenge in her eyes.
"Was there something you needed to see me about?"
He considered her again, before replying. For someone so young she could act as regally as the most aged dowager.
And she was young; much younger than he was. It wouldn't do to start anything with her. Besides, she was a client. He had to keep it professional.
But dammit, those eyes speared right through him, impaling him with their beauty, and were hard to ignore. As was the gentle swell and shift of her breasts with each breath beneath her barely modest halter top. And her legs, well, just forget about those. Legs like that were destined to be his downfall.
Author Bio:
Family and food play huge roles in Peggy’s stories because she believes there is nothing that holds a family structure together like sharing a meal…or two…or ten. Dotted with humor and characters that are as real as they are loving, Peggy brings all topics of daily life into her stories: life, death, sibling rivalry, illness and the desire for everyone to find their own happily ever after. Growing up the only child of divorced parents she longed for sisters, brothers and a family that vowed to stick together no matter what came their way. Through her books, she has created the families she wanted as that lonely child.
Tying into her love of families, her children's book, THE KINDNESS TALES, was illustrated by her artist mother-in-law.
Peggy holds a master's degree in Nursing Administration and first found publication with several articles she authored on Alzheimer's Disease during her time running an Alzheimer's in-patient care unit during the 1990s.
In 2013, she placed first in two categories in the Dixie Kane Memorial Contest: Single Title Contemporary Romance and Short/Long Contemporary Romance.
In 2017 she came in 3rd in the New England Reader's Choice contest for A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS and is a finalist in the 2017 STILETTO contest for the same title.
A lifelong and avid romance reader and writer, she is a member of RWA and her local New Hampshire RWA Chapter.
Social Media Links:
Website/Blog: http://peggyjaeger.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggy_jaeger
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peggy-Jaeger-Author/825914814095072?ref=bookmarks
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/peggyjaeger/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13478796.Peggy_Jaeger
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mmj122687/
Jana - Bless you for letting Delilah visit here today. She was a little nervous about her present romantic situation for sure!
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