Thanks for stopping by on this lovely Friday. I have a treat for you today, so relax and enjoy a new novel by Melanie Robertson-King that's just out.
I love this cover. It looks like so much fun.
Author Melanie Robertson-King brings
you the “It Happened series...”
Miracle on 34th Street meets
Sleepless in Seattle…
Toronto
business consultant, Serenity Layne, knew the only person she could depend on
was herself. Married to her career, she has no time for other pursuits and
life’s intangibles.
Widowed
for three years, Roger Scott, a data security specialist in Quebec City, is a
single parent to his ten-year-old son, Adam.
On
a day out on the Plains of Abraham with their black Labrador retriever, Roger’s
cell phone rings incessantly. Adam has played matchmaker and put his father’s
profile on a number of online dating sites.
The
week before Christmas, Serenity is heading up a series of meetings after a
six-month study of the Canadian retail chain, jonathans. After an unpleasant encounter with one of
the store managers, she escapes from the boardroom of the Château Frontenac
Hotel, only to be bowled over by Roger and Adam’s dog.
Guilty
over the accident, Roger invites Serenity out for a drink by way of apology.
Over the course of the week, and spending time together, feelings long dormant
for Roger are re-awakened. At the same time, emotions foreign to Serenity fill
her with contentment and happiness.
Will
the couple get their happily ever after?
It Happened on Dufferin Terrace is the first book
in the It Happened series, a set of sweet, contemporary romances by author,
Melanie Robertson-King. If entertaining and heartwarming romances are for you,
then you'll fall in love with this entry in a light, romantic series set in
picturesque Canadian locations.
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EXCERPT
The following morning, six months of gruelling work
came to fruition. In the Place d’Armes conference room, Serenity turned on her
MacBook Air with the PowerPoint presentation and ensured the projector
functioned. In addition to the electronic copy, the hard copies she made in
Montreal for the jonathans
participants were placed them in front of each chair.
This was the first time her superior sat in on one of
her meetings, making her more nervous than normal. Did he not trust her
judgement?
Scheduled to start at ten a.m., a number of attendees
were still missing. The time function on her Fitbit indicated three minutes to
go. The managers had to arrive soon or her boss's trust in her abilities would
be shattered. A brief assessment of her leather-bound notebook confirmed the
time and date.
Gradually, men in three-piece suits, shirts and ties
straggled in. They nodded at her as they took their seats. During her visits to
the outlets across Canada, she came together with them. All were friendly and
cooperative. Some stores performed well, while others struggled.
The head of jonathans
made his entrance. Well over six feet in stature, with a stocky frame, his
imposing size commanded respect and attention.
“Good morning,” she said.
The man acknowledged her with a nod of his head and
moved to the head of the table.
Now, she and the other attendees waited for her
missing employer and one last jonathans
employee.
“We’ll give them another five minutes then we’ll
start. In the meantime, feel free to look at the documents in front of you.”
She lingered by the chair used by the director of the Vancouver location and
smiled.
The door burst open, eliminating the opportunity to
speak with the gentleman. In the gap stood the man from the Yorkville Avenue
outlet, as unkempt as the first time she met him. When he looked up, his eyes
bulged, and his jaw dropped. “You’re the hard-nosed, jumped up high and mighty
who made trouble. You’re the reason we’re having this powwow,” he snapped.
The hairs on the back of her neck bristled. Coat
plucked from the rack, she darted out the door putting on the garment on the
fly. The man busted her straight away. No way could she head this meeting now.
Where was Martin Thacker? He would have stood by her.
She left the hotel, turned right, and scurried through
the arched vehicular entryway on Rue Saint Louis. From there, she stumbled to
the boardwalk running adjacent to the spectacular architecture and overlooked
the St. Lawrence River and the town underneath.
Snow, packed down from shovelling and plowing, made
the boards slippery. High-heeled shoes were inappropriate for the conditions,
but escaping that room was paramount.
Why did she allow that man to antagonize her? Any
other time, any other meeting and she would have let comments like his roll off
her. This action was out of character.
Struggling to maintain her balance, she picked her way
to the hand rail. At least she had gloves in her pockets. After extracting the
knitted mittens, she pulled them on her hands and tried to regain her composure
so she could go back to the meeting. She would have to create an excuse for her
sudden departure.
Arms resting on the bannister, she took in long, slow
breaths. Each time she exhaled a puff of steam formed in front of her.
About to go back into the warmth of the hotel’s
conference room, she let go and turned. A massive black dog charged at her with
a man and a boy in pursuit. The ear flaps of the man’s trapper hat resembled
wings. Stretched out horizontally, how he managed not to take flight astounded
her.
"Tori, bad girl. Halt.” The man shouted commands to
the canine, but the animal was oblivious to them.
Before she had an opportunity to react, the black Lab
launched itself in the air and hit her square in the chest knocking her to the
ground. The impact sent her eyeglasses flying and they crashed on the granite
ledge beneath the handrail. The child dove for them but couldn’t get a proper grip.
His fingertips brushed the frames and her eyewear skittered away from him on
the icy rock and vanished.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melanie
Robertson-King has always been a fan of the written word. Growing up as an only
child, her face was almost always buried in a book from the time she could
read. Her father was one of the thousands of Home Children sent to Canada
through the auspices of The Orphan Homes of Scotland, and she has been
fortunate to be able to visit her father’s homeland many times and even met the
Princess Royal (Princess Anne) at the orphanage where he was raised.
It
Happened on Dufferin Terrace is Melanie’s seventh book.
Thanks for letting us know about your latest novel, Melanie.
Happy Reading!
