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Hi, friends!
Happy Valentine's Day! (Okay, that was yesterday. I got distracted having to go to the doctor and didn't post this yesterday... so Happy Day After Valentine's Day!)
I wanted to share a little excerpt from my current WIP A Bid on Love because it kicks off around Valentine's Day, so it seemed appropriate.
Yesterday, I also created my first mood board and first attempt at a short Twitter style pitch for this one as well. It's still in drafting, so it's all a work-in-progress, but I kinda love the vibes of this mood board! What do you think?
And the short Twitter pitch I toyed with is this:
What happens when an artist who can't stand "sportsballers" ends up on a date with a pro-QB & finds out he's actually quite delightful (not to mention hot AF)? A slow burn, opposites attract romance fueled by a change of heart for her & a lot of patience from him.
I don't hate it, but it definitely needs some workshopping. It's hard to fit stuff into a Twitter pitch!!
Anyway, without further ado, here is the short excerpt from a scene where Brianna is 100% fighting her attraction to Kent. This is right after the Valentine's Day charity auction the night before in which Kent's ex, and high school mean girl, insults Brianna to the point of tears and Kent was advised by Brianna's best friend not to go after her (for good reason).
Excerpt from A Bid on Love
Kent's POV
The piece of paper with Brianna’s number on it is burning a hole in my wallet. I don’t even need the paper anymore, having already added her number to my phone, but I'd tucked it back into my wallet for safe-keeping.
Now what to do with the number is another story. I wish Zoey had let me know how things went with Brianna last night, but I didn’t see her again. I stayed around to do a few more pictures with guests, but after that and continued rage-filled glances from Mikayla, I left. I never saw Brianna come out of her art room, and the only other time I saw Zoey was when she was on stage.
I’ve been agonizing over whether I did the right thing, letting Zoey and Mrs. Thompson handle it and not talking to Brianna myself, but hindsight is twenty-twenty. And now, I’m sitting here on Valentine’s Day weekend with a girl’s number who I’m interested in and who I technically owe a date, and I'm not doing anything about it.
“Goddamnit Kent, what is wrong with you?” I type out a text to Brianna and full send it. She’ll either respond or she won’t, and I decide to go for a run to pass the time, leaving my phone behind so I can focus.
Two hours later, after running a good three miles and the shower that followed, much to my surprise I check my phone to a response from Brianna.
All she said was “hey” but it was better than nothing. The door has been opened.
Me [1:45pm]: Thanks for responding. I was afraid you wouldn’t.
My message immediately goes to read, so I get the impression she’s sitting there waiting on me to respond and take that as a good sign.
Brianna [1:45pm]: Why’s that?
Me [1:46pm]: I dunno. Just thought that after what happened last night you might have changed your mind about the arrangement.
Brianna [1:47pm]: Can’t let my Gram down, can I?
Me [1:47pm]: No, I guess not.
Me [1:48pm]: Can I ask you something?
Brianna [1:48pm]: … sure …
Me [1:49pm]: Do ya have any plans tonight?
She starts typing. Then stops. Then, starts again. Then stops. Was it not an easy yes or no question?
Brianna [1:53pm]: Do you mean for Valentine’s Day?
Oh geez. Did I freak her out?
Me [1:54pm]: Not specifically for Valentine’s Day. Just in general. Didn’t know if you had plans. And if you’d want to go somewhere with me if you didn’t.
Brianna [1:55pm]: Like a date?
Me [1:56pm]: I mean I’m single. You’re single. But no, not a date if you don’t
want it to be. Just two friends hanging out.
I wonder what she’ll think about the word “friends” but I send it anyway.
Brianna [1:57pm]: Friends is a bit of a stretch, don’t ya think?
Of course she pointed that out. I’d have been disappointed if she hadn’t at this point. She’s really hanging onto this grudge for the long term apparently.
To my surprise, she follows up that message with a winky face emoji before I have a chance to figure out my reply. So is she joking with me now?
Brianna [1:58pm]: What did you have in mind?
Me [1:59pm]: To be honest hadn’t gotten that far. I wasn’t sure you’d say yes.
Brianna [2:00pm]: Well, I did. So how about I meet you downtown at 7, and maybe I won’t change my mind before then.
Brianna [2:01pm]: But… NOT A DATE
I laugh at the emphasis on the last message. That just makes me feel like she’s squirming in her seat and reminding herself it’s not a date just as much as she’s reminding me that it’s not a date. I can’t believe she’s actually going to take me up on my offer, and I’ve got a renewed energy thinking about taking her out to dinner.
****
I can't wait to get back to drafting these characters. I'd had plans to release this book last month, ahead of Valentine's Day, but plans change. Hopefully for next Valentine's Day it will be on the docket!
Feel free to let me know what you thought down in the comments. There's a lot that happens to lead up to this moment. It doesn't happen until Chapter 8! This book is much more of a slow burn than I ever intended. But it just makes sense for the dislike-to-lovers, opposites attract vibes.
Anyway, hope you are having a wonderful week! Thanks for reading!
For now,
Rose
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