Dream Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Series #1)
Read Dream Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Series #1) Online
Authors: Verna Clay
Dream Kisses
Romance on the Ranch Series
By
Verna Clay
This book is dedicated to
everyone who loves…
kissing!
Dream Kisses
Romance on the Ranch Series
Copyright © 2012 by Verna Clay
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this
book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
For information contact:
Website: www.VernaClay.com
Published by:
M.O.I.
Publishing
"Mirrors of Imagination"
Cover Designer: Elaina Lee (For the Muse)
Boots Picture: Ccaetano (Dreamstime)
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,
and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental.
Dear
Readers,
I'm always amazed at how one or two words can
spark an entire world of characters. It was while writing the first book in the
Shapeling Trilogy
that the words "Dream Kisses" popped into my
mind and I actually used the phrase once in that book. I liked the feelings
evoked by the words and decided to expand on them in another project. After I
started writing
Dream Kisses,
I had an overwhelming desire to give some
of the secondary characters their own happily-ever-after, and thus, the
Romance
on the Ranch Series
was born, with
Honey Kisses
,
Baby Kisses, and
Candy Kisses
.
In
Dream Kisses,
Sarah Carter a.k.a. Mims
Murphy, meets Sage Tanner at Imaginings Publishing while he's posing for the
cover of her soon-to-be-released Western romance novel. After being bulldozed
into a coffee break with him by her publisher, an embarrassing incident causes
Sarah to walk out. Of course, fate has a wonderful way of intervening in
matters of the heart. Sarah decides her book needs realism and signs up for
"dude" lessons at
Lazy M Dude Ranch.
Imagine her chagrin when
she discovers the owner of the ranch is none other than Mr. Tanner himself!
Yep.
Verna Clay
Table
of Contents
Chapter 3: Expect the Unexpected
Chapter 15: Moonlight and Stars
Chapter 16: Calm before the Storm
Chapter 18: High Fashion Greenhorns
Chapter 23: Declaration Six Months
Later
: Male Model
Mims
Murphy followed Sissy Johansen, chief editor and co-owner of Imaginings
Publishing, through an ornate door and into a large photo studio on the
fiftieth floor of a high-rise in New York. Sissy had insisted that Mims meet
the cover models for her upcoming book,
Dream Kisses.
After writing five
novels with Imaginings with moderate returns, she had finally scored big on her
sixth, a chick-lit romance. Because of that success, Sissy had contracted with
her for three books in a "Kisses Series":
Dream Kisses, Honey
Kisses,
and
Baby Kisses.
Based on readers' exuberance, the books were
expected to be hits.
The
shoot had already begun when they slipped into the studio. Sissy motioned her
to a spot near a side wall. Mims leaned against the wall, her eyes riveted on
the models. Lights flashed and the photographer, a short skinny man with a
balding pate, called instructions. "Move in, Sage. Yeah, give her that
sexy, hot
hot
HOT look. Make her sizzle. Chastity, let him know who's in
charge."
Sissy
smothered a giggle and whispered, "Can you believe her name is
Chastity?"
Mims
bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud.
The
photographer called another instruction. "Okay, models, let's try a kiss.
The title of the book is
Dream Kisses,
so how about some dream kisses.
Make my toes curl."
With
a rather bored expression, the male model glanced in Mims direction. Her heart
tripped when their eyes met, something that only happened to characters in her
books.
Sissy
whispered, "He's absolutely the most gorgeous man I've ever seen, and I've
seen my share. If I were twenty years younger, I'd throw myself at him
unabashedly." She sighed.
"Sissy,
you're kidding, right? You're married," Mims shot back.
"I
think I'm kidding; not really sure."
Mims
shook her head and looked back at the models now sharing a passionate embrace
and kiss. The female had hit the genetics jackpot: curvaceous body, flowing
blonde hair, sexy sky blue eyes, and full pouty mouth. Of course, maybe it
wasn't genetics; maybe it was implants, hair salon, contacts, and Botox.
Whatever,
she's still gorgeous.
A
fan billowed the female's lavender silk drape gently around her luscious body
and lifted her golden hair off her shoulders. The male model bent her slightly
backwards, all evidence of his boredom gone when he laid a whopper on her. His
hair, the color of rich mahogany laced with sunlight, also moved in the breeze
of the fan. His linen shirt, falling off his shoulder and open to the waist,
revealed tanned skin and washboard abs.
Sissy
said, "My God, I think I can scrub clothes on his abs."
Mims
choked and shook her head at Sissy's forthrightness.
For
the next hour they watched the photographer command the models, and the models
perform magic. The experience transported Mims into the pages of her book. It
was as if the characters had found life—a special world of romance, adventure,
and a happily ever after that she wanted to step into.
"Okay,
boys and girls, I think we can call it a wrap," said the height-challenged
photographer.
The
male model stretched and the female model ran her hands through her hair. For
obvious reasons, Mims had expected the models to gravitate toward each other,
but with the shoot finished, they appeared oblivious to one another. Then, to
Mims astonishment, the female rushed to the photographer and bent to kiss him
on the lips. He responded and whispered in her ear. She blushed and giggled,
pushing at his chest. "Hon, gotta run and pick up the kids. I'm making
lasagna for dinner."
Mims
mouth fell open. Sissy saw the look and chuckled. "Oh, yeah, you've never
met Chastity and Chuckie Chambers. They're the best in their fields and been
married since their teens. Got two kids, but always act like they're on their
honeymoon. It's a shock when people find out they're married. We never give it
a second thought around here cause we see them so much. Come on, I'll introduce
you to everyone. Now, the male model, Sage Tanner, he's new, so I don't know
much about him; only that he's in demand." Sissy elbowed Mims,
"Wonder why?" She grabbed Mims' arm and pulled her forward.
"Hey
Chastity and Chuckie, I'd like you to meet the author of the book for the cover
you were just shooting." The Chambers greeted her with warm handshakes.
"OMG,
I just love your books
.
When Chuckie told me I was going to be the model
for your next one, I got so excited I couldn't stop talking about it. It's such
a pleasure meeting you!"
"Chastity,
I should be thanking you for creating such a beautiful cover," Mims said
warmly.
Sissy
turned to Sage who'd slipped off his linen shirt to reveal the body of a god.
He reached for an old T-shirt and when his head popped through the neck, she
said, "Sage, Imaginings is extremely pleased you're doing this book cover.
When our artistic designer saw your portfolio, she refused to look further. The
shoot was awesome."
"Thank
you, ma'am," he politely replied with a slight drawl. He glanced toward
Mims and her heart thumped again.
You write about this stuff, girl, you
don't live it.
Sissy
introduced them. "Sage Tanner, I'd like you to meet Mims Murphy, our best
selling author."
"I'm
pleased to meet you, Ms. Murphy."
"Likewise,
Mr. Tanner. But please, call me Mims."
"Okay,
only if you call me Sage."
Mims
felt utterly tongue-tied. A woman could drown in the man's Caribbean blue eyes
and never want to be saved.
She
found her voice. "Thank you for the lovely photo shoot. The cover of a
book is so important."
Lovely photo shoot? What a lame thing to say.
How about unbelievably incredible, undeniably sensuous, mesmerizing, and sexy
photo shoot?
"I'm
glad you liked it."
For
a second, there was an uncomfortable silence. Sissy said, "Why don't we
all walk across the street for a java fix. I understand there's another shoot
tomorrow for publicity photos that are going on our website. We can all throw
out ideas."
Chuckie
said, "I could use a break, sounds great, Sissy."
Chastity
declined, "Sorry, I've got to pick my kids up from school."
Sage
agreed, "Sure, that sounds nice," but he didn't sound very enthused.
Sissy
grabbed Mims arm. "I'll let the powers-that-be, namely, my husband, know
where we're going. Mims and I will meet you in the lobby in five minutes. She
pulled Mims from the room.
"Sissy,
I really need to go."
"And
do what? Hack away on your computer? Give it a break, girl. I just got the most
gorgeous man on the planet to join us for coffee. If you say you're not
interested, I'm calling the paramedics. Better yet, I'll call the white-coats
to have you committed."
"Sissy,
what are you talking about? I'm not even in that guy's league. Besides, I'm
older than him."
"Not
more than five or six years. Cougars are out there dating men decades—yes,
that's plural—younger than themselves."
"Sissy,
guys like that
do not
go for gals like me. It only happens in
books."
"Mims,
I saw the guy give you
that
look."
"No
way, Sissy."
"If
you try to get out of this coffee break, I'll…I'll…refuse to publish your next
book."
:
Java Break
Sage
followed the group across the busy intersection to an upscale coffee house. He
had the beginnings of a headache. He'd wanted to decline the "java fix"
and return to his hotel room, but he needed the modeling job. He couldn't
afford to offend his bread-and-butter provider.
God, I wish I could quit
modeling.
They
entered Jet Setters Java Junction and he watched Sissy Johansen take charge. No
surprise there. She was a bulldozer, which was probably the reason she and her
husband had such a successful company. Although Sage didn't read romance
novels, he knew the genre outsold all others.
Someone
behind the counter approached Sissy and gave her preferential treatment,
motioning them to another room. They followed Sissy and their Jet Setter
hostess to a room glassed off from the main one. A few high class business
types sat in comfortable booths. Sage knew he looked out of place in his old
T-shirt, but he didn't give a rat's ass. A beautiful woman wearing a classy
business suit looked him up and down as he approached. She gave him that slow,
I-like-what-I-see smile. He'd encountered that same smile thousands of times
since the age of fourteen. His headache felt worse. He ignored her.