Thespian Wench Thursday - Give a Warm Welcome to Lydia Michaels
Title: Faking
It {McCullough Mountain 4}
Author: Lydia
Michaels
Genre: Romance
Heat Level: Erotic
Romance (graphic)
Book Length: 223
pages
Date of Publication: March 12, 2014 (On
Amazon and other sites by March 19, 2014)
(Please Note: ARCs can be provided for previous titles in a
series upon request)
Blurb:
Sheilagh McCullough has been
pretending to be someone else her entire life. When she takes her rebellious
act too far, her overbearing brothers decide it’s time for her to grow up and
face her future. After six years of procrastination and parties, Sheilagh is
finally going to college.
Dr. Alec Devereux is an
ethical man, but when Sheilagh McCullough enrolls in his class, his morals as a
professor are put to the test. Brilliant, tenacious, and a contradiction to
herself in so many ways, Alec is enchanted by his new student and unable to
resist temptation. Persistent and logical, Alec unravels the mysterious woman
who has captured his heart only to discover the greatest threat to their future
might be her past.
A courageous journey of the
soul that confronts one woman’s fears of love and embraces the truth in her
heart.
Excerpt:
“You
have no right!”
“Shut
up!” the three of them shouted at once.
Her
eyes prickled with unshed tears as they drove. Under the passing shadows she
saw each one of them staring away from her, fury stamped into their set jaws.
She kicked the seat in front of her and Tristan grunted.
After
she discovered Luke and Tristan’s affair, Tristan handled her with kid gloves.
Sheilagh didn’t want his pity. She was tougher than that. She was a McCullough,
for Christ’s sake. She had five crazy brothers and she could hold her own with
every single one of them.
The
farther they drove out of town, the more self-doubt crept in. “Where are we
going?”
No
one answered. The commercial storefronts faded away as Kelly turned the SUV
onto the highway leading out of town. As they took the jug handle onto the
interstate her concern doubled. Their anger was so thick it seemed to siphon
the air right out of the car.
Her
concern for herself doubled as her eyes rapidly blinked back tears, forcing
those telling little spills to stay put where others couldn’t see. Her entire
existence focused on hiding those telltale signs of weakness from the world.
She
hated that her stupid, childish heart was permanently damaged and her life
derailed. Since the day she’d discovered Luke and Tristan, she’d been going at
the world like a runaway train, making one poor choice after another and
leaving nothing but self-destruction in her wake. It was the only way she knew
to control the pain, control herself. But in truth, over the last few years she
felt out of control and with every stupid transgression came another reason to
hate herself.
She
wasn’t sure she’d ever be normal again. She wasn’t breaking hearts, just
breaking herself, battering pieces of her
broken heart, little by little, with each poor decision.
Suddenly
the car swerved. She slammed into Luke and he pushed her off. Gravel spewed
under the tires as Kelly tore onto the shoulder and threw the SUV in park.
It
was dark and no one said a word. Fear tickled her spine. Why were they there?
It was completely dark and eerie and she wondered if this was their version of
some kind of confessional.
The
sound of their breathing sawed out of their lungs and she waited. Luke, of
course, broke the silence. “Are you out of your god damn mind?”
She
turned to unleash the fury inside of her. “Oh, shut up, Luke! You have no right
to pass judgment on me!”
Kelly
swiveled in his seat, his blue eyes boring into her through the dark. “What did
you suspect people would do after you bared your titties for the town? Praise
you? Christ, Sheilagh, use your fucking head!”
“Like
you have any room to talk, Kelly! There isn’t a woman in Center County who
hasn’t seen your wank!”
“And
do you think I didn’t pay a price for my actions, Sheilagh?” Kelly stormed.
No,
she didn’t. Kelly lived the high life and still managed to find his soul mate.
No one in this car had a right to even pretend they understood what it felt
like to be invisible.
“It’s
like the sheep fucker!” Kelly snarled and turned toward the windshield.
What?
“What?”
“Shamus
the sheep fucker!” her brother snapped. “The old Irishman in the bar that built
the church and sailed the sea, but no one remembers that because he fucked one
sheep.”
“No
one’s fucking a sheep, you moron!”
“Well,
what do you think people would say if you started stripping? You wouldn’t be
Sheilagh the beautiful McCullough or Sheilagh the genius. No, you’d only be
Sheilagh the stripper. Do you want that kind of reputation?”
She
crossed her arms over her breasts and glared out the window.
Tristan
turned. “Why would you do this, Shei?”
She
blinked repeatedly. Because no one notices me anymore. Forcing an expression of indifference, she
shrugged. “Why not?”
“You’re
better than that. You know you are,” he said in a soft voice.
She
didn’t know what to say back. Maybe she wasn’t better than that. Maybe that’s
all she was meant to be, a stripper in some Podunk town.
Luke
wouldn’t look at her, but she still heard him growl. “This is bullshit. When
are you going to grow up?”
She
pivoted and turned her glare on him. “Me? How about you, Luke? When are
you going to grow up? You have an awful lot to say about how everyone lives
their life, when you don’t have the balls to let the world see who you really
are!”
The
car grew deathly silent. Kelly said her name in warning and she snapped. “No!
I’m sick of it! Just say it! Say it!”
“What
do you want me to say?” Luke
roared.
Tristan’s
stare cut to her and she felt a pinch of regret much like the lament she saw in
his eyes. Why couldn’t they just come out and let everyone know they were in
love?
“This
isn’t about Luke,” Tristan said quietly. “It never was. I’m sorry, Sheilagh. I
know this isn’t what you asked for, but sometimes life is unfair.”
She
fumed as she glared back at him. “I wanna go home.”
No
one said anything for quite some time. “You’re going away,” Kelly finally
announced.
“What?”
“You’re
going to college. There’s nothing for you here and you know it. It’s time for
you to get on with your life and make something of yourself.”
Author Bio:
Bestselling author, Lydia
Michaels, writes all forms of hot romance. She presses the bounds of love and
surprises readers just when they assume they have her stories figured out. From
Amish vampyres, to wild Irishmen, to broken heroes, and heroines no man can
match, Lydia takes readers on an emotional journey of the heart, mind, and soul
with every story she pens. Her books are intellectual, erotic, haunting, always
centered on love.
Thank you for stopping by! I love hosting authors in The Locker. I wish you many sales.
Other Titles by Lydia Michaels:
Falling In
Breaking Out
Coming Home
Sacred Waters
Skin
Chaste
Faking It
Forsaking Truth
As Tears Go By
Simple Man
Breaking Perfect
White Chocolate
All 4 You
To Catch a Wolfe
Chasing Feathers
Called to Order
Calling for a Miracle
Destiny Calls
Call Her Mine
McCullough Mountain: Family Tree
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