I am delighted to welcome Melanie Robertson-King today with IT HAPPENED ON DUFFERIN TERRACE, a sweet romance that has just been released by King Park Press. There is a giveaway at the bottom of the post. Don't miss the chance to win a copy of the ebook!
Series: It Happened (book1)
Genre:
sweet romance
Release
Date: July 22, 2018
Publisher:
King Park Press
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?
EXTRACT
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.
BUY LINKS
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.
Facebook: Melanie Robertson-King- Author
Twitter: @RobertsoKing
Goodreads Author Page: Melanie Robertson-King
Blog: Celtic Connexions
Website: melanierobertson-king.com
GIVEAWAY
An e-copy of
the book
