Brooke scooted inside the car, to the far side of a padded bench seat. Chase slid in beside her and gave her hand a squeeze. Across from them, Reverend Bob took his place and pulled out some papers. Looking around the interior of the limo, Brooke was overwhelmed by the garlands of greenery, flowers and ribbons that decorated the small space.
âSince we have some time before the ceremony, Iâll just point out the special features of this particular limo.â Reverend Bob gestured to the opaque glass partition behind him. âSoundproof. Weâll lower it during the ceremony so the driver can be your witness, but once you begin the honeymoon, it will be raised.â
âHoneymoon?â Brooke asked.
âYes. Youâve got the limo for two hours.â He gestured for them to move apart, reached between them and lowered the padded panel. âYou pull that handle there, and the seat will fold down to make a bed.â
Brooke was dumbfounded. He expectedâ¦people actuallyâ¦
âCool,â Chase said, giving Brooke a wicked grin.
Dear Reader,
I thought Iâd get right to the good stuffâaphrodisiacs. After all, this is a Harlequin Temptation, right? In researching the scene where Brookeâs sister and Chaseâs brother are trying to kindle a romance between their siblings, I learned some interesting things. Did you know that through the ages, there were a lot of foodsânot just oystersâthat were considered to have erotic powers? So, of course, I had to mention themâ¦.
One of the aphrodisiacs I used in the book was pine nut soup. Would you believe that pine nuts have been used to inspire romance since 116 B.C.? Do they work? Iâll let you be the judge of that. Look below for a recipe.
In the meantime, sit back and have fun watching Chase and Brooke as they struggle to avoid being caught in the romantic snare set for them by their siblingsâand find themselves caught up in love anyway!
Have fun,
Heather MacAllister
P.S. You can visit my Web site at HeatherMacAllister.com
Iâm a female West Houston High senior and am looking for a valentine for my overprotective older sister whoâs cramping my style. Sheâs a babe-in-waiting, not a woofer. If youâve got an available older brother whoâs at least twenty-five, and isnât a troll, call me and letâs hook them up. Iâll make it worth your while.
âHI, MY NAME IS Jeff Ryan and Iâm calling about the ad you put in Additudes.â
âOh, yeah. Iâm glad my sister didnât answer the phone. Hang on and let me kick my door shutâ¦okay. Iâm Courtney Weathers, by the way.â
âUhm, I know who you areâyouâre in South Pacific at school, right?â
âYes, just the chorus, but I am the understudy for Nellie.â
âIs that good?â
âWell, not as good as being cast as Nellie, since thatâs the lead, but better than not being the understudy. I mean, people can get colds, right? Anyway, youâve got a brother?â
âYeah.â
âWell, is he cute?â
âIâm a guy! I donât know if heâs cute or not.â
âDo you look like him?â
âNot really. Heâs my stepbrother, actually, my ex-stepbrother, but he never has a problem getting dates, if that helps.â
âSo why doesnât he have a girlfriend now? And Iâm assuming he doesnât or this call is so over.â
âHe works all the time and they get mad when he bails on them. And when heâs not working, heâs bugging me.â
âI hear that.â
âI mean, heâs a great guy, and heâs letting me live with him while I finish up at West Houston, but heâs got this idea that Iâm going to âfollow in his footsteps,â or some garbage like that. Heâs got my whole life planned out to be just like his.â
âOh, wow! You just described my sister! Iâve got a major case of goose bumps going here.â
âHey, yeah?â
âI mean, Brooke, thatâs my sister, sheâs just so totally into this whole college thing and, like, Iâm telling her I want to be an actress and she just so wonât listen.â
âAnd your parents are listening to her, right?â
âOh, itâs so bad. My dadâs working in El Bahar, so theyâre living overseas and they think that my sister is this perfect goody-goody, mainly because she is. Theyâre always taking her side. Itâs like they think Iâm still this little kid.â
âWellâ¦I donât think Chaseâmy step-broâis the kind of guy to go for a goody-goody.â
âBut thatâs just itâshe didnât used to be. Itâs this responsibility trip sheâs on. Itâs got her way too tightly wound. She needs a distraction.â