Blog Tour & #Giveaway : Strollers & Stilettos by Nana Malone @NanaMalone
Title: Strollers & Stilettos
Series: In Stilettos, #4
Author: Nana Malone
Release Date: October 20, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Synopsis
What happens when real life gets in the way of Happily Ever After?
Chronic list-making, event planner, Jaya Trudeaux Westhorpe, envisioned a fairytale ending once she married hotel magnate, Alec Westhorpe—complete with a steamy, extended honeymoon and an eventual family. What she didn’t expect was a baby on their doorstep and a family-phobic husband.
When reformed playboy, Alec Danthers Westhorpe, married the woman of his dreams, he thought he’d finally found peace. But a long-hidden secret threatens to jeopardize what he holds most dear.
Warning: Sexy, sass talking women will make you laugh, cry and want a pair of killer footwear.
Excerpt
Of all the things Alec never thought he’d hear, “Someone’s left you a baby at the hotel” would have been at the top of the list. A baby abandoned on his property was bad enough. One in any way tied to his name was a potential disaster. Especially given the Kleinman deal. The old goat was already looking for a reason to back out of working with them.
Alec’s heart thundered as fury coursed through his blood. With one call, the ground beneath his feet shook. According to Caleb, the baby had come complete with a birth certificate naming him as the father. It wasn’t true. Couldn’t be true. Except, maybe it could be.
His stomach pitched even as he gripped the steering wheel. Normally, Jaya would be a calming influence, but right now, the last thing he wanted was her near this mess.
This was all some kind of mistake. He and Jaya had been apart for six months before he’d finally pulled his head out of his ass and come back to her. But he hadn’t slept with anyone. He would never have done that. Are you sure about that?
The bile rose in his throat, and he choked it back. Shortly before he’d realized he couldn’t live without Jaya, he’d been willing to do anything to bring himself a reprieve from missing her. Including drinking himself into blind oblivion. All he had were hazy, foggy patches and pieces from that one night, but he’d woken in his own bed. But there had been blond hairs on the pillow next to him, and the place had smelled distinctly of floral shampoo. Would he have substituted someone else for the woman he wanted? Could he have? No.
At least that’s what he wanted to believe, what he had to believe, but still, it was possible.
“Alec, I’m sure it’ll be okay. We’ll figure out what’s going on.” Jaya’s voice was soft, reassuring.
It only made him feel worse. He cleared his throat. “Jai, you didn’t have to come.”
“Caleb called in a 9-1-1. When are you going to realize that means that I’m coming too? We’re a family now. Your problems are my problems.”
Yeah, well, he’d see how she felt about it once they got to the hotel. Because he was pretty sure she wasn’t going to take it so smoothly that he had his own personal Billie Jean.
After breaking a myriad of traffic laws, they arrived at the hotel in barely one piece, and Caleb met them in Alec’s office, but halted when he saw Jaya. His gaze darted to Alec’s as he spoke. “Jai, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Whatever you have to say to him you can say to me. Where’s the baby?” Jaya asked.
When she crossed her arms over her breasts, Alec realized he probably couldn’t love her more than he did in that moment.
Caleb nodded brusquely before radioing one of his team to bring the baby in. When he turned his attention back to them, he spoke quickly. “About an hour ago, one of the maid staff found the baby girl in the business center. The kid had a note pinned to her that said, “Property of my daddy, Alec Westhorpe.” Caleb darted a glance at Jaya before moving on. “She also had what looked like a legit birth certificate on her, naming him as the father.”
Alec ground his teeth together. Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot. “I don’t have a kid.”
Caleb nodded. “We’ll clear it up. The mother is listed as one Melanie Brooks. We’ve started digging up any information on her that we can. But right now she’s a ghost.”
Jaya’s voice was calm and level as she asked, “How old is the baby?”
“Eight and a half months, if the birth certificate is to be believed.”
Alec kept his eyes on Jaya. His body clenched, waiting for her to do the math. Waiting for her to turn a wounded, disbelieving gaze his way. But it didn’t come. Instead, she asked more questions.
“Can we talk to the maid who found the baby? Maybe she saw something?”
“My guys are talking to her now. Whoever left the kid, left her with a few days of baby food and her blanket and a toy or two.”
She sighed. “That poor baby.”
Alec watched his wife carefully. She seemed unconcerned whether the baby was his or not. Her only concern was for the welfare of the child.
There was a brief knock at the door, and Caleb’s right hand guy, Tom, walked in, carrying a squirming bundle. If the situation hadn’t been absurd enough, Alec might have started laughing at the picture Tom made with the kid. Someone as big as him, looking extremely uncomfortable with a baby in his arms.
As if sensing the new audience, the baby turned her head, and her gaze collided directly with Alec’s. He sucked in a sharp breath. Jet-black hair framed her heart-shaped face. Startling blue eyes stared back at him. And like him, she had a cleft in her chin. His head swam, and prickly heat stung his skin.
Jaya didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she relieved Tom of the tiny burden. “Hey there, beautiful girl. You’ve had a heck of a night, huh? Well, don’t you worry, we’ll find your mama, okay?”
The baby gurgled and rewarded Jaya with a smile.
“Have you called Child Protective Services yet?” Alec asked.
Caleb nodded. “Right after I called the cops. They’re already on their way and will be keeping it discrete. They’re interviewing the staff.”
For the first time since they’d walked in, Jaya slanted him with a displeased look. “We are not handing this baby over to CPS.”
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author Nana Malone’s love of all things romance and adventure started with a tattered romantic suspense she borrowed from her cousin on a sultry summer afternoon in Ghana at a precocious thirteen. She’s been in love with kick butt heroines ever since.
With her overactive imagination, and channeling her inner Buffy, it was only a matter a time before she started creating her own characters. Waiting for her chance at a job as a ninja assassin, Nana meantime works out her drama, passion, and sass with fictional characters every bit as sassy and kick butt as she thinks she is.
Nana is the author of twenty novels. And the books in her series have been on multiple Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists as well as the iTunes Breakout Books list and most notably the USA Today Bestseller list.
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Giveaway
Nana will be giving away a digital copy of Sexy in Stilettos, the first book in her In Stilettos series
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Synopsis for Sexy in Stilettos
What’s worse than having to watch your sister marry your ex fiancé? How about when that fiancé fires you from the family business?
Hyper-organized, event planner, Jaya Trudeaux is used to doing things by the book and never making waves. It’s a strategy that’s served her well until she finds herself in failure alley with no fiancé, no job and her thirtieth birthday looming. Maybe it’s time to change her methods. Starting with an unlikely date to the wedding from hell.
The only thing that can tie carefree, playboy, Alec Danthers down is his formidable step mother. When she calls him home to help find his wayward brother, he never imagines an uptight, list making, sass-talking woman would make him think about putting down roots.
Can Jaya put the lists down long enough to enjoy the ride that is Alec? Will Alec stop running long enough to recognize true love?
Warning: Sexy, sass talking women will make you laugh, cry and want a pair of killer footwear.
Blog Tour Stops
October 20, 2014
Musings From an Addicted Reader
October 21, 2014
October 22, 2014
October 23, 2014
October 24, 2014
