Wednesday Wonders: THREE PLUS THREE

Today's Wednesday Wonders features the story Three Plus Three  by Cindy Flores Martinez in the Valentine Pets & Kisses collection.

Book Description:

Make your Valentine's Day tail-wagging and purr-fect with 14 brand-new romances from award-winning and bestselling authors! (When it comes to stories involving our four-legged pets, one day a year to share tales of love isn’t enough.) Today we feature story #14:

Three Plus Three - Cindy Flores Martinez

A grieving widow and her beloved doggie meet a handsome widower the day before Valentine's Day.

Excerpt:

She scooped Cookie up in her arms, but before she could get a firm grip, the eager dog jumped out of her grasp and darted down the sidewalk toward the ocean. Violet was stunned, too stunned to move for the first few seconds.

She watched, agape, as Cookie descended on Ocean Avenue, a small two-lane road that lay between Main Street and the beach. Traffic was heavy on that street. Although the cars moved slowly, they were still a crescendo of hot, shiny metal and rolling wheels. They were no match for a dog, especially one as small as hers.

"Cookie!" Violet raced after her while passersby's watched. "My dog! Please stop her!"

Several people tried to grab hold of Cookie, but she got away. She reached the curb, stepped off it, and dashed in front of the cars.

Violet felt as if her heart leaped out of her chest.

The sound of screeching tires filled the air as drivers slammed on their brakes.

Cookie's body came within inches of the wheels on a minivan.

A horrified scream escaped Violet's lips. She covered her eyes with her hands, unable to watch Cookie's horrible end. Her body tensed as she braced herself for what was about to come.

When all remained quiet, she uncovered her eyes and glanced ahead. Cookie safely reached the other side of the street, hopping onto the sidewalk with her tiny back legs.

A wave of relief swept over Violet at the sight. She lunged forward, and her high heels click-clacked on the ground as she chased after Cookie, crossing in front of the cars that were still stopped. "I'm sorry," she said to the drivers.

Arriving at the other side of the road, she caught a glimpse of Cookie heading toward a cement ramp beside the pier. It led out to a parking lot where more cars might cross her path.

Violet's heart began to race. "Somebody, please stop my dog!" She slipped out of her high heels and ran after Cookie in her bare feet.

Seal Beach was much smaller than the other beaches in the area. A long pier cut through two narrow parking lots, which quickly met the sand. The water was just a few feet away. She could tell Cookie remembered how to get there and that she was determined to get there at whatever the cost.

Violet darted down the ramp as fast as she could. By then, Cookie was dashing toward a small separation wall that shielded the parking lot from the sand. Thankfully, there were no moving cars in front of her, but Violet knew it wouldn't take long for Cookie to reach the water. She had loved playing in the ocean to no end, but Violet had always been there to watch her. The current on this beach was fierce, easily pulling anyone and anything underneath its clutches. Lately, there had been sharks and jelly fish swimming close to the shore because of the warmer-than-usual ocean temperatures.

Horrible images flashed through Violet's mind of killer sea creatures lurking in shallow waters waiting to feast on pet dogs. At that moment, Violet decided she was never going to let Cookie out of the house again, ever.

 

About the Author:

Cindy Flores Martinez writes sweet romantic comedy and inspirational romance in English and Spanish. The Spanish version of her debut novel, Mail-Order Groom, which is titled Novio Por Correo, has been an Amazon US and international Spanish romance bestseller. Cindy has an MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Screenwriting. She has been a screenwriting instructor, screenplay consultant, script reader, and screenplay collaborator.

You may purchase Valentine Pets & Kisses which includes Three Plus Three by clicking HERE.

 
Connect with Cindy:

Facebook  |  Website  |  Twitter

Tweet this blog post: 
Surely killer sea creatures lurked in shallow waters to feast on pet dogs. Three Plus Three @AuthorCindy http://bit.ly/1VDzjwf #WedWonders

Wednesday Wonders: MAIL-ORDER GROOM

Today’s Wednesday Wonders features Mail-Order Groom by Cindy Flores Martinez.

About Mail-Order Groom (Second Edition):

MAIL-ORDER GROOM (Second Edition) is a sweet romantic comedy novel about an American woman who marries a handsome stranger from Poland after her fiancé leaves her right before the wedding.

Lisa is about to marry the love of her life, but her world is shattered when she finds her fiancé, Jeff, in the arms of another woman. When he calls off the wedding, she's heartbroken.

In a twist of fate, she meets Krzysztof Zielinski from Poland on Mail-Order-Grooms.Com. He needs to marry an American woman so that he can stay in America, and he’s willing to pay money for it. His reason for needing to stay is what tugs at Lisa’s heart and convinces her to say “I do” to him. After all, it’s going to be strictly a business deal.

Lisa races to the altar with Krzysztof, but things become complicated when she finds herself falling for him, and he’s not planning to stay in America forever. Will her heart break all over again?

Excerpt:

"Without further ado," said Pastor Dan, "I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Was it really over? I remained there, unmoving, as reality sunk in. Yes, it was over. I had married Krzysztof Zielinski. Despite my good intentions for having married him, I couldn't escape the enormity of what I had done. I hardly knew Krzys, but I needed to make our marriage look real, or else he and Jerzy would lose everything. What made it even harder was that my heart was still breaking over Jeff, and nobody could ever know how I felt. Would I really be able to do this?

Pastor Dan clasped his hands together and turned toward Krzys. “You may now kiss the bride.”

Somehow, I had forgotten about this part of the ceremony. I wasn't ready to kiss Krzys, or anyone else for that matter. Jeff was the only man I had kissed in years. What was I going to do now?

The photographer that I had hired for the day positioned the camera directly in front of us, and everyone in the room waited in silence for our blessed union.

I caught a glimpse of Mario and Jerzy who stood beside Krzys, and Magda who sat behind them in the front row of the church looking beautiful in a flowing floral dress. Daphne, Chloe, and Zoey were at my side in matching bubble gum pink maid of honor and bridesmaids gowns. They all watched me and Krzys with anticipation.

There was no way around it. I had to kiss Krzys, and it had to look as if it was something other than the first time.

As I prepared myself mentally for the inevitable, I decided that our kiss couldn't be just any kiss. It had to be better than anything Jeff and I had ever shared and better than what he and Vivian experienced on the night I found them together. I was going to give Krzys the biggest, most overly exaggerated kiss in the history of my love life, and I was going to make sure we were in full view of the camera. I hoped with everything inside of me that Jeff would see a picture of that moment and that somehow, someway, he would feel the same pain I felt when I saw him kiss Vivian.

I stepped forward, but Krzys's lips met mine first. The kiss that followed between us was gentle, soft, tender, warm, and kind. Yes, those are the words that come to mind when I think of that kiss. Nothing ever happens exactly as you plan it. Life is never the way you think it’s going to be.

When it was over, Krzys didn’t move, and neither did I. We watched each other as if we were the only two people in the room. We had just experienced the most perfect kiss, and it had rendered us immobile. Before that moment, our marriage was going to be a clear, straightforward business deal with no emotions involved, but our kiss had just complicated it.

“Ladies and gentleman,” said Pastor Dan, “I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Krzysztof Zielinski.”

About Cindy Flores Martinez:

My name is Cindy Flores Martinez. I was born and raised in a suburb of Los Angeles. I have an MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Screenwriting. I have been a screenwriting instructor, screenplay consultant, script reader, and screenplay collaborator. My debut novel, Mail-Order Groom, started out as a screenplay and movie project. I spent years shopping it around Hollywood, New York, and other parts of the world and had two well-known actors, one of them Academy Award nominated, interested in portraying the lead character's parents. After not finding the success I wanted, I officially canceled my film production company, Mail-Order Groom LLC, in November of 2009 and embarked on the journey of turning my screenplay into a novel.

Author Links:

 Amazon Author Page  |  Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  

Goodreads

Purchase Link:   Amazon