BIRTHDAY PEEK: Running in Place by L.B. Simmons

Some books will make you cry, some will make you laugh, some will elate you, and some will leave you upset for days … and then once in a blue moon a book will come along that will make you feel like you’re floating on air, every page, every scene warming your heart because it is written from the heart. Running on Empty left me smiling and sighing from happiness every time I thought about this story.

A beautifully written tale of second chances at love, of missed opportunities and allowing one’s heart to love again, this book became an instant favourite of mine and it not only put one of the sweetest authors around on my radar, it made me want to read anything she ever writes in the future.

Read my review of Running on Empty
Buy Running on Empty: Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble

Today, my friend L.B. Simmons is giving us a very exclusive little peek at her next book, the second book in the Mending Hearts series. This is not a teaser and this is not a synopsis – this is the first EVER look at Running in Place

Expected release date: 2013

Tatum O’Connell:

Some call me a party girl. People see me as happy, full of life, with absolutely no cares in the world. They see what I want them to see. But no one knows me… really knows  me. No one sees the lonely little girl who resides in my soul. The little girl whose own mother couldn’t care less about her. The little girl who was left alone, raising herself while her mother drowned herself daily in alcohol and depression. The little girl who lost her daddy when she was six, and who would give anything to have him back. No one sees… me. So here I am at the tender age of twenty-three, living my life as a perpetual party girl. Only a semester shy of graduating college… but, I won’t do it. I won’t give her the satisfaction. For now, I’m stuck working in my brother’s bar – the bar he and Blake opened together just recently. Trace came back to keep an eye on me and the first thing he made me do was start working for him. I’m pretty sure he put his little minion, Noah Reese, aka bar manager, on “Tatum duty”. Noah Reese. He’s hot, there’s no doubt about it. I can’t keep my eyes off of him actually. With his brown spiky hair, light brown eyes offset by his impossibly dark lashes… he’s gorgeous. And when he comes into the bar, with some perfect, Barbie blonde girl draping herself all over him, I get a tad upset. Those girls aren’t right for him. Not that I am, I’m not right for anyone. Sure, I have my boyfriend. But I’m not in love with him, and actually, he’s kind of a jerk. So, if Noah wants to keep an eye on me, that’s fine. I definitely don’t mind. But, I hope he doesn’t have any plans to save me from my life of self-destruction. Because, in order to save me, he will have to see me… and I’m never going to let that happen.

Noah Reese:

Perfect. That’s me. That’s the only acceptable way to be, according to my father. I loathe the man. There was never any love from him growing up. Just lecture after lecture about how anything less than perfect was intolerable. Perfect grades. Perfect manners. Perfect athlete. Perfect SAT scores. Perfect college. Now, I have to get into the perfect med school. I would like to tell him what a perfect asshole father he is.  But I won’t.  It takes too much energy to argue with him; this I learned this lesson at a very young age. He wasn’t always this way. But after mom died, he changed and I was forced to change with him. The only little bit of reprieve I get is working in Trace’s bar. No expectations there.  In addition, I have recently also acquired another job. Trace asked me to keep an eye on his little sister, Tatum. That girl… she’s outta control. Drunken and disorderly… every goddamn night. Her and her loser boyfriend. He’s such a dick to her… it takes everything in me to not knock his ass out. I can’t even be in the same room with them. But, I told Trace I would watch out for her, because there’s just something about her. I can’t help it. She’s breathtaking… long black hair and light blue eyes. One of the most beautiful smiles I’ve ever seen. But, she’s also like a lost little girl who needs help. I see the façade… the front she puts up for other people. And I recognize her pain, no matter how good she is at trying to cover it up. She’s clearly hiding something, I know it. So, I watch her closely, never really saying much, hoping that one day she’ll let me in. But watching her lead her life down the dangerous path she’s on right now isn’t going to be easy. I have a funny feeling I’m about to find myself lost in the hurricane that is Tatum O’Connell.

The Author

L.B. Simmons is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds a degree in Biomedical Science. She has been a practicing Chemist for the last 11 years. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Texas and writes every chance she gets.

Connect with L.B.: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
The Giveaway

To win one of THREE e-copies of Running on Empty, please enter below. By entering, you accept the following Giveaway Conditions.

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Other books in the series or related posts:

BLOG TOUR: Running on Empty by L.B. Simmons

I am so very honoured to be the first stop in the Running on Empty Blog Tour!! This book will make you feel like you’re indulging in a warm bubble bath, all your senses being spoiled, serenely happy and without a worry in the world. It will warm your heart in so many wonderful ways you’ll never want to leave the delightful world of Alex, Blake, Harlow and the three munchkins that steal the show every chance they get.

Read my full review HERE..

Today, we have something very special in store from the wonderful L.B. Simmons – an EXCLUSIVE scene from Blake’s POV!!! Yep, I am not kidding, she wrote it just for us! So, put some bubbles in that bath, grab a glass of wine, sit back and let Blake take charge…

RunningonEmpty2I had the perfect life.

Beautiful and loving husband.

Three gorgeous little girls.

Successful career.

The only thing missing was the white picket fence.  I really wanted that fence.

Three years ago, I lost that life.  I lost my husband.  And I lost myself.  But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness.  I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world.  I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse.

But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.

There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down.  Absolutely no way.

The question is…

How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up?

The Exclusive Scene from Blake’s POV

Waco. Founded 1849.

I shake my head and accelerate as I pass the sign. I can’t believe I’m back here. For her. How many times have I tried to get that woman out of my mind… yet, I’m here.

I hate this town. Well, maybe not the town itself, but everything it represents. My past. With absolutely no future.

As I whip in and out of traffic, I know my first stop has to be my parents. Then, I’ll need to meet up with Harlow later today, to get this all worked out. If I know Alex, she’s not going to make this easy. So I think it’s better to have some sort of plan of approach, and since Harlow’s the mastermind behind all of this, she can handle that part. I have absolutely no idea why she thinks my being here is going to be of any help to Alex. I haven’t spoken to her in years.

I shake my head again. That woman. Alex. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of her. And then immediately push her out of my mind. Maybe by coming back here, I can actually find some sort of closure with this goddamned obsession. She sure as hell hasn’t made any attempt to contact me. Not that she would, stubborn ass woman. But even after all these years, she still gets under my skin. No matter what I do, she’s always there, in my thoughts. And it has to stop.

I whip my bike to the right to try to pass this old clunker truck going no more than twenty miles an hour, when I see a woman standing on the side of the interstate trying to flag someone down for help. Something’s obviously wrong. I decide to pull over and offer my help because this damn woman is standing way to close to the traffic lanes. I ease my bike onto the side of the interstate behind the truck. I watch her turn and start to walk in the opposite direction. Where the hell does she think she’s going?

I cut off the ignition and get off the bike. When I turn around and see her standing there, both my heart and my stomach immediately contract. You have GOT to be kidding me.

I slowly begin making my way to her, trying to bide time to figure out the best way to handle this. I watch her eyes move slowly from my boots to my face. I can’t help but chuckle to myself. Yep, I think she approves. I’ve grown up, Alex. Surprised?

As I get closer to her, my chuckle turns into an outright laugh. What the hell is all over her shirt? I narrow my eyes on her head. And what the hell is going on with her hair?

I watch as the realization that it’s me standing right in front of her displays itself all over her face.

“Well, Blake Morgan. What the hell are you doing back in town?”

Out of frustration I run my hand through my hair and snicker at her audacity, because by her tone, I know this is not going to go well. And it pisses me off. It’s not like I asked to run into her stubborn ass this morning. I didn’t even plan on seeing her until tomorrow at the very earliest. Now, I’m getting bitched out? I don’t think so.

“I really don’t see what’s so funny, Blake. I’m sure it’s easy to laugh when it isn’t you sitting on the side of the interstate at eight o’clock in the morning.”

That’s it.

I’m not doing this with her today.If she wants to aggravate me, she’s succeeded.

“Actually, Alex, I am sitting on the side of the interstate… at eight o’clock in the morning. I think that automatically gives me some allowance to laugh at the situation. However, that’s not what I’m laughing at. What I’m actually laughing at is that I’m literally just driving in to this god-forsaken town when I see you, stranded on the side of the road and because I’m such a nice guy, I’m forced to stop and help. Fate tends to be cruel sometimes.”

Very cruel.

I watch her face pinch in anger, and it takes everything in me not to laugh again. Because no matter how pissed I am, there’s no denying that she has probably one of the cutest angry faces I’ve ever seen. She always had. Which is why I would try to piss her off as much as possible when we were kids.

She raises her hands and continues her rant. “Look, I didn’t ask you to stop so don’t take it out on me that you’re a nice guy, although I think your definition of nice might be a little skewed when compared to normal people’s. If you don’t want to help, then don’t. I don’t have time for this sh*t, Blake. I have to get to a gas station, get gas, get back here, get my car started, and get to work so that I can avoid being strangled by my business partner… all in about twenty minutes. So if you don’t mind, please be on your way and find another damsel in distress so you can meet this nice guy quota that you must have to complete. It was wonderful to see you again, Blake. I hope to not see you around anytime soon.”

Well, she definitely hasn’t lost any spunk over the years. She turns away from me and starts walking as fast as she can. I watch her trip a couple of times and suddenly I’m scared for her life. All I need is for her to trip herself into oncoming traffic. Shit. I need to get this woman off of the side of the road.

I march back to my bike and climb on, turning on the ignition as fast as I can. I rev the engine a couple of times; I really should have Larry take a look at it. It hasn’t been acting right lately.

I coast up beside her, on her left side, to prevent her from getting any closer to the traffic. “Get on!” She keeps her eyes forward. “Um, no. Thanks.”

Jesus Christ! I want to strangle this woman and I haven’t even been around her for five minutes. I stay right beside her. “Get on the bike, Alex!!” She stops and faces me.

“Seriously, Blake, get on with your good deeds for the day! I. Am. Fine!” She turns to continue on her journey.

No, she’s not fine. In fact, nothing about this situation is fine. I’ll be damned if I am gonna let her walk her ass anywhere. It’s unsafe for her to be out here, alone, walking to God knows where. I cut the engine and jump off the bike. I’m getting really tired of this sh*t. She’s acting like she’s twelve f*cking years old. This has got to stop. I walk up behind her and grab her arm. She wants to act like a child… I’ll sure as hell treat her like one. I turn her back towards me, our faces only inches apart. I feel her warm breath on my mouth and it takes everything in me not to grab her and bring her beautiful pouty lips to mine. After a long, excruciating second, I push the tempting thoughts out of my mind and get back to reality.

“Alex, get your ass on this bike. I’ll take you to your office. We can deal with your truck later. I can still get you there within the now,” I look down at my watch, “fifteen minute time frame to make sure you don’t getting strangled by your business partner. Think about it. Is your pride more important than your business?”

She yanks her arm free from my hold. Her mouth pops open and she looks down, I’m assuming at the tight ass skirt she’s wearing. Damn, she looks good. Really goddamn good.

“Get on your bike? In this?” She moves her hand up and down, displaying her outfit. “Not gonna happen, buddy.” Buddy?

“Alex, if I have to pick you up, put you over my shoulder, and physically place you on my bike, I will. So yes, it’s gonna happen. You can either do so with dignity, or we can do it my way. Your choice.” Jesus, I sound like I’m talking to a child. Who am I kidding? I am talking to a child.

I watch her eye me with some weird expression on her face. What the hell is that supposed to do? I continue to hold her stare, knowing I’m right. She’ll have to break eventually.

“Fine!” She shouts in my face.

Well, that didn’t take near as long as I expected. I let out a long sigh, because as traffic continues to whip by us, I’m reminded that I need to just get her out of here. I turn to walk to my bike, glancing back to make sure she’s following, which she is, although very slowly. Thank God.

Grabbing a helmet, I take a couple of steps back towards her, meeting her halfway since she’s obviously still trying to figure out a way to get out of this. I walk up to her and hand her the helmet. Since she’s so short, I have no choice but to look again at the top of her head. What the hell is that? “Um… I think you have something in your hair.”

I reach to touch it and she slaps my hand. The nerve of this woman. I’m only trying to save her life here. Let’s not waste time… I don’t know, being grateful or anything.

“It’s a present from my daughter.” She slams the helmet down on her head and I watch as she clumsily tries to buckle the chin strap. She’s doing it all wrong. I slap her hand away, partly for payback, mostly just to piss her off. I buckle it and as I look into her beautiful brown eyes, I let my fingers linger on her chin. God, how many years I have wanted to just touch her. I allow myself the luxury for a couple of seconds and then drop my hand. I’m not here for this. I’m here as a friend, for her. Nothing more. I can’t afford to let years of emotions get in the way right now.

I watch her face as it softens. “Thank you, Blake.” Something about her brief vulnerability makes me want to smile. I can’t help but hope there is still a little bit of the old Alex in there. If there is, I’ll find it. But I can’t go getting soft with her right now. I know how she works. That will only scare her and make things worse. No, I need to stay distant. I turn to grab my keys out of my pocket and take in a deep breath. I clear the smile from my face and turn back towards her. “Let’s just get this over with.”

I see the hurt flash in her eyes and it kills me. There’s nothing more I want to do than grab her and take the pain away from her. I can see it all over her face. I see it in her saddened eyes. It’s everywhere. And it absolutely breaks my heart, more than she ever did. But for her to get over this, it’s gonna take some maneuvering… and tough love. Her face immediately hardens in response to my curtness as she angrily states, “I agree.”

As we turn to walk together, I can see her trying to figure out how the hell she’s going to manage to get her ass on the bike. I know what she’s going to have to do, and I gather by the look on her face she’s just figured it out as well.

“Go ahead and get on.” She signals for me to get on, and I do. I choose not to say anything, because I can tell she’s pretty much had it today. I don’t even look back while she’s fixing her skirt, even though every bone in my body wants to. I just face forward until she’s ready, feeling relief when she puts her hands on my shoulders to climb on. Jesus, all of this shit to get her off this goddamn road.

She doesn’t sit right away for some reason. I can feel her shuffling around behind me. I feel her pull me a little when makes her move to sit down. Then I hear…

“Woo-hoo!”

“Nice legs!”

“Ride me, baby!”

My first instinct is to chase those punk asses down, but I guess I have forgotten Alex can take care of herself.

“Get to work assholes!” she yells in my ear. I immediately start laughing. She’s always reminded me of a little Chihuahua. Angrily yapping away.

“Shut up, Blake. Let’s go!” She puts her arms around me and I smile. This just feels so right.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Still lost in the feeling of her holding me, I speak before I think. “Yeah, you bought Ms. Parnell’s old office, right?” Shiiiiiit. I’m not supposed to know that. Shit.

“Er – yes. How did you know that?” I let out a quick breath. I’ve got it.

“My parents still live here, Alex. I know a lot of things,” I say, trying to exert confidence. I really hope she didn’t catch my mistake. But just in case, I don’t give her the chance to ask anything else. I turn the key, start the bike, and pull out onto the highway.

On our way to Alex’s office, all I can think is… Harlow is going to absolutely shit a brick when she sees this. This should be interesting.

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Buy book: Amazon Kindle | Amazon Paperback | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble
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The Giveaway

To win ONE of five e-copies of Running on Empty, ENTER HERE:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Blog Tour

Running on Empty_BT banner

For a full list of the Running on Empty Blog Tour stops, click on the image above.

Other books in the series or related posts:

Running on Empty by L.B. Simmons

RunningonEmpty2I had the perfect life.

Beautiful and loving husband.

Three gorgeous little girls.

Successful career.

The only thing missing was the white picket fence.  I really wanted that fence.

Three years ago, I lost that life.  I lost my husband.  And I lost myself.  But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness.  I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world.  I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse.

But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.

There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down.  Absolutely no way.

The question is…

How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up?

review

“I love you, Alex. I loved you when we were kids… and I’ve continued to love you every day since.”

Have you ever read a book that made you feel like you’re indulging in a warm bubble bath, all your senses being spoiled, serenely happy and without a worry in the world? This is that book. It will warm your heart in so many wonderful ways you’ll never want to leave the delightful world of Alex, Blake, Harlow and the three munchkins that steal the show every chance they get.

Alex is a young single mother of three beautiful daughters under ten years of age, having lost her husband when her youngest was only a baby. Her entire life revolves around her children’s happiness, putting their needs first, making every decision with them in mind and neglecting the deep hole that was left in her heart after her husband passed away. Deep down, Alex is lonely, inconsolably desolate from having lost her husband, a man she had loved most of her life. Her sadness suffocates her, slowly extinguishing the bright spark in her eyes, as she longs for the love and partnership she once had, but believing she would never find it again. Or let herself find it again.

Alex hides her sadness and pain but those who love her see it clearly and cannot help but want for her to move on with her life and find happiness again.

“You go on, each day, as though you’re happy and at peace with your life. Or at least trying to convince yourself that you are. But you also go on, each day, not really living.”

And then her oldest friend comes back to town. Once inseparable as children, their lives took different paths once she met the man she would eventually marry but they never forgot the unconditional love they once shared. Blake re-enters her life in a moment of desperate need, forcing her to not only accept what she hates accepting the most from others – help – but also to consider letting another man in her heart again. Blake is patient, considerate, understanding – he knows Alex better than she knows herself, always seeing her attempts at pushing him away as fear rather than lack of interest.

“It’s so much easier for me to cling to the memories of happiness than to consider any possibility of losing someone again.”

And so it starts an entertaining but genuinely touching battle inside Alex. On one side, she dreams of being taken care of again, of being loved, cherished, protected by someone like Blake, someone EXACTLY like Blake.

“I feel safe. I feel protected. I feel relief. I feel scared. I feel vulnerable. I feel desire. I feel… Everything.”

She is drawn to him, her feelings for him are easily ignited, being founded on years of affection and friendship. But her fear of experiencing heart-shattering loss again paralyses her, filling her with apprehension and doubts. She rationalises this in her head by convincing herself that she is protecting her daughters from potential pain and loss, but it is her own terror of the unknown that keeps her from embracing her feelings for Blake.

In this heart-warming story of second chances at happiness in life, we are shown that sometimes it is not the heart that needs to move on, but rather the mind that stalls the heart from embracing love again. Even when the right person is before your eyes, the mind plays tricks on you and convinces you to see what fear wants you to see. Until it is too late…

Through humour, sarcasm, compelling heartache, we are given a beautifully written account of a young woman’s battle with herself. Torn between her heart and what her head tells her she should be feeling or not feeling, Alex tries hard to reconcile her late husband’s role in her life with what her heart is undeniably feeling now. A novel by one of the genuinely nicest authors around, this book will elate you and entertain you, it will make you laugh out loud through bittersweet tears in your eyes and it will make you grin ear to ear. With a loveable group of characters, each one of them leaving a deep mark in your heart, this is a story that will stay with you and make you consider all the missed opportunities and all the ‘what-ifs’ in your own life.

“You’ll never have your happy ending unless you’re brave enough to open the book and start your story.”

4halfstars

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The Author

L.B. Simmons is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds a degree in Biomedical Science. She has been a practicing Chemist for the last 11 years. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Texas and writes every chance she gets.

Connect with L.B.: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Other books in the series or related posts:

NEW RELEASE: Running on Empty by L.B. Simmons

The Story

RunningonEmpty2I had the perfect life.

Beautiful and loving husband.

Three gorgeous little girls.

Successful career.

The only thing missing was the white picket fence.  I really wanted that fence.

Three years ago, I lost that life.  I lost my husband.  And I lost myself.  But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness.  I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world.  I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse.

But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.

There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down.  Absolutely no way.

The question is…

How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up?

The Excerpt

I turn my hand over and stroke his cheek. He puts his head down and I force him to look at me again.

“Shh, Blake. That’s enough. I don’t want to hear any of that right now. Derek’s death was tragic. It was heartbreaking. It was too much for me some days. But you listen to me. There is nothing you could have done if you were here that would have protected me from that pain. You need to know that. You need to believe that. I’m not going to waste time rehashing this crap, especially now that I finally have you back in my life. It happened. It’s over. I’m fine. End of story. I refuse to listen to you tear yourself up over something you had no control over.”

He says nothing more. He just grabs my wrist and pulls my body into his, being careful not to hurt my hand. He rests his cheek on top of mine and whispers solemnly into my ear, “Never again, Alex. Never. Again.”

He leaves his cheek against mine and I feel his breath in my ear. He wraps his big arms around me and we stay like that for some time. The warmth from the closeness of our bodies and the heat of his breath in my ear cause my heart rate to triple. Yet, with my heart beating a million miles a minute, I feel a strange calm. I want to let go of everything. I want to sink my body into his and let him be strong for me. I want to let him take my pain, my sadness, my exhaustion… everything that keeps me from being truly happy. I want his arms to stay around me… his warmth and protection. But as a familiar lump forms in my throat, I know this will never happen.

I can’t allow it.

I won’t allow it.

Blake is more right than he could possibly know.

Never. Again.

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Buy book: Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble
The Author

L.B. Simmons is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds a degree in Biomedical Science.  She has been a practicing Chemist for the last 11 years.  She lives with her husband and three daughters in Texas and writes every chance she gets.

Connect with L.B.: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
The Giveaway

To win an e-copy of Running on Empty, please ENTER HERE (contest open internationally):

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Other books in the series or related posts:

COVER REVEAL: Running on Empty by L.B. Simmons

A book about second chances in life, a book about finding love again… Book junkies, I give you … the cover for Running On Empty

Expected release date: 9 January 2013

RunningonEmpty2

“I glance over to my driveway. “No bike today?” He runs his hand through his hair as he turns to look as well. “Nope. I wouldn’t take the bike on a dress-up breakfast date. What kind of man do you take me for?” He turns back around and offers me a sexy grin. “The girls have been planning this one for a while; you really should keep an eye on your cell phone, Alex.”

Oh… my devious, devious children.”

The Story

I had the perfect life.

Beautiful and loving husband.

Three gorgeous little girls.

Successful career.

The only thing missing was the white picket fence.  I really wanted that fence.

Three years ago, I lost that life.  I lost my husband.  And I lost myself.  But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness.  I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world.  I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse.

But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.

There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down.  Absolutely no way.

The question is…

How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up?

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Connect with L.B.: WebsiteFacebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Other books in the series or related posts:
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