Only If You Dare by Margo Hoornstra {FREE Amazon Download}

All the pleasures and none of the pain, that’s what Cynthia Buckingham wants in a relationship these days. A one-night stand with Jonah Colt seems to fit that bill perfectly. Newly divorced, she’s too busy planning her daughter’s wedding for any serious involvement. Besides, her true passion is helping victims of PTSD reclaim their lives.
Waking up after spending the night with a woman he barely knows, Jonah is stunned to realize sex for the sake of sex isn’t enough for him anymore. A veteran of more military battles than he cares to count, he wants to forget it all and focus on peaceful civilian life. Except flashbacks won’t allow it.

Falling for Cynthia makes Jonah regret his weakened state, but he’d rather hide the truth than face it. When she sets aside everything she believes in to help him heal, can he accept her help–and her love?

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She looked up into dark eyes that revealed nothing about his inner thoughts. Except to shine with appreciation each time his gaze fell on her.

“Jackie and I try to get together to jog-walk on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.”

“Small world.”

“It is. Would you like to come in for a moment?” To her surprise, the invitation slipped from her lips.

When he readily agreed, she waited until he’d followed her into the garage then depressed a button on the wall to lower its paneled door.

“By now, they’re sitting down to dinner back at the country club. I have some chicken Kiev in the freezer I could heat up.”

“You don’t need to feel obligated to feed me.”

She unlocked the door to her side entrance, and they stepped into the small mudroom. One more door and he’d officially be inside her house.

All of a sudden, she was certain that was exactly where she wanted him. “I feel I owe you at least some snacks for pulling you out of there before they served dinner.”

“I was looking for a reason to take off, anyway.”

Like many writers, it’s hard to determine exactly when my fiction writing career began. I remember composing a short story in grade school (I have no idea about what) which was chosen for publication in an all school anthology. A journalism class taken in junior high school led to a job on the school newspaper and a weekly column.

I always loved reading. I loved writing too. Someday, I thought, maybe when I grew up and received the right training, I could actually write a book. After all, I was often told, laughingly most times, I had an extremely vivid imagination.

Through the years, the desire to write was always there. I had so many ideas and characters roaming around in my head, so many stories. But the business of living—going to college, getting married then raising a family—took precedence over something as frivolous as writing a book.

Then one day out of the blue I was downsized—effective immediately—from a job I’d held for over thirty years. What seemed so unfair at the time, I now recognize the tremendous gift I was given that day. As I’m now able to spend more and more time doing what I love—writing romantic fiction—I find I really do have an abundance of stories to share.