In this excerpt, the heroine Bliss is meeting the hero Aric for the first time:
I really should have asked for a better description of him, Bliss thought as she stood at the entrance to Ruth’s Chris Steak House trying not to totter in four-inch heels. Handsome and in a blue suit wasn’t proving to be adequate. A good-looking man with light brown skin and a beard approached. In the dark it was difficult to tell the color of his suit. She stepped forward. “Aric?”
“Sorry, no.” His eyes swept her appreciatively and Bliss blushed.
“Bliss Barnes,” said a deep voice behind her. She pivoted and promptly lost her balance. She was quickly caught up against a hard chest cloaked in dark blue. Tipping her head back, her eyes locked with icy blue ones fringed by thick platinum lashes. Full lips curled up in a sexy smile revealing perfect white teeth. “Hi, I’m Aric Ericson. Are you Bliss?”
She gulped and found her footing. She scanned him from his shock of white-blond curls to his sensual lips. His face was handsome and lean. He was not clean shaven; a day’s worth of sexy stubble giving him a sexy edge and keeping him from being too pretty. She was momentarily stunned. She’d never dated a white man before. Why hadn’t Penny mentioned that he was white? “Um, yes, I’m Bliss.”
“It’s a delight to meet you. Shall we go in?”
“Oh, yes, of course.” He held his hand out for hers and she placed her palm in his. She followed him inside. He’d called in a reservation for them. As she watched him from the corner of her eye, she couldn’t help but feel that she’d seen him somewhere. But that was odd. His coloring was so extraordinary, she’d recall if they’d ever met.
They were seated after a brief wait. A server took their drink order. She wasn’t much of a drinker and she had to drive home so she requested tea. Aric requested the same. “So Aric is an unusual name.” She was too embarrassed to admit that the uniqueness of his name was one of the reasons she never suspected he might be white.
“It’s Norse. My family originated in Sweden.”
“Ah.” She fell silent and Aric laughed. The sound was deep and melodic. It was a sexy laugh and it did not go unnoticed by a group of women at a nearby table. She felt her nipples tighten and heat unfurled in her lower belly. She couldn’t believe the sound of his laughter was making her aroused.
“Penny didn’t tell you I was white.”
Her face grew hot with embarrassment. “No, she didn’t. Did she, um, mention… What did she say about me?”
“That you were beautiful.” He leaned forward. “She didn’t do you justice.”
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