Remember the days when your friends used to try and hook you up with the local hottie? Or when your best friend let you cry on her shoulder and threatened to help you skewer said hottie when he turned out to be a jerk? Yes? Then you’ll enjoy this weeks theme – friends. There’s nothing like a true friend. They know all about you and still like you anyway!
Here’s an excerpt from ‘On the Prowl‘ (formerly published as Primed to Pounce). Afterward, enjoy the goodies from all the fabulous Snippet Saturday authors via the links below.
‘On the Prowl’ is, for a short time, exclusively on Kindle & free for Prime Members!
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“Gary and I are divorced, Pam. We’ve been separated for more than a year and the dissolution was final last week.” She watched Pam closely, not realizing she held her breath until her chest started to ache. To Delaine’s surprise, Pam looked relieved.
“Oh thank god! It’s about damn time,” Pam said, sticking a finger up in the air while doing a seated version of the happy dance. “I never told you this in all the years we’ve been friends because I didn’t want to speak against what made you happy, but I’ve never liked Gary. You gave and gave and gave to him, but he always made it seem like he was some kind of martyr for being married to you. It’s about time you cut that loser off your apron strings.”
“He left us, Pam,” Delaine said, the heat in her voice directed at her no-good ex rather than Pam’s revelation that she’d never liked him. When Pam’s face fell, Delaine giggled at her friend’s incredulous expression. She obviously hadn’t been expecting to hear this. But Pam, being Pam, recovered from the shock quickly and was as pissed off as Delaine had ever seen her. But she didn’t miss the hint of sadness in the woman’s dark brown eyes.
“After all you’ve done for him, he left you? Left your children? I don’t believe it! The bastard! That son of a …”
Delaine quietly cut her off mid-rave.
“Pam, it’s fine. I’ve moved on. It’s been tough being alone after so many years, but I’m fine. Really.”
“I know exactly what you need. You need to get out and meet some new people.”
Delaine immediately shook her head, adamantly mouthing the word no. Pam kept right on talking.
“Hey, I have an idea,” Pam squealed, setting her cooling cup of coffee down once and for all to silently clap her hands. “There’s a group called The Charlotte/Mecklenberg Professionals Group. It’s where folks who are new to the area can meet other professional singles to hang out with.”
“Look, I’m not interested in the meat market thing, okay?” Delaine said firmly, pointing a single finger at her friend.
“No, girl, it’s not like that. It’s a place for professionals, like yourself,” Pam said, warming to the topic. “They do a lot of recreational stuff, you know, they network, go boating, dancing, take trips to the mountains and junk like that—not a teeny bopper, get-me-some-coochie type group.”
The lioness had been content to doze in the back of Delaine’s mind. Now, Delaine felt Sapa sit up on her haunches, fully alert, her ear pricked forward as she listened closely to what Pam was saying.
“Is it safe?” Delaine asked. The lioness and she both tilted their heads thoughtfully.
“Definitely. You won’t find anybody like me in the whole place!”
Delaine’s laughter drew the gaze of a few nosey folks seated at the table next to them. She pulled her outburst down to a chuckle and looked up at Pam through lowered lashes as she thought about her suggestion. So there was a place for professionals looking to meet up with others? Definitely not Pam’s style. She’d be more comfortable at a titty bar. One-stop shopping, no intellect required. The woman had always been a free spirit, not afraid to tell a man she wanted a good lay and a good bye. Not like Delaine, who’d settled for less than mediocre sex for the entire length of her eighteen-year marriage. But now the divorce was final. Was there a reason she shouldn’t get out and meet people, get on with her life?
“It’s an exclusive, invitation-only group, Del. I’ll try to get you into the social this Friday night. I put you down to get your hair done on Saturday so you can fill me in on how it went. Oh, and wear something nice. They’re meeting at the Duke Mansion this time. Real swanky place.”
When Pam pulled out the appointment book she never went anywhere without, flipped it open and penciled her name in, Delaine resigned herself to her fate with a sigh. She entered both her hair appointment and the social into her PDA and packed it back into her briefcase.
“If it’s not your type of thing, how do you know so much about it?” Delaine asked, pulling a few dollars out of her wallet for the tip.
“A client of mine runs the outfit. She’ll arrange VIP treatment, so no worries.”
“All right then. I’ll see you Saturday. And this social thing better be fun or I’m gonna talk about you bad when I walk into your shop.” She smiled, kissed her friend on the cheek and rose from the table.
Snippet Saturday authors
Megan Hart — Read in bed!
Eliza Gayle
Rhian Cahill
Anne Rainey
Jody Wallace
Lissa Matthews
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Myla Jackson
Taige Crenshaw
Alison Kent
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Leah Braemel
Shelli Stevens
Shiloh Walker
Zoë Archer
Lacey Savage
Geared for Pleasure by Rachel Grace
