Coming Soon / Hidden Gems: Coming Soon. Carrie Alexander
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“Did you know that each room comes with an armoire stocked with sex toys?”
OK, so Mia wasn’t quite as innocent as her image would suggest. An armoire stocked with sex toys? Bax would like to see those. See her. Touch – damn it. “How does that work?” he asked, hoping she hadn’t noticed his voice crack.
She unsuccessfully hid a snicker. “That would depend on the guest.”
She was killing him here. Because she could. Because she knew he was getting hard at her matter-of-fact voice, at that wicked smile. He cleared his throat. “No, I mean those kinds of amenities really couldn’t be reused, could they?”
“It depends. Anything that has the possibility of close contact is replaced for each guest. You should come down sometime and see the operation. You’d be impressed.”
“I’m sure I would,” he said, desperate to change the subject. Thankfully dinner arrived, and Bax threw himself into eating his pastrami on rye. It wasn’t quite as effective as a cold shower, but as long as Mia didn’t talk about sex toys any more, he should be OK.
He was kidding himself…
“You’re not thinking straight.”
“Straight’s done me no good so far.”
“What about tomorrow?”
“Let’s not think about that.” Marissa reached up to brush her knuckles along his jaw. She rubbed, sliding her fingers to his chin, then his lips. Outlining them. “I want to know what it’s like to kiss you.” His lower lip rolled under her caress. “Haven’t you ever wondered…” He couldn’t deny that.
“Hell, yeah,” he said, and suddenly he was kissing her the way he’d dreamed of a thousand times.
JO LEIGH
has written more than thirty novels since 1994. She’s a triple RITA® Award finalist, most recently receiving a nomination from the Romance Writers of America for her Blaze® novel Relentless. She also teaches writing in workshops across the country.
Jo lives in Utah with her wonderful husband and their cute puppy, Jessie. You can come and chat with her at her website, www.joleigh.com, and don’t forget to check out her daily blog!
Dear Reader,
Welcome back to Hush!
It’s been a while since we checked in to the gorgeous and sexy Hush hotel. So many of you have written asking to revisit the DO NOT DISTURB series that I couldn’t resist a comeback. Only this time, there’s a movie company in residence at the hotel, and concierge Mia Traverse not only discovers the body, but uses her smarts to find out who’s behind the murder. Bax Milligan, the homicide detective assigned to the case, isn’t crazy about Mia’s “help,” but he is crazy about her. Together they become a formidable team, both on the job and in the bedroom.
This was a particularly fun book for me. Since I used to work in the movie business and got to travel to exotic locations, I had a wonderful time remembering the sights, sounds and crazy personalities from those exciting days. Are some of the characters based on real celebrities I knew? I’ll never tell.
Come and join Mia and Bax and take a holiday where mystery and murder mix with glamour and romance at the one and only Hush hotel!
Love,
Jo Leigh
PS Look for my next DO NOT DISTURB book,
Have Mercy, in July 2009.
COMING SOON
BY
JO LEIGH
HIDDEN GEMS
BY
CARRIE ALEXANDER
COMING SOON
BY
JO LEIGH
To my friend Debbi.
She knows why.
1
IT WAS JUST A MATTER of keeping her cool.
Mia could deal with movie stars. After all, she was a concierge at Hush, which was one of the most glamorous hotels in Manhattan, so she met major celebrities all the time. She could deal with the press. Again, thanks to Hush, especially because owner Piper Devon was so hands-on about her hotel, and the paparazzi never got tired of the beautiful heiress. And she could deal with the cranky Belgians on the fifth floor who wanted everything New York had to offer without paying for a thing.
The trick was handling all three at once.
Mia straightened her small gold name badge, her Clefs d’Or pin, then her skinny black tuxedo skirt as she adjusted her mental attitude and her smile. “Of course, Mr. Weinberg. I’ll be sure to let housekeeping know you would prefer eiderdown pillows. They’ll be ready for you by six o’clock.”
Mr. Weinberg of the infamous Weinberg Film Company looked at Mia as if she were more distasteful than his pillows and strode off, trailed by a posse of assistants, most of them talking away on their Bluetooth headgear.
Mia turned immediately to Bobbi Tamony, the star of Coming Soon. She was dressed in a spectacularly sparkly gown that had protective paper all around the bodice, slippers on her feet, and her hair, world-famous in all the tabloids, rolled in giant curlers.
“Listen, sweetie, I have to be on set in two seconds, so could you make sure there’s a limo waiting for me around ten tonight? I should be done by then and I want to get the hell out of here.”
“No problem, Ms. Tamony. It will be waiting at the back entrance when you’re ready to go.”
“Thanks, hon,” Bobbi said, waving her hand distractedly as she walked toward the front entrance.
It would have been nice to find a moment to breathe, but one of the Belgians moved from in front of the long, black lacquered reservation desk to her station at the far end. “We wish tickets for a big Broadway show, si vous ne vous occupez pas.”
“Of course, Monsieur Michaud. Would you like to see a list of the shows that are currently available?” Mia responded in French.
He nodded, then glanced around the lobby. “When will these movie people leave? So much noise,” he said. “Very annoying.”
“I’m afraid they’ll be here for the rest of your stay. They’ve reserved their rooms for the entire month of June.”
He snorted as Mia gave him a printout of the most popular shows. Not all of them, actually. Just the ones she could get tickets for.
He perused the list for several moments and Mia took advantage of the tiny break to quietly jot down notes about the pillows and the limo.
“This one.” Michaud pointed to one of the long-running shows that rarely sold out on the weeknights.
“Is this for tonight?” she asked, holding back a sigh when he nodded. It was already three-thirty. She’d started her shift at eight that morning, so he could have come at any time, but no. The only minute for certain guests was the last minute.
It took some time to get all the details taken care of, but Monsieur Michaud left on a bright note with the tickets and finally, Mia could relax.
Well, this was the job. She’d fought hard to get here. It had helped